FURNISHINGS : The Chair Yields--to Needed Repairs

It wouldn’t seem like summer if you couldn’t flip open a lawn chair. Unfortunately, regular use and exposure to the elements tends to wear out the webbing or fabric. Here’s how to fix those shabby chairs before your next picnic:

* Remove the old webbing or fabric. When you take off interwoven webbing, pay close attention to how it is attached and arranged. Save the screws.

* Whether it’s wood or metal, refurbish the frame.

* On the wood frame of a director’s chair, repair any loose joints, and refinish or paint the frame if you like.

* Clean an unpainted aluminum frame with soapy scouring pads, followed by a coat of car wax.

* If the frame is enameled, clean it with a non-abrasive household cleaner.

Replacement polypropylene and vinyl tubular webbing are available in kits at hardware stores and home centers. Although you should not expect the webbing material to last for more than a couple of years, look for brands that carry guarantees concerning their durability to be sure you get the maximum possible wear.

Polypropylene Webbing

This webbing is woven together to form the chair seat and back. Measure for a replacement strap by stretching the webbing taut across the chair frame from screw hole to screw hole, then add 3 1/2 inches for the reinforced ends. Cut a strap.

At each end of the strap, fold over one corner, then the other, to form a triangle. Make a hole with an awl or punch through the folded material; push a screw through it, and attach it to the frame. Pulling strap tight, repeat at other end.

Continue, attaching all straps in the same manner. Weave vertical straps between horizontal ones.

On some chairs, the straps are attached with curved clips instead of screws.

Tubular Vinyl Webbing

This webbing wraps as one continuous piece around a chair’s seat and back. Locate the starting hole at a corner of the chair back frame. Fold over the end of webbing one inch; push a screw through it and attach it to the frame.

Tautly wrap the webbing around the chair, each row touching the previous one, until the last attachment point is reached; fasten as at the starting hole. Repeat for chair seat.

Director’s Chair

This chair has two cloth slings for its back and seat. Remove the old slings and use them as patterns. Hem the edges of the fabric to prevent unraveling. For the back sling, sew deep hems on two edges and slip them over the uprights.

Attach the seat sling by tacking it along the underside of the seat frame. Reassemble the frame; make sure screws are tight.