Today we’re going to look at installing a set of seat springs in a recliner. As you can see, we’ve got a broken one here. Now with most brands, what you’ll have to do first is remove the backs. You’ll have to remove the reclining mechanism before you can access the Springs and seat frame. Now, this is off of a La-Z-Boy chair and lazy boys are a little different. Rather than remove some of the mechanisms you can actually detach the seats instead, but either way, no matter what brand you have, the procedure is very, very similar. Let’s get started since I’m doing La-Z-Boy seat today, I went ahead and pre-ordered the Springs I need. They’re already cut to length and ready to install. So that’s what I recommend. If you have a name brand recliner, order the parts from the manufacturer.
Choosing Right Springs
Since these exact Springs are the most common type in the furniture industry, you can always get them through an upholstery supplier online, or if you have an, a local upholstery shop, take an old spring with you and perhaps they can sell you some Springs, cut them to length and turn the ends down for you. There are other ways to get these parts. If you can’t get them through your retailer or your manufacturer, before you remove the old Springs, you’ll want to do a visual inspection right here towards the rear of the seat, where the clips and Springs attached to the rear of the seat Springs. You want to check these parts, make sure they’re still in good condition. If not, you want to order some of those from the manufacturer as well.
And also you want to make note of where this cross brace wire is attached on the front and towards the rear of the seat. And if you have to take a photo that shows you exactly how the Springs hook into the clips and the position of the cross brace wires. When you go to re-install the new set, you’ll get it put in the correct way. You may be wondering if there’s only one broken spring, why replace the whole set? Well, this tells us that we’re coming towards the end of the useful life of these Springs. So, you don’t want to go to all the trouble to do this procedure. And then a few weeks or a few months from now, have to do it again because another spring has broken another common problem with seat Springs.
Sometimes you think spring has broken, but when you turn the chair over and look underneath, you find sometimes that the end of the spring has come loose from a spring clip.
Installing Spring Clips
Now, when that’s the case, you’re going to do some of the same procedure I’m doing today. However, if the spring itself is not broken and you just have a loose clip. You can install a new clip reattach that spring, and you’re good to go. I’m going to start by taking these staples loose along the front of the seat cover and halfway down each side. The idea is I want to gain access to these seat spring clips on the front rail that are hidden here. So I’m going to loosen the foam up here as well. Once I have everything loose, I’ll be able to unhook the Springs and also visually inspect the seat spring clips on this front rail and make sure they’re in good condition. I forgot to mention on this seat, I’ll have to remove some of these hog rings that are attached to this front piece of brace wire on most modern recliners. You won’t find these, but on older ones you might. So you’ll have to remove those as well.
Pinch off the foam from around the existing staples that are holding it up. You’re the top of our seat Springs in the clips, and we just have to remove some of this material here to expose them fully. Take a large screwdriver to open up some of these U-shaped clips.
Spring Clip Types
There are different types of spring clips, but many of them are U shaped like this. And when this little curl that holds the end of the spring is crimped too tight. You’ll have to spread it open like I did with the flat screwdriver in order to unhook the Springs. The hog rings that were along this piece of cross brace wire. Just want to show you what their purpose.
Because you noticed when I took this apart, there was a separate nose piece to the seat cushion and behind it is a flap of material that’s attached to the cover. And it stretched down to the Springs and through this dark material, it’s hog ringed to the cross brace wire to keep this cushion in place here. Now, a newer seats on La-Z-Boy seats. You won’t have to contend with this issue, but on older ones you do. So you take the hog rings off and I’m going to replace those with heavy-duty zip ties when we do the installation, and of course you’ll want to inspect these front seat spring clips, make sure they’re in good shape. I have one here that I want to replace. So I’m going to remove it.
What’s the difference?
There are different types of clips. This is the type of clip that’s on the seat frame. And it’s hammered in with little prongs here that go directly into the wooden frame. Common type of replacement clip for that is this one with the slotted openings. And this has to be attached with screws. As you can see, there are no prongs to be hammered in. Now there is a special tool to reattach Springs. It’s like a spring stretcher, but we don’t have that. So we’re just going to use a piece of heavy twine or some, a thin rope, just something that’s very strong. You’re going to fold it in half and loop it near the end of the spring.
Stretch the Sping
It it through itself to create kind of a half not. And now I can use this to stretch the spring. So let’s install them now again, make note of how this was attached originally. Or if you took a photo, you’ll want to refer to it, make sure you get this on correctly. And while you’re stretching this spring, make sure you keep tension on these parts. So nothing comes loose and I’m also going to be standing on the base of this seat frame so it can not move. So I’ll wrap my hands around the end of the twine a couple of times to get a good grip, make sure my little nod here is half centered. Actually, I’m on the wrong side. Here we go. And keep tension on everything. And with your opposite hand, you can help guide the spring if necessary.
Okay? When installing the brace wire, you want to use a piece that’s the adequate length and it has a turned up end. This is rather important because what sometimes happens with brace wire. If the clips that hold it on to the Springs become loose over time, the wire can actually travel. And I’ve seen cases where the bare wire comes out of the paper, coating and can move all the way through and puncture and Pierce the seat cover and stick outside the chair.
Finalizing
That’s where this turned up in, comes into play. If this wire ever comes loose and starts to travel or try to the turned up, Ben’s going to hit the clip and prevent it from moving any further. So it’s always a good idea to have these. So you want to reattach these in the same position that they were originally, and there are different types of cross brace wire clips. I tend to use these that La-Z-Boy provides now. They probably require a special tool to crimp them, but I’ve learned to do it with pliers. And your goal here is to attach them uniformly and firmly so that they are, they get a nice bite on the paper coding on the cross brace wire. Okay. Let’s install some clips. I’ll send her the wire and Crip. One of the clips partially to hold it in place to make sure I have my distance. Correct. And then I’ll do the same with the others.
Okay. Once we have this material reattached, before we can put the nose piece back on the phone, we have to reattach this flap. It’s on the underside of the cover. Now there’s a piece of welt cord in here that was hog ringed down to the Springs. We’re going to reconnect the two, but we’re going to use heavy duty zip ties and where we need to Pierce this material. We’ll use something like a scratch off, and we’re going to use about four zip ties to make that connection.
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