Here’s a sneak peek of what my sofa is going to look like. Yes, It is almost done! And you all (especially my dear, dear husband) are probably like FINALLY!!!!!

Isn’t it pretty? I just love the feeling, so soft and velvety!

- ASH

Today is all about springs. There are two types of springs:

Coil seat springs

Serpentine/sinuous/zig zag springs.

It is best that you replace the springs with the same kind the furniture being upholstered originally came with. Mine sofa came with the serpentine springs. And I was actually relieved to find that out because the coil seat springs are much more complicated to install.

To install the serpentine springs, you remove the old and nail in the new. It is really that simple. It just takes a lot more man power than I could handle.. so I didn’t do this part alone.

Before getting started in replacing, you’ll need to buy new springs, spring clips, and twine. The spring clips are what holds the springs to the wood. The twine goes across the multiple springs to balance the weight out on to more than a few springs. If these are broken, it can cause your springs to deform.

Okay, so first was to remove the springs. That was easy enough. The spring clips were metal pieces pierced in to the wood frame. It’s a bit hard to see in the picture but it is the thing pointing at you.

Next was to add the new clips. The Hubster nailed these in, I apparently lack in the muscels needed hold down a spring and hammer in a nail. We learned the easies way to do this was to go from the bottom (near the seat) to the top of the sofa. Here is a picture of a clip without the spring.

The bottom spring was attached so that part of it was pushing back on the wood frame. We replicated the original way the springs were attached. Here’s the bottom spring.

And then the spring at the top is attached on the first zig zag, like so.

We got two of them installed and took a break! It is hard work!!  

The next part is adding the metal twine to the springs to make sure the weight on the spring is balanced among the springs. They have special tools to clip the clips to the twine and spring in one step, however they cost about $45! My cheap self just used regular pliers to push together the clips. {blisters were included in the not so expensive option} 

Before adding the clip to the spring and twine, gently squeeze the clip a little to prevent it from falling.

Bend the three sides in to each other to form a tube clip and continue down the row. I added 4 rows of twine each to the seat and back springs to give it more support. {previously, it had only 3 each}

The springs part of the process had frightened me because I was worried that the springs wouldn’t get installed the right way or they would just pop right off. .. Luckily none of that has happened. Thanks of course to the Hubster for his muscles.

Things still left to do:

• Finish removing the fabric/padding.
• Inspect the springs and check if they need replacing  (The seating springs need to be replaced.)
• Decide if webbing is needed to hold shape between the spaces in the frame. (The original piece used cardboard..) (Webbing will go over the armrests and some on the back.)
• Pick fabric and order
• Get foam for backing and seating; batting and foam for springs and sides
• Start fixing the frame
• Apply webbing
• Replace springs
• Attach all padding on to the sofa
• Attach the fabric

Check out the journey up until here:
Part 1 – Starting the upholstery process
Part 2 – Ripping the sofa to the bare bones
Part 3 – Shopping for supplies

Sorry for the lack up posts in the past couple of weeks. Life happens sometimes and you have to just deal with it.

- ASH

[Photos from here and here]

This post is all about spending the money. If you missed my previous posts about removing the junk from a sofa then check them out: Part 1 and Part 2.

I found this neat website DIYUpholsterySupply.com. I was able to buy some serpentine springs that I needed to replace. As I mentioned in Part 2, the backing springs were crooked and out of shape. Also the spring wires are all broken so I invested in some of those as well. And I needed clips to hold the springs and the spring wires down so I bought some of those. But the biggest thing I bought were the foam cushions. I am getting the seating cushion custom cut to 6x24x48 (Thickness X Width X Length). And I bought two precut foams for the backing cushions, 4x24x28.

Memorial day weekend came and went. It was not too good for me as I was planning on working on my sofa for three days. Instead, I spent most of it on a bed being sick. However, I wouldn’t say it was bad for me either.

Friday of the weekend, I headed to JoAnn Fabrics for the webbing I needed to fix the armrests on the sofa. I took a quick detour around the store {always a bad idea when you have nothing in particular you’re looking for}. I noticed signs everywhere saying “Memorial Day Sale 50% off”!! When I went to the cutting area to get my webbing cut, I asked if the special order upholstery fabric was also included in the 50% off Memorial Day Sale. To my delight, they said YES! It was like finding a four leaf clover or winning the lottery. {Okay, I’m being a bit dramatic; but still can you believe it!}

The weekend before, the Hubster and I had gone to a JoAnn store near our house to get webbing. It wasn’t there, but I took the opportunity to ask his opinion on the fabrics to reupholster with. To my surprise he looked around and found some he liked. When I went to see the price on these fabrics I was slapped on the face. It read $59.99. {I’m serious, I never expected the fabric to cost more than $20/yard} So finding these same fabrics on 50% off was a goldmine.

