Kiln-dried hardwood, 8-way hand-tie, double dowelled glued & screwed
Tom W
4 years ago
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Tom W
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Can Sinuous Springs be a mark of quality?
Comments (14)I know that this tread is a bit old, but thought I would toss in some input. Simplyjeff is right on. Sinuous is NOT a quality compromise. My family has been in the furniture business for over 40 years and we have had major accounts with all types of suppliers especially those in foam and coils. I have actually toured a coil factory in NC that makes a "fake" 8 way hand tie coil simply because people ask for it, but the truth is that coils are good enough now that they don't need to be tied. Here is the long and short of it. Some people only carry lines with 8 way hand ties, that is fine, but they will only promote that as "The" way to make furniture. It is like using a rotary telephone when you have a cell phone in your pocket. It will work, won't drop a call, but when it comes down to it, it basically does the same thing. The major issue with sinuous is how it is installed. If it is installed correctly, i.e. the number of coils per sq in, the gauge and secured then it will not fail. There is a reason that some call it "No Sag." Because it will not sag. When it comes down to comfort a lot of that has to do with the density and IFD of the foam that you are selecting for your core/wrap of your cushions. One person stated above that quality=weight, but then mentioned MDF wood. Quality and MDF should never be in the same sentence when it comes to furniture. Whether it be kiln dried or air dried woods, hardwood is the best way to go when constructing a frame. Some companies use pressed wood to cut cost and still charge you 3k for a chair because they have a brand name and sell through retailers who all need to make a markup on each piece to make it worth their time. We use sinuous in almost all of our seating applications, so I may be the other side of the bias, however the in 40 years we have been in business, the number of issues we have with seat failures is basically less than 1%. Tankertoad, I saw that you were talking about foam density, 2.0 is a great density, but also check the IFD which is the amount of weight it takes to compress typically 25% of the capacity of the foam, sometimes they give you the 75% number as well. The quality of foam is just as more important as deciding whether 8 way or sinuous is the way to go. General rule of thumb 1.8 and above on density in sufficient and over 30 IFD is typical for residential use. 10/90 down is great if down is your thing, 5/95 down is also fine if that is what you are looking for. Down cushions and back pillows are what they are. They are going to be soft and have a great feel, but they will need fluffing from time to time. You will lose fill capacity much quicker with down than you will with a softer density foam wrap over time but this is really a preference thing. We can achieve the same crowing and appearance with foam as with down, and it will last longer. Typically high end foam only will shrink less than 5% over 10 years. Overview, you asked the right questions. There is no sense covering a "bad" frame in expensive fabric. It is like putting lipstick on a pig. Still a pig. But as far as Sinuous vs 8 Way, both work, it is more of a feel thing and honestly if you are feeling those coils then the foam selection is incorrect. Either way you should never "bottom out" in either. You should never feel the bottom of your seat. Coils will wear out faster than sinuous. It is a spring and springs wear. That is a fact! When it comes to selecting down, again a preference thing, just make sure that you realize that it will need some routine upkeep, but that in a standard 3 cushion maybe 86" length sofa with typical seat depths you are looking at a 1k to 1500 upgrade at retail costs. But if you like chardonnay then drink chardonnay. This is your choice. The main reason that we choose to use sinuous is because of consistency. You get a much more consistent seat surface over the span of your sofa, especially if you are looking at a matching loveseat or chair. If you use the same gauge and same number over same area you get the same seat. This may be harder to achieve with 8 way as the number of coils may need to be reduce or a smaller gauge may need to be used in order to "fit" the drop in unit in the seat deck. I hope that this information helps, maybe for future furniture selection. Remember the questions you asked are the right ones and need to be answered when you are looking at selecting your furniture. When it comes to warranties, I always remember "Tommy Boy" the movie. "Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for now, for your customer's sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality product from me." My Best...See MoreFurniture 101 : Q&A
Comments (103)Chris2009_2009, I'll try to answer your question though I'm not an expert by any means. Sounds like instead of 8 way hand tied springs, coil springs, s-springs, blue steel springs the furniture you are looking at has rubber webs to hold the cushions up. I may be wrong here but my best guess is check out an upholstered dining/kitchen chair, usually they have a webbing underneath them to hold the upholstered seating in place and give support. Of course the furniture could just be rubber/vinyl strips going from front to back or side to side like a lawn chair....See MoreSplitstop screws and other questions
Comments (15)I use a forstner bit for all of my visible holes. It does a much cleaner job. A hole saw will work fine for the larger holes. One thing is still bothering me. It's this whole gluing business. Let me try to put this issue to bed with a real world example. I built a deck and a screened porch on my house. The deck is PT and the floor of the porch is ipe. In the winter, the PT deck boards almost touch each other, and in the summer, the spacing between them grows to about 1/2". The ipe, on the other hand, has almost no noticeable difference in the spacing between summer and winter. What does this mean? It means that different species of wood expand and contract at different rates. It is never a good idea to glue different species of woods together, especially in an outdoor environment, and especially with a hardwood like tigerwood and a softwood like yellow pine (PT). If you do, one of two things is going to happen, or a combination of both: 1) The glue bond between the boards is going to break. What's the point of gluing it if it's not going to hold? 2) The glue is going to hold, but the greater expanding PT is going to stretch the less expanding tigerwood to the point where it cracks. Here's another thing to consider: When you put glue on wood, it loses it's ability to breathe. If you slather the backs of your fascias with glue, you create a situation where the back of the board can't breathe, but the front can. What's the result? Cupping, splitting, cracking, warping. Also, if you accidentally get any glue on the visible portions of the wood, these areas will show up when you stain the deck, because these areas won't take any stain. Here's my advice: If you already bought the glue, find the receipt and return it. It's better practice to let wood breathe and move when it's outside. Everybody wants their joints to stay perfect, but it's not gonna happen. You're not going to win a battle against Mother Nature. The only thing I ever glue when I build decks are post caps....See Moresheetrock - screws or nails?
Comments (36)"...In the US, the drywall manufacturer recommended screw spec for wood studs is 1 1/4" Type W Bugle Head Screws. For metal studs they would be Type S..." - New England Architect I'm sure this specificatuion is the least you can use. The bare minimum. 1 5/8" screws is what I spec on all 1/2" and 5/8" drywall or quiet rock installs. Course thread for wood fine thread for metal. Wood screws can back out of metal studs because of the design and vibration. Fine thread screws can pull out of wood because there is not enogh grip. Drywallers here are getitng lazy. I see the guys using tiny 14 volt drills. It's no wonder they don't have a helper follwing them to hold the screws. It's not all the guys but it is a trend I'm seeing on more and more jobs. Check the fastners and specify what you want....See MoreTom W
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4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoDiana Bier Interiors, LLC
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