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House and home

Is it worth recovering sofas?

(141 Posts)
agapanthus Sat 25-Feb-12 16:55:30

Hi! I'm new to this so here goes.
We desparately need new loose covers on our two sofas , which are about 10 years old , but one of them has a 'saggy' seat (because its in a fav position), and the feather cushions on the back are droopy. They were Collins and Hayes . I was going to get a quote for new covers ,but apart from the environmental issue I wonder if it will be worth it financially. Any views or similar expeiences please?

Nelliemoser Wed 16-Oct-13 17:50:43

Whoops! That should have read "spammer", I suspect the spell checker got at that one. blush

Nelliemoser Wed 16-Oct-13 16:50:55

This is surely the same spanner. I find it very strange that this thread has been spammed so much more than most others. Particularly by persons with such odd names. The magic of upholstery eh!

Elegran Wed 16-Oct-13 16:06:27

What IS it about sofas that brings out all the spammers?

Gorki Wed 16-Oct-13 15:37:43

Reported

Maryanabrown Wed 16-Oct-13 15:31:42

Message deleted by Gransnet for breaking our forum guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

Gorki Sat 12-Oct-13 11:15:50

Reported

Robbinjanme Sat 12-Oct-13 10:58:42

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mygrannycanfly Wed 25-Sept-13 11:30:31

Well as this thread refuses to die I'll comment.

I used to be an Interior Designer and I sold Collins and Hayes furniture in a very previous existence. This sort of furniture is a quality investment - the sort that you only make once or twice in a lifetime! However Modern flame retardant foam filling is not as long lasting as old fashioned materials, (but it is more comfortable) so you need to replace the filling as well as the covering material. The frame should be good for 25 years at least unless you play after dinner rugby games!

If you go back to the original manufacturer they should have templates for the fabric covering which will save time and therefore money, but the cost of transportation may negate the saving. A good local upholsterer may be the same or cheaper after transport.

The cost of re-upholstery is about the same as the purchase price of a cheap new sofa, so it isn't worth re-upholstering a chain store sofa, but on a quality piece you should get exactly the same wear as from the original incarnation - ie another 10+ years or so. (A chain store sofa frame isn't intended to have its life extended by re-upholstery)

A cheap sofa can be given a whole new lease of life if the filling is ok, by buying loose covers from one of the national companies that advertise everywhere. These send a chap round to measure up and use their own fabric. The fit will be very very good. Sadly a local upholsterer will not be able to achieve such perfection at a cost effective price.

A sofa that has been saggy for years may have lost structural integrity as the framework relies on the support of all the webbing, stuffing/filling and tightly stretched calico to hold everything together and reduce play and wear on the joints. If an upholsterer says it isn't worth recovering ask if this is what they mean.

I reluctantly parted company with my quality sofa after it had been used as a trampoline and bed by a generation of children, a dog and several generations of cats. I made my next purchase in the expectation that it will look good for 5 years and anything after 8 years is a bonus. As my tastes have changed and my comfort expectations risen, I was happy to buy new and I haven't paid the extra to ensure that I have the option of re-upholstering later on.

I'm going to re-cover my wing armchairs and I expect that they will see me out grin. It is much cheaper to recover these than to buy new.

Elegran Wed 25-Sept-13 10:00:14

They don't even read a little of the thread and see how many similar posts have been deleted.

kittylester Wed 25-Sept-13 06:37:03

Boring, isn't it!

MiceElf Wed 25-Sept-13 06:19:56

Reported. Again.

ricrenter Wed 25-Sept-13 06:17:02

Message deleted by Gransnet for breaking our forum guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

Elegran Mon 23-Sept-13 09:21:56

The style of English in these spams is instantly recognisable. You don't have to read far to know that it is an overseas seller chancing his/her arm.

MiceElf Mon 23-Sept-13 06:43:30

Reported

Johnpieter Mon 23-Sept-13 06:07:36

Message deleted by Gransnet for breaking our forum guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

overthehill Wed 18-Sept-13 14:55:53

We spent January three years back trawling all the sofa shops for a new one. We couldn't find anything we liked, so in the end had our old one recovered by a local upholstery business.

It was originally cloth but we had it done in leather. Again like others here it is a nice comfortable sofa, which isn't too big as it fits in our back room. We have been very pleased with it. It wasn't cheap, about £800 but it still looks good today.

Elegran Tue 17-Sept-13 20:17:42

I think they do have to join. Maybe that explains the weird names - they can't think of anything sensible on the spur of the moment.

Gorki Tue 17-Sept-13 20:07:54

How do people get their messages posted ? Do they actually have to join Gransnet and invent a name for themselves?

Riverwalk Tue 17-Sept-13 17:47:48

I wonder what attracted them all to a thread on sofas hmm

Maybe the word Sofa means Sex in their language! grin

Elegran Tue 17-Sept-13 17:41:15

Ten deleted posts from new people with peculiar names, probably spam advertising, in three pages of posts. Is this a record?

Gorki Tue 17-Sept-13 16:23:12

Reported the fact that the website of a previous post is still visible. confused

elaerstelle Tue 17-Sept-13 09:30:13

Message deleted by Gransnet for breaking our forum guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

Elegran Tue 17-Sept-13 08:09:13

Does it never occur to these spammers that "perfectly enhances and compliments your contemporary living space" is not the way that normal people discuss things? Or that furniture does not exchange compliments - "Ooooh! you do look good today!" - even when one piece complements another?

Gorki Tue 17-Sept-13 07:08:14

Reported

MiceElf Tue 17-Sept-13 07:08:06

Reported