Sagging Leather Sofa

[Bon]

Hi all,

Our 2 year old leather sofa has started to sag quite badly on the side that both of us choose to sit on first. It's a leather sofa with fixed foam cushions.

Just wondering if anyone has suffered a similar problem and (even better) if anyone can suggest a remedy or even if people exist who can fix it!!

Living with it is not an option I'm afraid as it's causing distress to a certain member of our household (and it aint me!) and what with all these sofa ads on the TV at the moment I fear for our bank account!!

 

[Symptoms]

Bon - assuming the pair of you aren't big fat lumps then the fix may mean un-tacking the dust cover under the sofa (tip the sofa on it back to gain access) and check the condition of the cushion supports. These'll be sprung wire (piano wire with a spring at one end attached to the frame at the back and front), or just wires, or webbing belt, or rubber strap (this stuffs got a special name but I can't remember what it is - others may know), or on really cheapo furniture a sheet of chipboard (or ply if you're lucky). All of these systems are repairable ... new wires, or re-tension the webbing, or slip in a new chipboard/ply deck (or brace the old one).

Spare parts for repairing are readily available from any upholstery supplier ... check your local Yellow Pages.

 

[Bon]

Whilst I admit I may not be at my, ahem, fighting weight, the wife certainly isn't a "lump"

It seems to be more the foam that isn't returning to its original shape than the actual support so I was thinking more along the lines of replacing that (the method of access will be the same as you suggest I would imagine though).

Thanks for the advice though, I'll get onto yell.com right away.

 

[bob-the-builder]

 

[Richard C]

Had a similar problem with a fairly expensive leather sofa a few years ago; it was still under warranty so they sent an upholsterer around. He said it was due to cheap foam inserts which just don’t last; seems price doesn't necessarily guarantee quality! The new ones he fitted were noticeably firmer but they are still good 5 years later.

 

[Bon]

Thanks Bob. Unfortunately our cushions are past repair as adopting your method results in them returning to their sagged shape. We will however be doing as you say with the new ones! I agree with you and don't mind the sagging as it's more comfortable, it's just that we have 2 sofas and the other is hardly used so they look a bit odd!

Cheers too Richard, ours weren't at the top end of the price range (they weren't cheap though) and from John Peters. I'll look into getting them re-upholstered and let you guys know.

 

[Steve]

We also had a guy round to re-stuff our leather sofas. All he did was tip it up, and stuff extra foam above the belts, extra padding.

Think with fixed cushions, any other type of support is a bad idea - I expect sprung bases cant be re-stuffed very easily!!!

 

[RoachForLife]

Sorry for reviving an old post but I just bought some used couches and one of them was way saggy on the middle cushion. I took off the dust cover and saw that there are many belts (lots front to back) and 2 side to side. One of these was ripped apart, also the wood supports were all broken.

So Im looking to repair. I guess my question is, is there a photo of what it SHOULD look like under there? I can guess and it will probably be close but Im not sure what they typically look like. Maybe I could beef it up somehow too. Like additional wood beams or more belts or the like??

Also are replacing the belts a pain? I was thinking of reusing the existing if I could and find a way to reattach the two ends, like with a crapload of staples or similar.

Thanks all!