I told the Hubster about it and he was excited to {just not AS excited as me}. We went to the store the next day and found fabric we liked. In the process of looking for the perfect one, you get overwhelmed by the amount of options to choose from. Some were pretty but not practical. We reminded ourselves that the sofa was going to be used daily so the nice, pretty, shiny fabrics were out of question. They are usually for sofas or chairs that are hardly used.

And we also had to keep each other away from the silly ones we found. Like this one with puppies all over it. {The image is linked to the fabric page, just in case you find it cute and attractive. I’m not judging. }

It came down to two fabrics that we liked. One that was deep brown with textured florals on it and another that had somewhat of a burlap base with black fuzzy paisleys. The black/burlap one seemed a bit too much and we both agreed that we’d need a contrasting color to go around the back and side of the sofa. Also the paisleys seemed to be stuck on to the burlap fabric. I was a bit skeptical that it would stay in the same condition over the years of wear and tear. The brown fabric had a nice thickness and it was soft to touch. So in the end the brown won. I needed 10 yards of it, that’s being on the safe side. Of course, when we got to the cutting counter, there was only 8.3 yards on the bolt. *sigh* We had to special order it, which meant paying $11 in shipping {which we both thought was a rip off because it is being shipped to the store}. However, we saved a ton because the fabric was *drum roll, please* $13.99/yard! Oh and to top it off this store had just opened and I had a coupon for 20% off an entire purchase, including items on sale! {I was jumping all the way to the car!} Hmm, in my excitement I forgot to mention, I also got foam for the armrests and front facing wood and decking fabric to put where the cushions go. The decking fabric is used so you don’t spend more money on the upholstery fabric for a place of the sofa no one will see but you.

Things still left to do:

• Finish removing the fabric/padding.
• Inspect the springs and check if they need replacing  (The seating springs need to be replaced.)
• Decide if webbing is needed to hold shape between the spaces in the frame. (The original piece used cardboard..) (Webbing will go over the armrests and some on the back.)
• Pick fabric and order
• Get foam for backing and seating; batting and foam for springs and sides
• Start fixing the frame
• Apply webbing
• Replace springs
• Attach all padding on to the sofa
• Attach the fabric

Have you happened upon a great deal like we did? What are some of your guidelines of keeping on task when shopping for something particular? Stay tuned to see how it all comes together.

- ASH

It is the end of day 4. I have been delayed a bit with other things so even though it is day 4 I’ve only spent a few hours each day working on the sofa.

I’ve confirmed that I still have dust allergies. I’ve sneezed up a storm with all the dust. I finally gave in on the third day and went out and bought some Claritin. Boy was that a relief!

Day 2 I started removing the back fabric and the sides. It was an interesting and sometimes dangerous task; lots of staples and weird surprise.

Yeah, those spikes were used to keep the back fabric in along with the screw.

I also in the process discovered why the armrests were so uncomfortable. They were supported by CARDBOARD!!! And the cardboard broke over the years to make a very uncomfortable sofa. You couldn’t lie down or lean against the armrests for long periods of time. Don’t believe me .. see for yourself! Oh and over the cardboard was cotton stuffing .. not very supportive when going down a hole.

Wanna see the final nekid sofa? It looks so sad and cold. I put the cushions there to test out how I wanted the new cushions to be placed. I am getting one large cushion for the seating and two for the backing. They will be placed just like this.

I have some touch ups to do before going forth and putting everything back together. Notice the springs on the backing in the picture above. Yeah they are out of shape. Luckily the seating springs are in great shape so I won’t be replacing those. However, I will have to replace the twine that holds them all in place. I’ll also be filling in some holes with wood glue.

Things still left to do:

• Finish removing the fabric/padding.
• Inspect the springs and check if they need replacing  (The seating springs need to be replaced.)
• Decide if webbing is needed to hold shape between the spaces in the frame. (The original piece used cardboard..) (Webbing will go over the armrests and some on the back.)
• Pick fabric and order
• Get foam for backing and seating; batting and foam for springs and sides
• Start fixing the frame
• Apply webbing
• Replace springs
• Attach all padding on to the sofa
• Attach the fabric

I’m getting closer. Next step, shopping! Do you think you’d do a project like this? Stay tuned to see how it all comes together.

- ASH