How To Fix A Broken Recliner Handle On A Flexsteel Couch

1. Check the Frame

A sturdy frame means a long-lasting sofa. Soft wood, such as pine, is low-cost, just it may warp or wobble after five years. Pricier hardwood (kiln-dried oak, ash, or beech, for example) is more durable. Avoid frames made of particleboard, plastic, or metal; they may warp and crevice. Legs should be office of the frame or held on with screws or dowels (pegs) — not with glue alone.

Tip: To test frame strength, lift ane front corner or leg of the sofa off the flooring. By the time you've raised it six inches, the other front leg should have risen as well. If it's nonetheless touching the floor, the frame has too much give; it'due south weak.

2. Ask About Joinery

A frame with joints connected past any of the following ways is solidly constructed: wooden dowels, double wooden dowels, wooden corner blocks (the tag might read corner blocks glued and screwed), or metal screws and brackets. Staples or nails may be used for extra reinforcement, merely never buy a sofa that's held together solely past staples, nails, or glue.

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Tip: Ask your salesperson for written manufacturer data on frame joinery.

three. Exam the Springs

Almost sofas accept sinuous, likewise called serpentine, springs — preassembled units of snaking wire. They're nicely supportive, just they can press on the frame or sag over time if the metal isn't heavy. Loftier-end sofas ofttimes come with "8-mode mitt-tied springs." They're comfy but expensive; some experts feel they're no better than serpentines. Feel the springs through the upholstery — they should be close together and firm. Sofas with no springs, just webbing or mesh, are uncomfortable and flimsy.

Tip: Sit down downwardly firmly on a corner or outside edge of a sofa you're considering. Squeaks and creaks suggest that springs are incorrectly placed or hitting the frame.

4. Experience Your Fillings

Polyurethane foam is a low-cost, like shooting fish in a barrel-intendance absorber filling. Just the more durable, high-density type can experience hard, and softer, depression-density foam deteriorates more than rapidly with abiding use. High-resilient (HR) cream is slightly more expensive but more comfortable and long-lasting. Polyester fiber is likewise inexpensive, but information technology flattens quickly. Goose- and duck-plume fillings are comfy, just they can clump. Top of the line: goose downwardly (the bird'southward soft undercoat) mixed with feathers. The combo is yummily plump, expensive (about double the price of foam), and loftier maintenance; cushions demand frequent fluffing. A downwardly-polyfiber blend is cheaper, only it flattens fast.

Tip: Ii skilful options that are comfy and reasonably priced: HR foam in a layer of downwards and conventional foam wrapped in polyester batting.

5. Find Tough Textiles

Sofas for everyday use need durable fabric. Cotton and linen are winners (but lookout man out for loose weaves — they can snag). Too terrific: synthetic microfiber, which can mimic most fabrics and is stain resistant. Cotton wool and linen can be treated for stain resistance, but even and then they aren't as easy to clean, or as durable, says Kathleen Huddy, the GH Research Found's textiles, paper, and plastics director. Blends of natural and constructed fibers tend to pill within a year. Wool and leather are handsome and potent but expensive. Silk is sleek but fragile. Fabrics with patterns woven in tend to article of clothing better than those with printed patterns.

Tip: Inquire the store for a piece of fabric larger than the usual swatch. Place information technology where the sofa will go. View it in natural and bogus light — and see how much you still like information technology after a few days.