Computer chair repair: how to repair it yourself at home

Comfort and convenience, as well as high quality workmanship, upholstery and components – for office chairs these are the most important requirements for their operation. If it is important for you to properly organize your workplace or buy a children's computer chair, then we invite you to get acquainted with our products.

Our virtual catalog contains armchairs and chairs designed for people working in a variety of fields. All models are certified according to BIFMA 5.1, Germany DIN 4550 standards, meet the requirements of GOST-R, SGS and LGA. And for clarity and ease of search, we have divided them into several categories:

Executive office chairs. This category of products is distinguished by a wide selection of models, upholstery of various properties and qualities. And this is not surprising, since a chair for an executive, in addition to convenience, should also reflect the status of its owner.

Workers, medical chairs. This section presents practical chair models for medical workers and laboratory workers. Medical chairs are distinguished by ergonomics, comfort, easy-to-clean upholstery, maneuverability and reliability.

Office chairs for staff. All models are equipped with the necessary adjusting mechanisms, casters, armrests for comfortable work in the office and are available in various color variations.

Conference chairs. Office chairs for visitors are concise and simple, modern style and competitive prices. Our chairs will become the calling card of your office!

Children's chairs. Armchairs intended for small owners are practically no different from armchairs for adults. However, there is a slight difference - it is a smaller size, upholstery made of hypoallergenic fabrics with bright prints, a special orthopedic design, which contributes to the formation of correct posture of the child.

Office furniture, like any other, is not immune to damage. But if the chair fails, there is always a way out. A separate section of the catalog presents components and spare parts for office chairs:

Rubber rollers, semi-soft, electrically conductive, on a platform, with a lock; furniture wheels, support wheels, for shopping carts, etc.
Gas lifts and covers for chairs of various modifications and sizes, hydraulic lifts for hairdressing chairs.
Armrests of various shapes and designs made of plastic, metal, combined materials.
Crosses and bases made of composite materials, aluminum, steel, chrome-plated; runners for office chairs, footrests, etc.
Mechanisms that allow you to fix the chair in different positions.

Design features

Despite the variety of designs and functional content, almost all chairs consist of a set of elements:

Five-pointed cross (base). This part is made of metal or plastic. The first option is better quality and more expensive
Rollers. Like the cross, the wheels can be metal or plastic. However, the base and internal joint of any roller are made of metal
Pneumatic cartridge (gas lift). The part acts as a chair leg and is responsible for its “elasticity”
The swing mechanism contributes to the axial deflection of the chair and its fixation in one position. On expensive models, a mechanism with an offset axis is installed, ensuring the smoothest turning possible.
Plate. This element is a metal platform with a lever. Used to change the height of the seat relative to the crossbar
Constant contact - an element connecting the back of the seat and responsible for changing its position

Most office chair models have armrests. In budget models, these elements are made of plastic; in more expensive ones - from anodized or stainless steel.

Replacing the cross

This is what a metal cross with plastic casings on the bottom looks like

A separate case worth noting is the breakage of the crosspiece. Although this part is made of particularly durable materials, its breakage is not excluded, especially if it is made of plastic.

Types of crosses: plastic, aluminum, metal with wooden overlays

Fortunately, replacing this part with a new one is quite simple. You will need:

new crosspiece;
hammer;
pliers.

To replace, follow the instructions: turn the computer chair upside down and remove the wheels from their mountings. Take pliers and use a circular motion to knock out the gas lift, making targeted blows along its edges

To remove the plastic cross from the gas lift, you need to hold onto the gas lift and lightly tap the cross with light blows of a hammer from above around the attachment point.

After disconnecting the crosspiece, install the wheels on the new one and insert the second part of the chair into the hole. You don’t have to worry about incompatibility, since the gas lift mount for all office chairs is standardized.

To knock the gas lift out of the crosspiece, it is better to use a spacer of the appropriate size. to prevent impacts to the central part of the gas lift

This way, you can repair any office chair with your own efforts, without the costly purchase of a new chair.

General recommendations

Repairing the back of a computer chair, crossbar or gas lift will take very little time, but after repair the chair will become comfortable and will last more than a year. The main thing is to select parts that exactly match the model and carefully change them, following the technology and recommendations. To ensure that office chairs do not cause problems, they must be purchased from an online store with a reliable reputation and used correctly and carefully. Prestige and Sirius, Mango and Clio, Eteza and Bora, Synchro and Compact, Plaza and dozens of other models: manufacturers offer a large selection of chairs for home and office, from which you can choose models that are ideal for operating conditions. Quality, reliability, durability and other characteristics depend on the cost and purpose of the chairs.

