social

Repairing the Underside of Furniture?

December 29, 2007

A living room full of nice fabric furniture.My cats have torn the underside of my furniture to shreds. I'm glad it's the unseen, but I still need to repair it. My living room chairs, couch, and ever under my bed are damaged.

Advertisement



Where can I find the batting/filler material, as well as the black thin felt-like material to recover the bottom of my furniture? I'm online savvy, and can usually find what I'm looking for, but this has been a tough. You'd think living in the furniture capital of the US would be easy enough to find what I need! Any help is appreciated! Thanks lots!

Penni from Hillsborough, NC

Answers


Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 169 Posts
December 29, 20070 found this helpful

Since it's unseen why not do it with old sheets? That will be harder to shred and you won't need to redo it every year or so. It might even be worthhile to invest in some new sheets for the job.

 
December 29, 20073 found this helpful

Hi! I "JUST" signed up on this website and this is my second post! First as a guest and now as a member. I owned an upholstery shop for 10 years, so I'll try and offer a little help here. Most of the time, the "inner stuffing" is cotton. It is sold in huge rolls at upholstery supply stores. I would suggest that you visit a local upholstery shop and ask to purchase a small amount and then you try to "stuff" it back to form -- this is trying to repair it from the underside and not remove any of the top upholstery.

Advertisement

The black material under the bottom is sort of a dust cover. It is called "cambric". It too, can be purchased from a local upholsterer or upholstery supply company. A regular craft type staple gun can be used to staple it to the bottom. Hope this helps.

 

Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 213 Posts
December 29, 20071 found this helpful

Everything can be found at any Fabric Store...OR, you can simply look up "upholstery" in your local phone book & you should find several stores that sell upholstery supplies... They are Pricey (compared to fabric stores) Or, if you have NO fabric stores or upholstery stores in your area, ask an upholstery person to sell you what you need... I recommend you replace the "black, felt-like material" with Black Landscape Fabric... It's the stuff you use in the flower beds to keep the weed problem down. Landscape fabric is both inexpensive AND strong... at under $5 or $10 for 50 feet. (depending on the thickness & quality) You can't beat it! I see no reason you've not been able to find batting... I just bought some to make a dog bed for my son at my local Joann's Fabric store, & even though this was one of their tiny stores, they had at least 15 different types, fiber contents & thickness' of battings available to choose from.

Advertisement

I'd Buy synthetic, like Polyester or Acrylic, as it cost less PLUS it doesn't hold in moisture as much as cotton... UNLESS, you are stuffing the DEEP, inside portion of a couch or chair, but if it's the underside, I'd buy Synthetic Batting. As far as the black felt goes, You can find black felt either With, or without a wool content. I recommend a non-wool felt, as my cat just LOVES the smell wool yarn & he will roll around in it & go crazy (probably because wool smells like an animal)

---> Just get yourself a cheapie hot glue gun & lots of hot glue, plus maybe a staple gun, or a tiny hammer & some large-head tacks & a curved upholstery needle (at any fabric store) & some strong thread or dental floss... Then turn over your furniture & have at it!

 
By Penni (Guest Post)
December 30, 20070 found this helpful

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions! I now have some excellent resources and know what I need to start working on the repair.

Advertisement

This is a great site and forum! I'm glad to be a part it! :)

 
December 30, 20070 found this helpful

If you're handy with a jigsaw and want it really hard to re-shred, then try luon (sp?), a very thin plywood. It's cheap and easy enough to cut with a jigsaw. You can get it at any sort of home improvement store.

 

Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 213 Posts
December 30, 20070 found this helpful

BLACK WINDOW SCREEN: Why not cover the area after repair with window screen or aluminum mesh. Amuminum mesh comes in an easy to handle roll & is sold to screen your gutters from leaves. It's not expensive either, which is a bonus! OR you can use plain old aluminum window screen. Which can be spray painted Black... Screen comes in either Aluminum, OR Nylon... Live dangerously & use nylon (which can be bought in black) if you think you can trust the cats... Or safer yet, use Aluminum & spray-paint it black... Both types can be cut wit an old pair of scissors then the edge folded over then tacked with thumbtacks (or hot glue or brads) to the underside of your furniture... Why not use Black Window screen in place of the black felt!?

