Outdoor Welting for Patio Cushions

[D3Gilmore]

I am pricing materials for a client's project and was wondering what others have used for outdoor welting.  I've seen 5/32 plastic hollow and plastic solid but wondered if one is better than the other?  I've torn apart cushions before and even saw "foam cording".

Also, I was curious if you itemize your zippers, cording and thread for each project or roll up some of that as the cost of doing business?

Who would you also recommend as an online supplier for these types of supplies?

I'm new to this business and buying in bulk, so I appreciate your input!

[James]

Hi D3,

Our shop doesn't itemize materials other than foam and fabric, and on occasion legs and casters.

We started cautiously, buying in bulk only things we knew we'd always need and went from there. We only bought specialty items if we landed a sizeable job that called for that specialty tool or material, and I think this method served us well!

[D3Gilmore]

Thank you!

This client has picked out Sunbrella fabric that ranged from $40/yd, $55/yd, $88 and $142/yd.  Her fabric makes this job intimidating because mistakes will be costly for me.  As I was itemizing costs, it seemed petty to add in material costs for zippers/welting when she was already paying a fortune.

What other vendors would you suggest alternative to Sunbrella? I have heard of Recacril, and while I don't want to buy dealer books for clients to look at (as I am a home business) I see an opportunity to buy online cheaper if I can be the middle man for the client.

Thoughts?

[James]

Amazon does carry Sunbrella, but I would really suggest getting in touch with local suppliers. Reach out to a few of them and ask them to bring you as many samples books as possible, including the ones that you need immediately. Ask them if they carry alternatives to Sunbrella,

We have never been asked to pay for sample books yet (other than for leather books by one company).

[MinUph]

D3,
  Zippers Welting etc should all be figured as part of your base (labor) pricing. You don't want to have charges for such stuff. They are all part of a final product that you need to know how much that product costs you along with a profit. This is your base price plus fabric and foam if needed. Sunbrella is a big seller and should be used if the product is outside. There is really nothing better for furniture work. Some may disagree but perception is 90% of reality with the customer and Sunbrella has a well known following. Cost shouldn't really be your concern you are not paying for it they are. Yes mistakes can cost more on expensive fabrics but you can't worry about that too much or you will make a mistake trying not to. Just sell it do the work and your done. If you are not comfortable doing the work then you should not be doing the work. Simple. There is an old saying. You can tell a good tradesman by how well he hides his mistakes. They should be unseen but fixes when you make a mistake. Anyway take your time think about what you're doing before you pull out the shears and you will be fine. Make mistakes fix them, buy more fabric when you have to and that my friend is called business. Win some Lose some. Come out in the end in the blue not red and your doing good.

[BlueFlamingo]

I use 1/8" or 3/16" Window Screen vinyl spline for all my Marine and Outside project welt. I can get it for about 12 Cents a foot and it works Great!!!

[SteveA]

Blue is PC correct  ::) - along with perfect advice Paul -
SA

[D3Gilmore]

Thank you all, I will definitely take into consideration.  Blue, I've got some of that window screen vinyl around the house, I think I'll try it out!

[baileyuph]

Fabric, padding, and springing usually drives the use of hollow and solid core.  The more delegate, sometimes hollow is preferred.

For example, vinyl seats in a work truck might use the solid core, you get the idea.

Doyle

[Angry_Badger]

I was looking for an outdoor cushion tutorial and opened your blog to see my exact target outdoor seating set (mine is white and looking much more hmmmm rustic shall we say than yours! ) I love my set and also got it at a steal more than 10 years ago! Needless to say, you have given me the measurements & guidance I needed to do the job! Thanks for the inspiration!