What does an office chair consist of?

An office chair, despite its apparent simplicity, is a rather complex product that consists of many components. These include:

Backrest – designed to support the back; it can have different sizes and shapes. The angle between the seat and the backrest is just over 90 degrees and this ensures relaxation of the lower back when the back is thrown back onto the backrest.

Most often, the backrest is equipped with a set of adjustment mechanisms that allow you to adjust the angle of inclination, install it in a certain position, and this will provide additional comfort for using the chair.

Seat – Manufacturers produce several types of chairs. Manufacturers produce the following models:

hard;
semi-soft;
soft.

Each seat may have a different filling. To fill hard seats, straw, wood or metal are used. In semi-soft chairs, polymer materials, such as foam rubber, are often used for filling. In addition to the filler, springs can be installed in the soft seat.

The front edge of the seat has a rounded shape, this ensures normal blood supply to the legs. Most often, manufacturers make seats with a width of 400 to 500 mm, and a depth of 480 mm.

The optimal position of the chair is considered to be the following: the feet are placed on the floor, while the legs are bent at the knees, the angle is 90 degrees. Your hips should be firmly placed on the seat.

Armrests – designed to support the elbows, thus relieving the load from the shoulders, neck and spine. Most often, such chairs are needed by people who work a lot and for a long time at the computer. Lack of armrests leads to fatigue and loss of performance.

Chair manufacturers equip them with customizable armrests. If it is not adjustable, then they guarantee a position where the arms are bent at the elbows at an angle of 90 degrees.

These parts can be attached to the frame of the chair using various methods:

They can be attached directly to the seat. If necessary, they can always be dismantled without compromising the integrity of the chair.
They are attached simultaneously to the back and seat, thus connecting them together.
The armrests are installed in such a way that they connect the seat and backrest, but, in addition, there is an additional metal plate installed. For the most part, they can be removed without damaging the overall structure.

Upholstery – for this purpose, materials with increased wear resistance are most often used. These can be both natural and artificial materials, including the use of leather.

Filling – foam rubber or other polymer materials are used to fill the seats and backs.

Gas lift is a cylinder made of steel and filled with some inactive gas. This device is designed to adjust the height of the chair. It also plays the role of a shock absorber. Gas lifts, sometimes you can find the name gas cartridge. They are divided into long, medium and short. All these units have unified dimensions and are interchangeable.

They are produced either with a chrome plated or painted black. Painted elevators are equipped with a cover.

The crosspiece is the component of the chair that bears the main weight. Bases with a large diameter and five rays are considered optimal. This design is able to provide maximum maneuverability in all directions of movement. Both metal and plastic are used for its manufacture. The key disadvantage of a metal cross is its excess weight.

Rollers - these parts guarantee the mobility of the chair; polymer materials such as nylon or polyurethane are used for their manufacture. There are different designs of rollers, some are designed to move on standard floor coverings, others are designed to move on parquet or laminate.

Manufacturers equip chairs with numerous mechanisms that allow you to adjust the height of the chair and recline the backrest. All of them are designed to provide extremely comfortable conditions for humans.

What is gas lift in an office chair?

Gas lift, the correct name is a gas spring in which the elastic element is not a metal spiral, but compressed air, which is pumped into a metal cylinder and compressed under the pressure of the piston. Gas lift is a term that has taken root in the furniture industry.

Do not confuse gas lift and shock absorber. The latest devices are used in automobiles and other technical devices, and they are designed to dampen vibrations and speed of movement.

Product disassembly stages

If a computer chair breaks, the first thing you need to do is disassemble the structure. To do this, you will need a rubber hammer, slotted and Phillips screwdrivers, and a hammer drill. All actions are performed in stages:

The first step is to remove the seat, turn the chair upside down, and pull out the fasteners.
We unscrew the bolts securing the armrests and remove these parts along with the plates.
Disconnect the clips that hold the permanent contact.
The crosshead is separated from the air chuck by lightly tapping the connection with a hammer.
The wheels are removed from the mounting grooves, the caps located in the steel casing are removed. The procedure is performed using a flat blade screwdriver.

Stages of making a manger with your own hands, finishing

It is recommended to carry out all manipulations with the mechanisms that hold the structure suspended, so as not to break the fragile plastic parts. For the same reason, you should not apply physical stress when unscrewing the fasteners. Having completed disassembling the computer chair, you need to collect all the parts in one place so as not to lose anything.