Advertisement

I like the Luan idea too... It's a lot easier than you think to work with. (I recently bought myself a jig-saw... I have gotten SOOOO much use from it! (I'm a 52 yo grandma that has recently discovered Power Tools & I'm having the time of my life!) I'd always thought jig-saw's were expensive, but they aren't! In fact you can find a new one for $20 at Home Depot or Big Lots... I bought a good one that was more durable & it only cost $39...a Black & Decker & It'll last me for ever!)

Another idea. Once you've fixed the area, you could use lattice strips (or Luan strips) they can be cut with tin snips, or scored with a box knife then broken or cut with any saw from the dollar store if you don't have a jig-saw. They come 50 in a bundle for under $10 at Home Depot (they are 4 feet long by about 1 & a half inches wide by only 1/4" thick) Tack these (with brads) in a criss-cross pattern over the area you've fixed. Or they can just be used to hold the batting in. Then cover the bottom of the furniture with window or gutter screen. This will make it impossible for the little buggers to attack the area again!

Advertisement

---> HEY!... Post here & let us know how the project turned out when you've finished!

GOOD LUCK!

 
December 30, 20070 found this helpful

what about that landscaping fabric they sell at lowes or home depot or even wal-mart?

 
February 15, 20220 found this helpful

My question is why do I need a jigsaw for the plywood. Cant I just measure the bottom of my couch and ask the hardware store to cut it to size?

 
Answer this Question

More Questions

Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.

October 16, 2019

I have a new sofa where the manufacturer evidently did not properly staple the cambri dust cover fabric correctly to the front of the underneath of the sofa. So the thin black fabric under the sofa was literally hanging under the sofa. The furniture store I purchased it from came out and said it had been stapled incorrectly by the manufacturer and they pulled to tight and restapled it. And I mean they stapled the heck out of it. It's tight now, but where it had been loose before fixing it had a few little tears and holes in it. Nothing large, just enough to irritate.

Anyways, I asked to have the entire dust cover replaced since its a new sofa and the manufacturer incorrectly stapled it. The furniture store just called and offered to come out and put another cover directly over the current cover. Wouldn't that be stapling over staples or would that be a sensible way to strengthen it?

Answers


Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 105 Posts
October 16, 20190 found this helpful

If your sofa is brand new and you are disappointed with the way the store has handled this you should speak with the store owner. It is up to the store to replace the sofa or fix it correctly. Just adding another dust cover over the top of the one that is there will create a mess like you have said. This is a terrible idea and you paid a lot of money for your new sofa and it should be replaced or fixed by a professional. I would demand it be fixed by a professional and I would not accept the store to send out a person who has no idea how to fix this.

 

Gold Post Medal for All Time! 677 Posts
October 16, 20190 found this helpful

You should either get a new sofa or they should fix it. My daughter had an issue with a nightstand she got as part of a bedroom set. It was cosmetically defective. She got another one and they told her to keep the old one

 

Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 140 Posts
October 17, 20190 found this helpful

Yes, do try and contact the company you purchased. Tell them your problem,they should act and resolve this issue!Be sure to tell them how much you are out of pocket!

 
Answer this Question
Categories
Home and Garden Home Improvement Furniture RepairOctober 20, 2013
Pages
More
🌻
Gardening
📓
Back to School Ideas!
😎
Summer Ideas!
Facebook
Pinterest
YouTube
Instagram
Categories
Better LivingBudget & FinanceBusiness and LegalComputersConsumer AdviceCoronavirusCraftsEducationEntertainmentFood and RecipesHealth & BeautyHolidays and PartiesHome and GardenMake Your OwnOrganizingParentingPetsPhotosTravel and RecreationWeddings
Published by ThriftyFun.
Desktop Page | View Mobile
Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Contact Us
Generated 2024-07-19 08:16:36 in 5 secs. ⛅️️
© 1997-2024 by Cumuli, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
https://www.thriftyfun.com/Repairing-the-Underside-of-Furniture-1.html