Expert: Mark H. Miller - 2/17/2007

Question
Mark

Hi, I am in the process of reparing a Sofa, when you sit down the center of the seat pard goes down.  What should I use to fill this in and what kind of staples do I use to
put back the black cloth under-cover.

thanks for your help

Ken  

Answer
Hi,  

Most likely the reason you sit down too low is that the coil springs no longer support the proper amount of weight.  You can try to remedy that by installing new webbing along the bottom of the seat, going right over the existing webbing.  To do that you need to buy a roll of jute webbing and a webbing stretcher, you can buy those from upholstery suppliers on line.  The webbing stretcher is very easy to use and cost only a few dollars.  There are two kinds, one has a handle, buy the one without the handle which is cheaper and does a better job.

To staple or tack the webbing down use either size 10 to 12 upholstery or carpet tacks or 9/16 upholstery staples.

To replace the black dust cover use either size 3 or 4 upholstery or carpet tacks or 5/8 size staples.  

Carpet or upholstery tacks are available in most hardware stores,  you may want to buy an upholsterers tack hammer as well.  

To replace the dust cover you can also use a hand stapler, however for the webbing you should use a stapler driven by compressed air.

Unfortunately if the coil springs have lost their tension then adding new webbing may not make a noticeable difference and may not resolve the problem of sitting too low.  

I hope this helps,  please do not hesitate to contact me if you have further questions or further explanation.

Good luck,

Mark Miller.