Upholstery project.

P

pawl

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 Aug 2018
Messages
131
Location
Hampshire
Visit site
hi, I'm starting to think about my winter project which is to get my upholstery sorted out. I was thinking of having it completely redone, 2 settee berths and a quarter berth. However, I have just got the quote for this and it way more than I'm willing to pay.

There's not much wrong with the material, except that I've never really liked it, so maybe I could get it cleaned. What I'm concerned about is the foam cushions, now 28 years old, so may be disintegrating?

Does anyone know where I can get new foam pads made or know of anyone who might undertake this work, I would welcome any thoughts or advice particularly if you have recently been through a similar exercise. Boat is based in Chichester Harbour.
 
I am in a very similar position. As far as I know, there is no reason why coverings can not, at least sometimes, be reused. Mine have old, seized zips which would have to be replaced, but otherwise seem OK.

A Google search on "upholstery foam supplier" throws up many possibilities..
 
Upholstery foam is easy to cut with a sharp, thin bladed knife (carving knife type). Buy sheets of foam of the required thickness, lay the old foam on top, draw round and cut with said sharp knife. Helps to have an assistant opening the foam up as you cut to stop the blade binding.
Loads of suppliers out there. This ones off eBay Upholstery Foam - Cut to Size - ALL SIZES AVAILABLE - PLEASE MESSAGE SELLER | eBay but putting upholstery foam into a search will find plenty to go at.
As to reusing the existing covers, you’ll need to remove them before starting the process: if they come off intact and clean up OK, then obviously you can reuse them. If the a zip fails, replacing it isn’t too difficult as a diy project. If that’s beyond your comfort zone, then many dry cleaners will be able to offer a zip replacement service.
 
I repaired, washed and reused my 1977 vintage covers. I bought new foam for the saloon, but the other matresses were OK. It's simple and cheap to just sew up the broken zips - how often are you going to open them up, after all?
 
hi, thanks for your replies so far, my skills, if any, do not stretch to sewing or upholstery of any sort, it usually ends up a mess. This despite the fact that I once did an upholstery course at evening class, even then I had to get the project redone by a professional. What I'm hoping to find is someone who will do it for me, most of the cushions are either tapered, rounded or sculptured in some way which adds a complication that I'd rather not tackle.

again, many thanks for your replies.
 
Having never tackled upholstery before we set about making new covers for ours. Not one of them was square or rectangular!

We purchased a sewing machine, spent ages deliberating over fabric and then faced the nerve racking task of cutting the first piece of fabric from a £300+ roll. Spending well over £1000 to have them made for us was out of the question. Caravan upholsterers we approached soon got very expensive when shown the random shaped cushions.

Took us about an evening or two per cusion depending on size once we got into the swing of it.

We are more than pleased with the result.

Chris
 
pawl said:
hi, thanks for your replies so far, my skills, if any, do not stretch to sewing or upholstery of any sort, it usually ends up a mess. This despite the fact that I once did an upholstery course at evening class, even then I had to get the project redone by a professional. What I'm hoping to find is someone who will do it for me, most of the cushions are either tapered, rounded or sculptured in some way which adds a complication that I'd rather not tackle.

again, many thanks for your replies.
Click to expand...
Comfort Afloat in Gosport specialise in boat upholstery, as the name implies.
 
pawl said:
hi, I'm starting to think about my winter project which is to get my upholstery sorted out. I was thinking of having it completely redone, 2 settee berths and a quarter berth. However, I have just got the quote for this and it way more than I'm willing to pay.

There's not much wrong with the material, except that I've never really liked it, so maybe I could get it cleaned. What I'm concerned about is the foam cushions, now 28 years old, so may be disintegrating?

Does anyone know where I can get new foam pads made or know of anyone who might undertake this work, I would welcome any thoughts or advice particularly if you have recently been through a similar exercise. Boat is based in Chichester Harbour.
Click to expand...
Bristol Upholstery and Soft Furnishings are good- I’ve used them for the boat and home for foams to fill fabrics.
 
neil_s said:
I repaired, washed and reused my 1977 vintage covers. I bought new foam for the saloon, but the other matresses were OK. It's simple and cheap to just sew up the broken zips - how often are you going to open them up, after all?
Click to expand...
We are in the process of washing our upholstery, and several zips have been corroded past repair. We bought a reel of zip with about 20 sliders, and it hasn't been too arduous to cut that to length and sew it in. The hardest bit was unpicking the old zips! And we used an ordinary, fairly lightweight sewing machine; it has coped perfectly well. Sewing up the zips as you suggest would have to be done by hand, so overall I think it is less work to replace them.
 
