The Washington Post
Keeping Lawn Chairs Ready for Lazing
Many of our fondest summer fantasies include a vision of hours lazing outdoors—by the pool or on a patio or lawn. But those visions begin to sag when the chairs and chaises we hope to lounge in lose their shape, or their webbing rips or frays.
The lightweight, aluminum folding chairs that have been a staple of American porches and patios for decades can be fixed at home ‘if you can find the webbing’ say Washingtonian George Denney, a retired State Department official who enjoys creating new backs and seats in a medley of stripes and colors for furniture that would otherwise end up on the trash heap.
Denney, a confirmed do-it-yourselfer, says he has been ‘webbing’ for so long he can’t remember the first time he tried it. He starts with kits that include lengths of the plastic mesh fabric and fasteners, available at hardware or home improvement stores such as Home Depot. He warns that there’s usually a limited selection of colors.
He says it takes 15-20 minutes to replace the webbing on a small chair and about twice as long for a chaise. ‘If you follow the directions and use a sharp awl to make the hole, it’s easy,’ he says.
Repairing higher-end outdoor furniture, however, can be more difficult. The heavy vinyl strips used by such companies as Brown Jordan, Winston and Tropitone are not available in off-the-shelf kits, and some of their intricately woven patterns and painted or powder-coated finishes are harder to duplicate. For these lawn-furniture rehabs, Jim Kaufman at Criterion Lawn Furniture Repair in Keyser, W.Va, has the answers.
With an office in Springfield, Criterion services the Baltimore-Washington, Richmond area, repairing woven and wrought-iron lawn furniture. The company started 20 years ago on Kaufman’s back porch, has become the repair resource for a number of area retailers, hotels and homeowner associations. It also handles area warranty work for top-of-the-line Brown Jordan.
To repair vinyl strip seating, former upholsterer Kaufman and his crew work with manufacturer’s materials whenever available, heating and stretching the strips to reproduce the original pattern. If a piece is very old and its original webbing material isn’t available, Criterion will use a new vinyl that approximates the old. Workers also can create a weave pattern that harmonizes with the furniture style or follows a customer’s fancy, using vinyl in widths ranging from ½-inch tubing to 2-inch flat straps. Customers can opt to reproduce the existing color scheme or substitute a rainbow of colors.
To keep abreast of vintage styles and current trends, Kaufman consults with manufacturers and does a lot of research. As a result, Criterion is able to repair discontinued pieces by companies such as Medallion and Molla. ‘These were high-end pieces’ made in the 50s through 70s, Kaufman says, ‘and their frames are still fine.’
The company can also reproduce the original wet-paint look or powder-coated finishes on the frames of most models, and make coordinating custom cushions.
Kaufman says customers should compare the cost of rehabbing old furniture to the cost of buying new pieces. For example, a new Tamiami chair by Brown Jordan sells for $185, according to Todd Crandall, sales manager of Schirmer’s in Falls Church, which has used Criterion’s services for two decades. “Tamiami is one of Brown Jordan’s oldest designs, dating to 1959. People come in and see them and say, ‘That’s just what was in my parents’ backyard,’ and they want the same thing. Meanwhile, older people are having their vintage Tamiamis rehabbed.’ If you have one 10 years old or more you can replace the faded vinyl for $50 to $60. To sandblast and refinish as well as reweb would bring the repair cost to $110.
‘Generally, completely rehabbing chairs runs less than half the cost of buying new ones,’ Kaufman calculates. ‘Redoing chaise lounges is even less—not more than $200. That’s about one-third the price.’
The company also has an extensive inventory of nylon caps, which fit onto leg tubing for a finishing touch and to keep dirt and grass from getting into the frames. It also can fabricate the caps, called glides, for unusual pieces or those for which glides are no longer made. ‘It won’t come out looking like a Band-Aid job,’ Kaufman says.
One increasing demand has been for slings, a chair made of sleek mesh fabric that water passes through, designed as one piece with the back and seat molded in a curving shape. Pulled tight across a track frame, slings are secured by a spline that fits into the track frame groove and locks the fabric in place.
According to Kaufman, replacement slings are sold but these may not be easy for customers to install by themselves. ‘Nine out of 10 times, they won’t be able to get it in.’ The up-shot: Criterion gets called to install store-bought slings correctly. It also fabricates tricky replacement slings for vintage designs like Woodard. ‘The main thing is, to make sure a sling fits, we need to have the frame to work with,’ Kaufman says.
Like vinyl webbing, a sling’s life span is seven to 10 years. Depending on care, smooth frames can last 15 to 20 years without being blasted and refinished.
Criterion will work from pictures and often is able to give estimates over the phone, based on snapshots and customer-supplies information. The company offers free pick-up and delivery.
To prolong the life of outdoor furniture, Kaufman advises simple procedures: To maintain vinyl, clean off suntan oil using a mild dishwashing soap and avoid strong cleaners. If more is needed try a vinyl cleaner (Feron, Armor All and SunBright make these) to cut the grim. Then follow up with soapy water to get rid of any lingering chemical, using a long point brush for tight areas. Finally, give it a slightly pressurized rinse with the hose. But don’t ‘pressure wash.’ Over time, this will blow the vinyl coating off the mesh materials, he warns.
As for extending the life of a chair or chaise frame, Kaufman advises owners to ‘treat it like a car finish.’ Don’t use abrasives or steel wool. Clean it gently using a mild soap with water to rinse off dirt. Every once in a while, apply an auto polishing compound to restore the sheen lost to oxidation and sun fade. Kaufman also uses a car finishing wax to protect pieces from sun and water.
But many of the new textured finishes that appear pitted, granular or salt-glazed, he points out, can’t be waxed. For those, soap and water applied with a soft brush will do the trick. (Don’t use a sponge; the craterlike surface will just shred it.)
Where to find it: Criterion Inc. Lawn Furniture Repair, Rt. 5, Box 835 Keyser, West VA 26726; 800-422-8360 or 304-788-3190; fax at 304-788-6099