Rocking mechanism

Another common malfunction is when the chair stops being held in a horizontal plane. Trying to lean on her back, she falls back. The position locks do not work.

Tips for use

A computer chair, especially one that is being repaired, is a rather fragile and vulnerable structure. During operation, it is recommended to strictly adhere to the instructions. If you ignore existing rules, the shelf life of the product will be significantly reduced. To ensure that office furniture lasts a long time, the following points should be considered:

It is not recommended to use chairs in rooms with high air humidity.
If furniture was brought to an office or apartment from the cold, you cannot immediately begin assembly, since fragile plastic parts are very sensitive to temperature changes. It is best to start installation at least every other day.
Do not put pressure on the bolts when assembling, otherwise the nut may get caught under the upholstery and you will have to disassemble the seat in search of fastenings.
Do not exceed the permissible load on the rollers and crosspiece.

Do not sit on the chair alone, otherwise the base of the product may break. Employees with a large weight are recommended to choose chairs with a metal cross - it is more durable and reliable than plastic ones. It is strictly forbidden to fall on the swing seat.

You should be aware of the fragility of the armrests. Under no circumstances should you sit on them. Experts recommend tightening all mounting bolts once every quarter to prevent them from loosening over time. You should not use the seat to carry heavy objects; this will quickly damage the upholstery and break the mechanisms. You cannot bring a chair to the floor if it is covered with tiles: when the rollers get into the joints between its fragments, this leads to rapid wear.

In computer chairs, the fabric is quite vulnerable to external influences. The seat and backrest should be vacuumed weekly to prevent dust accumulation. For stubborn stains, use only those products recommended in the instructions for use. It is strictly forbidden to use traditional methods.

Do not allow children to play in the office chair for fun. This quickly wears out the rollers and crosshead, and also reduces the service life of the swinging mechanism.

In order for the chair to work for a long time and not break, it is necessary to strictly adhere to the operating requirements. If the warranty on a piece of furniture has already expired, you can carry out simple repairs yourself. The success of the repair depends on the severity of the problem, as well as the quality of the spare parts chosen to fix the problem.

Operating rules

What can break first?

First of all, the moving parts that take on the maximum load fail. The gas lift often fails. At some point it may lose its tightness. This can be seen by the fact that the chair cannot withstand the height and every time it sinks completely under your weight.

In addition, wheels can often break. We may accidentally run over something, the wheel may spin unsuccessfully, and so on. In this case, the chair will lose stability, which we will immediately feel.

For moving parts that often become loose and even break, we turn to the backrest support. This is where the spring and retainer mostly fail.

Let's look at each of these breakdowns and turn to the recommendations of professionals for eliminating them.

How to fix the back of a computer chair

Various breakdowns can occur with the rear. For example, at some point we may bend too much and the spring will not be able to resist. We can also damage the upholstery with our careless attitude, which simply needs to be changed. Let's look at each of these two cases.

The mechanism connecting the seat and backrest is called permanent contact. With this mechanism we can fix the position of the backrest at different angles. Often this mechanism breaks if you overdo it a little with the fixing screw. By clamping such a screw, we can break the thread, and only replacing it will help us. Before repairing, purchase a new screw. Typically, the permanent contact is covered by a plastic cover that can simply be removed by lifting it off. If you cannot turn the nut, use a grinder to disassemble it. After removing the old bolt, you can reassemble the mechanism with a new bolt.

Replacing the upholstery is a very simple matter. Let's look at the whole process step by step:

Unscrew the adjusting screw from below and remove the back part.
Remove the rear trim strip.
Tear off the old trim from the clamps.
At this time, you can wash the foam rubber, taking advantage of the moment.
Now you can take a new coating and repeat the whole process in reverse order.

Restoring computer chairs

The most common piece of furniture in the service are computer chairs. The most frequently broken items are the following:

lifting mechanism;
cross and rollers;
armrests;
back holders.

Our specialists can replace or repair any element and return the product to operation. Our company provides services for individuals and legal entities. It is also possible to conclude contracts and agreements.

Scheme of work

In an unloaded state, the central cylinder of the gas lift is located in the upper part of the structure. If a person sits on a chair and presses a lever (button), the mechanism begins to lower, pulling the seat down. After this, the cylinder returns to its original position. When you press the button without load on the seat, the air inside the gas lift pushes the rod up. At the same time, the seat begins to rise.