We replaced the foam in a large, V berth (re-using the covers), buying suitable sized rectangles of foam online, and then cutting to the various shapes required using a carving knife and a Stanley knife. It wasn't difficult. The foam suppliers offer a service of cutting the foam to match templates you might provide, but that would have been extra cost and complication, so we did all the cutting ourselves. It was perhaps 4 or 5 years ago, but cost wasn't prohibitive - about £130(?), as far as I can recall. The cushions weren't particularly thick, though.

Do buy the right sort of foam. (I wouldn't touch reclaimed foam.) You need fairly firm foam for seats. You can use softer foam for seat backs or berths that aren't used for seats. Good suppliers will have info on this on their website.

You do need to cut the foam slightly larger than the covers it is going into, to ensure the covers are stretched taught and don't crease and wrinkle. I can't remember the exact factor to add - perhaps someone can advise? - perhaps about 1/4" to 3/8" per foot?

More recently, on a different boat, I've wanted to clean the upholstery covers. The material is nice, probably original (40 years old!), and generally in remarkable condition but was recently stained by rust from the metal upholstery buttons which had got wet from a window leak. There being no 'Care Instructions' for the material I had to bite the bullet and decide whether to risk washing or to risk dry cleaning. Either could have been a mistake. I plumped for the latter (and had to sign a disclaimer in case of damage). They've come out without damage, but it hasn't removed all the staining. One zip is gone, and I'll probably stitch it up for now, and replace the zip later.

Finding replacements for missing/damaged buttons when you don't have any spare matching material has been too traumatic an experience to recount, but you can find videos on YouTube etc. on how to refit/rethread the buttons, and buy a suitable tool and thread for the job for not much money.
 
LittleSister said:
We replaced the foam in a large, V berth (re-using the covers), buying suitable sized rectangles of foam online, and then cutting to the various shapes required using a carving knife and a Stanley knife. It wasn't difficult. The foam suppliers offer a service of cutting the foam to match templates you might provide, but that would have been extra cost and complication, so we did all the cutting ourselves. It was perhaps 4 or 5 years ago, but cost wasn't prohibitive - about £130(?), as far as I can recall. The cushions weren't particularly thick, though.

Do buy the right sort of foam. (I wouldn't touch reclaimed foam.) You need fairly firm foam for seats. You can use softer foam for seat backs or berths that aren't used for seats. Good suppliers will have info on this on their website.

You do need to cut the foam slightly larger than the covers it is going into, to ensure the covers are stretched taught and don't crease and wrinkle. I can't remember the exact factor to add - perhaps someone can advise? - perhaps about 1/4" to 3/8" per foot?

More recently, on a different boat, I've wanted to clean the upholstery covers. The material is nice, probably original (40 years old!), and generally in remarkable condition but was recently stained by rust from the metal upholstery buttons which had got wet from a window leak. There being no 'Care Instructions' for the material I had to bite the bullet and decide whether to risk washing or to risk dry cleaning. Either could have been a mistake. I plumped for the latter (and had to sign a disclaimer in case of damage). They've come out without damage, but it hasn't removed all the staining. One zip is gone, and I'll probably stitch it up for now, and replace the zip later.

Finding replacements for missing/damaged buttons when you don't have any spare matching material has been too traumatic an experience to recount, but you can find videos on YouTube etc. on how to refit/rethread the buttons, and buy a suitable tool and thread for the job for not much money.
Click to expand...
Or use the guy on eBay who does it for you very cheaply.
 
I did mine a few years ago.. sourced fabric from end of line discount fabric shop. Cost me about 600 in total for

A woman that makes curtains made new covers by using the originals as templates....as I remember it the fact that I had the old covers was the thing that made it cheaper...

11 cushions including 6 full sized bunk based.

Fabric was flame retardant... Foam is original so probably 1980 standards...

The local fabric supplier made buttons for me and commented on my fabric (she was a friend of my mother's.. otherwise she would have ran me out the door).. she would have supplied it at 5 times what I had paid...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top