How Much Does It Cost To Repair Office Chair?

Your office speaks about your company. Now imagine a beautifully kept office room with a modern interior. But as soon as the clients or you sit on the chair, it starts to wobble.

Guess what? Nothing else matters after that. That’s why if you have an office, you must look out for broken chairs. But the question is, how much does it cost to repair an office chair?

You have to pay around $40 to $70 for labor per hour to repair office chair. If the chair needs a reupholster, the cost can be $800 on average. To repair a squeaking mechanism be prepared to spend at least $60-$80 to hundred dollars depending on the quality. However, if the chair only has some scratches, you can get away with only a $5 to $20 kit.

In this article, we will target each part of your office chair and try to explain the cost of restoring it. So, if your chair is giving you a lot of trouble, you don’t want to miss it.

How Much Does It Cost To Repair Office Chair?

Now we will look at different issues you might face with an office chair and give an estimated cost to repair it.

 Caster Fall-Out

The most common problem with office chairs is caster-wheels falling out. People love wheels on their chairs when they are working on their desks. It gives you more flexibility to move around.

Plus, it eliminates any kind of sound while pulling in or out. But rolling chairs can face caster fall-out several times throughout their life. It happens because the surface is not smooth anymore.

 Hence every glide creates unnecessary friction and leads to its eventual fall-out. Thankfully, this issue is the easiest to solve. You can just buy a new caster set for $40 and pay the repairers to fix it. The total cost should not be more than $80.

However, if you have a wooden chair, the process will be a bit more complicated and take longer. The most common case includes caster holes that are wider than the wheels.

 In such a case, the repairers will fill the hole and drill another one of a perfect size. You can expect to pay more labor charges for this.

 Squeaky Mechanism

A mechanism is like the spine of your office chair. It is the part that enables the chair to make certain adjustments. It helps you tilt the seat when you want to stay closer to the desk. And most importantly it makes sure you are comfy and enjoying the position.

When you feel wobbly while sitting on the chair, or hear a squeak noise every time you tilt back and forth, it is the fault of a broken mechanism. Most people think it means the end of the chair’s life. But that’s not the case. You can repair it.

Excluding the labor charge per hour, you can buy a chair mechanism for $60 to $80. If you search a little hard, If the other features are perfectly fine, getting a new mechanism is enough to get the brand-new feeling again.

Sometimes you don’t even have to pay for a new set. You can hold the chair upside down and unscrew some bolts. Then pull the lift cylinder out. The process will be over within 30 minutes. You won’t have to call an agency but a small kit will be needed.

Worn Out Seats

Throughout life, your office chair can lose its glamor and become dull. The most effective method to fix those worn-out seats is reupholstering. If you are confused regarding reupholster, it means changing the overall body of the chair except for the hardware or “bones.”

It is a pretty convenient service. For example, you bought an expensive chair. But after some years, you don’t like the look anymore. You can reupholster the chair and give it a make-over. and that includes changing the material also.

The cost range is comparatively wide for reupholstering. Because when it comes to choosing the material or fabric for your seats there are numerous options.

You can either go for a glamorous look with a leather cover or something cheaper like polyester. That’s why the cost for material can lie somewhere between $50 to $2000 per yard including the labor charge per hour.

Cracked Leather Seat

Having a leather chair can be a symbol of luxury and a cause of headache at the same time. The thing is, leathers need regular reconditioning to maintain the shine and color. If you fail to do so, you will see cracks in different places. But the simple holes or leather is not enough to throw the chair out.

So what you can do is, ask for a reconditioning service from the agency.Excluding the labor charge per hour, you have to spend around $25 to $50 per yard of fabric. Also, there are different categories of leather.

The full-grain ones are more expensive. They cost around $140 per yard. You see, the price threshold will vary according to the choice you make.

In the reconditioning process, a protective layer will be applied over the leather. It acts as a barrier and prevents moisture loss.

