Anyone done one of these tables

[Highvelocity]

Mike, I just spoke with the customer yesterday.  I went $300 plus material and he didn't even blink.  Gave me the check for 2 tables to start...plus 10 yrds material...

Thanks Sofadoc....you seem to be right on the money with that quote.  I will be at $350 with material.  I would have come in too low and regretted it.  For some reason, I have a tendency to come in too low, so I always like to check with the gang...

  Thanks Again,
      Ed

[Highvelocity]

I finished 2 tables in 10 hours soup to nuts.  I used this Allsport 4 way stretch vinyl, its a marine vinyl.  This stuff was the easiest vinyl to work with, that I have ever used.  So easy to pull, and eliminate wrinkles.  BUT, it's pricey...$24.80 a yard. 

So to sum up, had I gone with $200 a table I would have kicked myself...

  Thanks,
     Ed

[Mike]

glad it worked out did you need the allsport ? regular vinyl goes a long way with a heat gun.

sometimes I a bit low wanting the job I went up 200 at the last minute on aaa cover bid anf the guy was ok lets do it  and I had one guy ofeer me 100 more ,not to get it quick but he was a working guy and he thought I was low and said just do a nice job

[Highvelocity]

He liked the color from the sailrite site, so we went with it.  But WOW what an easy product to work with...

[Darren Henry]

Glad to see it worked out for everyone.

Allsport is nice stuff but like you say it's not cheap.That's why I generally only use it on ATV seats to avoid all the seams you'd need if you used the same vinyl as a snowmobile seat.

[Mojo]

I used Allsport on my own boat interior. It was tricky as I was using several different types of vinyl and stitching them together. The 4 way bias on Allsport makes you pay close attention when sewing into other vinyls.

I love the stuff and yes it is priced crazy.

Chris

[Upholstery Clinic]

The only problem I see with using Allsport in a Chiropractor's office might be the type of cleaning and disinfecting they may be required to do.  75% of my business is made up of Medical and Dental office upholstering, and the Chiropractor's offices I have done work for use some fairly harsh disinfectants such as PDI Sani-Cloth Plus.  Commercial vinyls such as Spirit Millennium, Color Guard, Olympus etc. have vinyl coatings such as Prefixx , Color Gard and PermaBlok3 as a protective coating.  If you look at the back of many of these commercial vinyls they say for use in Healthcare among others.  The Allsport may not hold up well long term, especially if anything alcohol based is used.  You might want to contact Morbern who manufactures Allsport and get their opinion on it's use in a medical setting.

http://www.morbern.com/index.php

[Highvelocity]

The doc asked me about cleaning.  I told him the same thing, becareful not to use an alcohol or bleach base on any of his vinyls that he wants to last.  So if he isn't blasting it with bleach or alcohol I would think being marine grade vinyl that it would hold up.  Especially for the price..haha 

I think if he gets five years out of any vinyl he's doing good.  And really, for $350 a table just have them done again...

[pat]

Hi I have done several chiropractic tables and hospital tables over the years. The trick is to get the customer to take them apart, the older ones have numerous screws and bolts, some headrests take up to an hour to get off. I'd say your quote of 200. is low, however I do agree, do the first one, then up your quote as per your time. Thanks Pat. Also make sure you use the appropriate vinyl, or else you will be doing job again in a couple of years.

[Highvelocity]

Pat,
   I know there is some concern about the life of the vinyl "Allsport".  However, one can only hope that marine designated vinyl that costs $25 a yard will hold up in climate controlled environment with no harsh chemicals applied and no direct sunlight.  

 Also, if you are getting your customer who is a doctor to take apart his own tables, you are a magician.  The doctor I am dealing with thinks of a screwdriver as a drink...

Ed      

[sofadoc]

The doctors around here don't give a rat's behind about how the vinyl will stand up to cleaning and disinfecting.

I present them with the option of the higher priced vinyl that is rated for hospitals and nursing homes, or the plain ordinary cheap vinyl. It's very rare that they choose the good stuff. They just want the cracks and tears to disappear for the least amount of money. By the time the cracks have re-emerged, odds are they've moved on anyway.

And about half of them take the tables/exam chairs apart and bring me the pieces. Especially Chiropractors and Dentists.

[Highvelocity]

Sofa,
    The tables I took apart had 7 pieces, they used square bit #2 and mostly #3 heads.  I looked before the job and picked up the #3 bit at Depot.  And the screws by the head piece and rear sections were a pain in the arse to get to...so hey, that's awesome if they want to deal with those.  I think this guy did one and knew what a pain it was, so he was happy to pass the buck to me...haha.  You know, some guys will say, "Oh, I'll just take that apart real quick", then they're like hmmm this was a dumb move once they get into it.  I know, cause I've been that guy...haha 

Ed

[sofadoc]

What's really aggravating, is that many of the #2,#3 square head screws look like Phillips screws at first glance. So the average knucklehead grabs up a cordless screwdriver with a Phillips bit, and proceeds to strip them out.

I had one guy bring in several pieces that he had removed himself. He said "Here .......you'll need this", and handed me a Phillips bit that he had filed into a square one. He didn't know that they sold those new fangled square bits at the hardware store.

[Darren Henry]

There is also an annoying new screw being used on some off shore furniture that is meant to accept Phillips or Robertson (square head) screwdrivers.

You guessed it--- they're useless with either tool.

He didn't know that they sold those new fangled square bits at the hardware store.

Up here Robertson heads have been the norm since their invention shortly before Mr. Phillips found he could make his heads cheaper. What I have found over the last number of years is that the quality of the fit to the driver bit/screwdriver has gone down the tubes,especially in deck screws. Anybody else finding this?

[Upholstery Clinic]

I don't even give my customers the option of the commercial vinyl as opposed to the cheap vinyl anymore.  When we were first getting our feet wet in the medical/dental upholstering field, we had done some jobs using the same automotive and marine grade vinyl we were used to using and we were back on the same equipment within 5 to 6 years.   I was lucky enough to talk to someone with Midmark (a major manufacturer of medical tables and dental chairs) and he clued me in to the problems to be had using the incorrect vinyls.

Off the top of my head a Adec 1040 dental chair might use 3 yards of material.  The difference between the commercial vinyl ($40 retail / yard) vs the cheap vinyl ($20 retail/yard) is $60.  I get $650 to do the chair.  When I tell the Dentist he will probably get 12 to 15 years with the commercial vinyl as opposed to maybe 5 years with the cheap vinyl under normal disinfecting protocol they would never pick the cheap vinyl.  Been doing medical/dental for about 25 years and am on the vendor's list for all 3 major hospital systems in the area.  Because of this I have had the ability to see many of the jobs we have done over the years and how they have held up to the wear and tear and the cleaning.  There is a noticeable difference between the appropriate commercial vinyl and  the so called cheap vinyl.

If one plans on doing a lot of this type of work over the long term as opposed to just getting it done it i worth using the proper vinyl.