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buddygal_gw

Multiple couch problems

buddygal
9 years ago

WE bought this from an older couple that had this in a room that is rarely used. We saw where the couch was and it was a very nice home. It is an Ashley couch (cringe). We paid $300 for it - a stretch for us. It is a sectional. The problems are: 1) the cushions sink, some worse than others, 2) the covers slip and the underpart (black) starts to show on top, 3) the cushions separate from each other-when we sit on them our rear end ends up on the springs (we are both thin people); 4) On the side my husband sits on, he leans towards the arm of the couch - noticeably. We have not gone the way of putting boards underneath yet. When we do that, do we get Velcro to hold the cushions in place? Is there anything else we can do before we spend $60 on the boards ( we priced it out)? This couch has to last us for 3 more years until we have the money to buy a good one that will last. Thanks for any help.

Comments (2)

  • SirJohn
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Unfortunately, there are not a lot of options to help without spending money, which it seems that you are not in a position to do. One thing to do before you spend money on boards is to really inspect the springs. You may be able to do this without opening the couch up since the material over the top is thin. Grab each one of the s-shaped springs and wiggle them to make sure not any of them are loose or broken. Also look at the cross wires running across those springs. Run your fingers along the entire length of them with modest pressure and see if you can detect any breaks. I have a cheap couch that was sagging more in one spot and i discovered that there was a break in the cross wire at that point so it didn't have the added structural support of the other s-springs to help hold it up there.

    If something is amiss, than you will need to open up the material and repair it. One thing about cheap couches like this is, it becomes easier to open up and work on without wrecking the fabric. That thin black fabric covering the springs is just stapled in place and can be unstapled and pulled back to work on it. Then you just need a staple gun to put it back in again. You can also flip the couch over and remove the dust cap and work from underneath it (and use a staple gun to put the cover back on when done). You can then make the repair. You can also reinforce the springs even if nothing is wrong once it is opened up (or if you can manage to find pre-cut springs of the right size, outright replace them). Find some furniture twine and tightly tie about four equal spaced rows of it across all the springs making sure to attach to the frame on the ends. It should look sort of like the existing cross wires.

    Now this work does require a small amount of skill and a comfort level with this type of repair. You can find videos on youtube on how to do some of this (and I think some people have tried lamp cord rather than furniture twine). The other part of your problem with sagginess is likely the foam in the cushions breaking down. The only fix is to replace the foam. How cheap this costs is dependent on what you can find in your area and how high quality of foam you are using for the replacement.

    As far as cushions sliding, again there is a limit of what you can do. The velcro system on these couches is worthless and after awhile the velcro starts tearing up the fabric around it as well. Purchasing velcro to put on top of boards is not going to do much for you. One alternative to try is to purchase some grippy material like you can buy for underneath throw rugs and for drawer lining (its sort of grid patterned foam fabric). I can't say for certain how well it will work, but its worth a try and you can always return it if it doesn't seem to work. At least this won't tear up the fabric like the velcro does. You can also try putting something underneath the front legs about an inch tall to create a greater backward tilt to the couch to see if it helps from keeping the cushions from moving forward. However, this may only exacerbate the feeling of sagging when you sit down and may otherwise be no help at all.

  • freethinker99
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I would look for something on Craigs List and in my opinion I would not put any money into this set