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How to save your sagging sofa

There is nothing quite as bad as sitting yourself into a sofa only to find that it has saggy springs. Springs are essential to ensure a comfortable, safe and usable seat. However if the springs are gone does the chair or sofa have to be replaced? The simple answer is no, the springs and upholstery can be replaced or repaired. Can this be done by a layman or does the furniture have to go to a professional upholsterer?

It is possible and practical to reupholster a sofa or chair but it does require patience and care. Springs and other required materials are available to purchase in specialised shops, d-i-y stores or from online shops. It is best to seek specific instructions for the particular item of furniture, repairing a sofa would be different to repairing a single-seater chair, and different again from repairing a rocking chair or reclining chair.

Springs provide the chair with flexibility and comfort, good quality springs are essential to ensure that the sofa or chair does not provide a saggy bottom. Most modern furniture is constructed using one of two spring systems, either eight-way hand tied springs or sinuous springs. The eight-way hand tied springs are generally used in better quality furniture but sinuous springs are widely used and effective.

Eight-way hand tied springs are three dimensional coils that are attached to the webbing on the bottom of a chair or sofa and are also tied at the top of the coil to prevent them from moving position. The eight-way hand tied springs provide an even seat and allow for good weight distribution. These springs can be fitted by non-professionals and can be removed and retied until they are in the correct position, perhaps a little fiddly but they do provide a good quality seat that is quite firm to the touch. Sinuous springs are “S” wires that are fastened to the front of the seat and run from front to back as opposed to top to bottom like the eight-way tied. Sinuous springs are 2 dimensional and are generally used in furniture that is lower to the ground; the seat is generally softer to touch. The sinuous springs are not an inferior product to the eight-way hand tied but are perhaps suited to different types of furniture, the choice of spring should be based on the particular chair and the finish required.