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Does anyone know if DIY Upholstery Supply is legit.  I wouldn't normally buy from someone who sells wholesale to the public, but my 3 normal suppliers do not carry the vinyl I needed.  I ordered the material last Tuesday, PayPal took the money out on Wednesday, but all I got was an invoice confirming the order with no tracking number.  Call them and you only get voicemail and they have not as of now returned any calls.  Also any emails get returned as undeliverable.

Jim

I have been upholstering medical and dental exam tables and chairs for almost 30 years, and have finally run into an interesting issue.  One of the large hospital systems I do work for is involved with something called the Healthier Hospitals Initiative.  http://healthierhospitals.org/   It is a way for them to go completely "Green".  I have been told that all upholstering going forward will use either certain polyurethanes (ones that meet the requirements) or silicone based products like Silica.  Does anyone have any experience using these products on medical exam tables or chairs?  I have seen Ultraleather cushions on dental chairs fail within 3 years from the factory and was not covered under warranty.  I don't believe these products will hold up under the cleaning and heavy use, the way the good commercial vinyls do.  Wondering if anyone is using this stuff, and if so which ones have given the best results, without getting into the $165 retail range that some of the products from C.F. Stinson go for.  To me, the $125 for Ultraleather is ridiculous enough.  Any information is appreciated.

Jim

I had a restaurant call me in to look at doing 10 booths.  The vinyl on the booths is a dead ringer for Nauga Soft.  The backing is the same, the grain pattern is exactly the same, the dull finish and feel are exactly the same.  But the color is not on the sample card.  The color is close to Deep Sea but not the same and farther off then one would find with a dye lot discrepancy.  Anyone know of any vinyls that are an exact match to Nauga Soft except for the colors offered.

Jim

Does anyone have any experience with using the decorative nail trim strips.  I have never used them before and am wondering how they look compared to using the nails exclusively?  I am bidding on a job on doing 32 leather upholstered captains chairs that currently have approximately 530 nails per chair.  The customer wants it bid with a minimum amount of nails being used and doing it the exact same way it is currently upholstered with all the nails.  Not looking forward to installing 17,000 nails, and I am sure they will be surprised by how much labor this is going to add.  Because of this I was wondering about the nail trim strips if they are a viable alternative or if they make the job look cheap or second rate?

Jim

I have a country club that has asked for a quote on doing 32 leather captain's chairs.  They picked a specific leather off a furniture leather line sold by Coast to Coast Leather.  Of course after calling them I am informed that it has been discontinued for a year or so, as an aside I would love to ask them why is it still showing on your web site after all this time, but I digress.  The country club is being very particular about the color because they have leather cushioned booths in the same area and are trying to match it.  What leather suppliers do you use other then Coast to Coast and Garrett?  Over the years most of my leather experience has been with automotive, hence my working with Coast to Coast, so I need some other suppliers that I hope I can find something close to the discontinued leather my customer is looking for.  Thanks for any help you can give.

Jim

I have a customer who wants 1950's era dining room chairs redone but keep the vintage look.  Anyone know any suppliers who still supply that type of vinyl.

Jim

Hello

Has anyone ever sewn cushions for a Barcelona Chair?  I have a customer coming in this week that needs cushions for one of these and I believe she is going to want them sewn in the traditional style in leather.  I have never actually seen cushions of this type, but was looking online at pictures of them.  It would appear that each square is a separate piece with welts criss- crossing each other.  Looks like a nightmare of a sewing job from a labor standpoint.  Any information or advice is appreciated.

Jim

Hello all,

Had a customer call me about sewing 2 cushions for her.  The dimensions are 25x21x4 and 21x21x4.  They have welt on both sides and are both zippered.  She is supplying the material (big surprise now days), and we have to supply the welt cord and zipper.  How much time would you take to cut and sew these cushions (I was figuring around 50 minutes a cushion), and what would you charge the customer?  She ended up calling around and another upholstery shop in the area told her $45 each.  Is it just me, or with cutting fees, material (zipper and welt cord) and labor time does this seem like a discount rate.  I will admit I don't do much residential stuff, but this seems kind of inexpensive.  I am curious to hear your opinions.  Thanks.