How many hours to reupholster a newer piece of furnitue?

[baileyuph]

By now, most upholsters have seen the newer sofa/love seat combo furniture on the market.  Even perhaps had the experience of repairing - which will yield better insight of their build up.

Most have recliners on each end, bottom cushions are fixed and footrest and connecting upholstey to cushions are integrated assemblies where filling is often placed in and zipped then finished off by stapling; to add, back rest are constructed with at least a couple zippered chambers and filled with loose filling (blown in).

Most I have seen are covered in basically the same dark processed leather.

All that as overview, now it would be interesting to gain input from the trades people about how long their estimate to reupholster this furniture (hours is the answer being sought)?

Based on my familiarity with this new furniture (a lot is built in Asian countries) it would probably take several days.  The "old school" procedure as most will probably agree, is not how this stuff is assembled - changes in technology makes this furniture very different for a craftsman to approach.

Care to submit a number.......40 hours or?  Never?  LOL.

Doyle

[bobbin]

I would like to know how long it takes to reupholster the built in refrigerator, too.  ;)

(couldn't resist... Bob's Discount Furniture... sheesh that crap is FUGLY!)

[sofadoc]

It's often said nowadays that the new furniture isn't worth recovering. That statement is NEVER MORE true than when referring to the type of furniture that Doyle is talking about here.

How long does it take? Can't really say, since I haven't really done one. I've repaired a million of them. And I've recovered a bunch by simplifying the seams just to keep the price reasonable.

But I've yet to completely recover one by duplicating factory original methods. It just wouldn't make any sense to even try. You would have to charge the customer 3 or 4 times their original cost. And then they would still have a waferboard frame and a soft pot-metal mechanism.

I prefer to talk the customer out of it. It usually doesn't take too much convincing after I've thrown a price at them.

[baileyuph]

From the input, clearly not much if any of this new stuff will be reupholstered.  Time is the big factor.

Ok, given that surely implies what our upholstering businesses are facing in the out years. 

Think there will be enough old frames around to keep your shop busy doing traditional upholstery?

Doyle

[kodydog]

Decorators are keeping us really busy right now. They will put a Brunschwig and Fils fabric on that cheep stuff and make it look fantastic. Just picked up a room full of furniture. 4 mid-century chairs, 4 dining chairs from the 30's, and 2 cheep wing chairs that will look great when we're finished. Preceived value is a big factor. The owner of the above furniture found a knockoff of a Brunschwig and Fils fabric at a much better price. But shes going with the more expensive fabric because it just "looks better".

Time is the factor in more ways then one. Over the years there is less of the well built furniture but also less upholsterers recovering it.

As far as antiques go I think location is a big factor. Gainesville is not known for its rich history. But a good upholsterer in a place like Boston or Charleston will always stay busy. The younger crowd generally doesn't seem interested in that old stuff.

Repairs on the stuff coming out of Chine is lucrative. And if you could do this full time you could make a pretty decent living. But I think you would have to live in a fairly large town to gin up enough business.

We're looking into network marketing. Most shops aren't into this which leaves a huge nitch for one that is.

[chrisberry12]

there are plenty of manufactures and custom shops making excellent frames still with the eight way hand tie. You just need to find the customers with the good stuff. Most of my customers and decorators furniture is this great quality stuff new and old, There is Stickley, Harden, Lee, Holly Hunt to name a few. As far as the junk, I am very honest with the customer and tell them to throw it out, I refuse to work on that garbage, it just comes back to bite you in the ***

[sofadoc]

Between the quality frames still in homes, and repairs on the cheap Chinese crap, I don't see my business ever drying up before I'm ready to hang up my stapler. Beyond that......I dunno.

I agree with Kody. Repairing the cheap stuff is lucrative. If I had enough of it, I wouldn't do anything else.