Broken Arm-rest

We end up with broken arm-rests as a result of putting too much pressure on them. Plus, the armrests are the least strong part of the chair’s whole body. Normally it is made of plastic.

You don’t practically need a professional if you have access to certain tools like rope, plastic epoxy, duct tape, etc.

All you have to do is disassemble the arm from the chair completely. Then measure the height where you want to rest your arm while working. Once you find it, use a rope to position the arm and then glue it with epoxy.

However, we understand you won’t have enough for that if your office is busy. In that case, the cost won’t be much since it only takes a few minutes. Plus no extra material would be needed. All you have to pay is the minimum labor charge.

Here we would like to suggest getting a high-density arm-rest foam. It absorbs the pressure your hands give. And more than that, it just feels better.

Repair Or Replace- Which One Is Better?

Now that’s a big question. It entirely depends on how old the chair is and its quality. It won’t be easy to replace an office chair with sentimental value to you.

The same goes for high-quality luxury chairs. Who would want to spend $2000 on an office chair every few years? In that case, repairing seems to be the best option.

And when it comes to repairing your office chair, the earlier the better. Delaying it will only add to the repairing cost. Take an example, if the leather has dried up, you can spend a few dollars to recondition it. And the chair will shine like a brand new one.

But the case will be different if you wait until the leather starts to crack. In that case, you have to pay some extra money to cover the chair with a new leather coat.

However, high-quality office chairs have an average lifespan of five to ten years. If your chair has lived that long before showing the signs of aging, maybe it’s time to let it go. If the purchase price for the chair was between $100 to $350, it would be better to get a new one.

Even if you want to try some DIY techniques, it would require investment in tools and equipment. Plus, there is no guarantee of success.

On the other hand, with a repairing agency, you will need to pay $25 to $50 per hour excluding the cost of materials that can cost another $40 to $100. If you do a little cost and benefit analysis, you won’t find it attractive anymore.

In that scenario, we would suggest getting a new one and saving your time.

Tips To Increase The Lifespan Of Your Office Chair

By far we have discussed the cost of repairing a chair and when you should repair over replacement. But once you repair it, how can you make it last longer? Simply, how can you delay the next repair appointment?

Check out these tips below to increase the lifespan of your office chairs.

• Regular cleaning is the key. Sometimes we use the wrong method to wash the seats. That leads to the short lifespan of the chairs. You must check the upholstery tag beneath the seat plate. It contains information regarding what kind of product you should use to clean it up.

For example, if you see “W” that means the cleaning ingredient has to be water or water-based. Whereas the sign “S” means you have to use a water-free solvent.

But you have to be careful with the “X” mark. It indicates that the seat must be vacuumed or brushed only. If you can get this right, the seats will last longer than average.

• Periodic lubrication is a must. Most office chairs come with casters that stop rolling or become rigid after some time. the problem is the lack of lubrication. Lubricants like grease oil keep the caster wheel’s surface smoother. As a result, they glide effortlessly. So if you don’t want to fix faulty casters again, make sure you keep them nice and smooth.

• Be aware of spilling water or other drinks like tea or coffee in the leather seat. Although a little spill here and there should be okay, it must not be frequent. Water spills can leave stains. And it can hurt the oil coating of the seat.

• Inspect the screws and bolts periodically. If anything seems loose, tighten it properly. Fixing these things can save you the trouble of repairing them at a higher cost later. Some chairs come with a lot of fasteners while others don’t. Use a screwdriver to find those and tighten them up before the chair breaks down.

Wrapping Up

A broken office chair can reduce your productivity and increase back pain. And if that chair is for clients or visitors, that is even worse. The embarrassment is too much to handle.

Now we don’t want that, do we?

So we would recommend you to follow this guide and get your office chair repaired as soon as possible. You don’t necessarily need a top-notch repairing agency for that.

If the chair doesn’t have any major issues except some scratches here and there, try fixing it yourself. All you need is a repairing kit with essential tools and technical know-how.

However, if the issue falls within the category we discussed here, it would be better to get help from a professional.