Repairing sofas....

I have arrived at the conclusion that modern sofas are utter rubbish.

Approximately four years ago, being at the point where we had simply had enough of the sofa we had as it was sagging (and it didn't really fit the room too well, having been bought for another house), we headed off to Sofaworks (or Sofology as they now call themselves) to find a new one. We decided on a a five seater corner unit that we thought, and were led to believe, was of a superior construction.

As you may have guessed, by my writing this, it is not. The seat I am sitting on is now sagging really badly, and leaning to the right - we have attempted to try and boost the seat padding by upturning it and stuffing an old duvet under the cushion, and I am sat on an old pillow on top of the seat to try and elevate things a bit, however it is not working. The corresponding seat at the other end of the sofa is doing the same thing, but leaning to the left (so both leaning toward their respective arms)

We spoke to a furniture repair place just around the corner from us who said that it was unlikely to be economically viable to repair and that the minimum would be around £400 to £500 for just one of the seats, and even then it may not be successful long term due to the way the sofa is constructed.

So, two questions now arise - firstly, is there any DIY method of repairing a sofa/seat with electric recliners that does not cost the earth, or is there anywhere that sells sofas that last more than a few years?

 

Agreed - it is so frustrating. We have literally only just finished paying for the thing, and it needs to be replaced! Trouble is, even if we do go to replace it, where do we go? It seems that all of them are selling the same false promises.

 

Ours is on a metal frame - it is a 2 corner 2 with power recliners. My seat is the worst of the two (biggest bum), and it seems that it is mostly the fillings that have lost their shape - having said that, I don't understand why it is only at one side. I currently either end up sitting on my right hip/bum cheek, or have to slouch out and sort of end up sitting on the bottom of my back.

 

I have bought foam (not for this, but for other stuff) so know it is available, but I cannot see where on earth to open this one as it is an odd design - plus it doesn't seem to be a block of foam, if you know what I mean, but rather it feels more like a duvet type, almost cotton wool affair - - I could be totally wrong of course, as I can't see what is inside.

 

OK, we have established that the filling is something called Dacron wadding - comes in big rolls apparently, a bit like big boys cotton wool.

Anyway, executive decision - - I have ordered some upholstery foam, high density stuff, that is about two inches thick. The idea is to put this foam in the seat cushion, top and bottom, with the existing stuffing in between and apparently this does have a positive effect. To be honest, even if we could get another year or three out of it, it would help as I really would rather not be spending out on a new sofa at the moment.

 

The seat cushion is not removable - to access the seat pad, the sofa has got to be dismantled, the seat flipped onto it's head and then going through the back of the seat you can get to the cushion. There is no webbing, but simply Z-springs that run the length of the seat pad with the pad itself made of big boy cotton wool wrapped in a black thin fabric (quite hard/coarse sort of fabric). Access to the foam is a case of making a slit along the back of the cushion with a Stanley knife which is then sealed up once the job is done. The loft given looks great when the sofa is new, and is semi-compressed inside it's leather and cloth capsule - sadly, over time, it seems that it loses its loft and not necessarily evenly.
For all the world, it appears that I am sitting on a glorified rolled up duvet, sat on top of Z-springs and covered in leather.

I spoke with them at the weekend @Sheal and that is how I learned of the most likely construction of the sofa - conveniently, although a very well known national chain, they changed to a new company not long after we bought the sofa, however did say that they would honour all warranty work from sofas sold prior - - warranty however, really only covers the frames, and not cushions/pads or coverings. Reading around online, this is quite common with modern sofas and if you do try and push for a repair you are in for one hell of a fight (possibly going down the legal path) that I simply do not have the energy or the money for.

Although the local repair shop said that it would cost a bomb and may not even be repairable, I am one of those people that believes if something can be made then it can also be dismantled to see if you can fix it. Out of curiosity, I went looking for upholstery foam online and within minutes was reading reviews from people that had done the very repair I intend to do (try), so I am taking a gamble on it. At £40 to try one seat (and might even be enough for two seats), I reckon it is a gamble worth taking - - better that than simply giving up on nearly three grand worth of sofa.