Some situations force you to disassemble office furniture and then the question arises: how to disassemble an office chair? All manufacturers include instructions for assembly in the box, but without sufficient experience, disassembly can cause some discomfort.
Now there are enough videos and photos on the Internet about how to properly disassemble an office chair with your own hands. This procedure helps to get rid of unnecessary spending of money on a new chair, when repairing one of the parts, and will also save space when moving. Also, the need for disassembly arises during renovation, when excess furniture not only gets very dirty, but also takes up a lot of free space.
Design features of an office chair
Before you get started, you need to understand the basic design features of chairs for sitting at a personal computer. There are several parts that are often installed in such chairs.
Five-pointed cross
Many people overlook this design component because it is located at the bottom. The crosspiece is considered one of the main parts of the chair, since it is responsible for stability. If it is of poor quality, the furniture will quickly break. When choosing the diameter of the cross, future loads should be taken into account. Experts advise choosing models with a diagonal of 60-65 centimeters, as they are the most reliable and durable.
Rollers
Special wheels are installed on the five-spoke crosspiece, thanks to which you can move the chair on a flat floor surface. Casters are also considered the most important part of furniture, since they bear a considerable load. They are made from various materials, but the most common are polyurethane, polypropylene or nylon.
If the chair will be installed on a parquet or laminate flooring, it is better to choose a chair with polyurethane wheels.
Pneumatic cartridge
Every modern office chair is equipped with a special gas cartridge. This part is made in the form of a small metal cylinder, which is filled with an inert gaseous substance. The main purpose of the pneumatic chuck is to regulate the height of the seat. This detail is also needed to make it more convenient to use office furniture. The pneumatic cartridge is located between the seat and the five-beam cross with wheels.
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Rocking mechanism
Most models of chairs are equipped with an adjustment mechanism, with which a person can personally adjust the angle of the seat and backrest. The swing mechanism is also used to adjust the rigidity of the furniture and fix it in different positions. Expensive furniture is equipped with special synchronous mechanisms that automatically adjust the level of inclination when a person sits down at the computer.
Piastra
It's no secret that any office chair can be adjusted in height. The piastra is responsible for adjusting the height. This is a metal device mounted on the inner surface of the seat. The piastra is equipped with a special lever that acts on the pneumatic cartridge valve. This mechanism is widespread and is installed in both expensive and budget models of office chairs.
Permanent contact
Chairs that are equipped with permanent contact are suitable for people who have to spend a lot of time sitting at a personal computer. The properties of such a mechanism include the following:
- height adjustment of the backrest;
- seat depth adjustment;
- hardness adjustment;
- tilting the backrest forward or backward to prevent stiffening of the spinal discs.
Some types of permanent contacts allow you to fix the backrest in a certain position so that it does not constantly move.
General recommendations
Repairing the back of a computer chair, crossbar or gas lift will take very little time, but after repair the chair will become comfortable and will last more than a year. The main thing is to select parts that exactly match the model and carefully change them, following the technology and recommendations. To ensure that office chairs do not cause problems, they must be purchased from an online store with a reliable reputation and used correctly and carefully. Prestige and Sirius, Mango and Clio, Eteza and Bora, Synchro and Compact, Plaza and dozens of other models: manufacturers offer a large selection of chairs for home and office, from which you can choose models that are ideal for operating conditions. Quality, reliability, durability and other characteristics depend on the cost and purpose of the chairs.
Common breakdowns
There are several common breakdowns that require you to disassemble an office chair.
Damage to the cross
Often people encounter damage to the five-pointed cross. To disassemble it, you need to perform several sequential steps.
Remove rollers
Disassembling a broken crosspiece begins with removing the rollers attached to it. In most models, such wheels are not fixed too tightly and therefore it will be easy to remove them.
To do this, simply unscrew the mounting screws and carefully remove each of the rollers.
Dismantle the piastra
Having finished with the wheels on the crosspiece, they begin to dismantle the piastres, which are screwed to the surface of the seat with screws. You can unscrew them with a regular Phillips screwdriver or screwdriver. This must be done carefully so as not to damage the piastre.
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Remove the retaining clip
A special locking clip is installed in the upper part of the pneumatic chuck, which must be removed when disassembling the office chair. When removing this part, you can use different tools. Many people use wire cutters, a hammer, a screwdriver, and even scissors. When using a hammer, you must be careful not to break anything.
Knock out the gas lift
Having gotten rid of the locking clip, they are engaged in knocking out the installed gas lift. To perform the work, use a hammer with a rubberized head. Metal hammers are contraindicated, as they can damage the design of the pneumatic chuck. You need to hit the central part of the gas lift with a hammer until it breaks out.
Destruction of the swing mechanism
If the backrest starts to wobble a lot, it means there are problems with the swing mechanism. To disassemble it, perform the following steps:
- the bolts with which the part was attached to the seat are unscrewed;
- the gas lift installed inside the device is removed and the mechanism is removed.
Most often, the part cannot be repaired and therefore it is better to immediately replace it with a new one.
Air chuck failure
The pneumatic cartridge is a complex structure consisting of two chambers with air. When you press a special lever, each chamber is filled with air. If filling does not occur, the air chuck is seriously damaged. Problems may arise due to the damaged integrity of the seal and piston.
How to remove a gas lift for repairs
People who decide to repair the gas lift themselves will have to first unscrew it. There are several common methods for removing this part:
- stand with your feet on the crosspiece and strongly rock the seat, pulling it towards you with your hands, until the mechanism begins to be removed from the rod;
- turn the chair over, then carefully knock out the pneumatic cartridge with a hammer;
- Unscrew the gas lift from the seat and knock it out.
Tips for use
A computer chair, especially one that is being repaired, is a rather fragile and vulnerable structure. During operation, it is recommended to strictly adhere to the instructions. If you ignore existing rules, the shelf life of the product will be significantly reduced. To ensure that office furniture lasts a long time, the following points should be considered:
- It is not recommended to use chairs in rooms with high air humidity.
- If furniture was brought to an office or apartment from the cold, you cannot immediately begin assembly, since fragile plastic parts are very sensitive to temperature changes. It is best to start installation at least every other day.
- Do not put pressure on the bolts when assembling, otherwise the nut may get caught under the upholstery and you will have to disassemble the seat in search of fastenings.
- Do not exceed the permissible load on the rollers and crosspiece.
Do not sit on the chair alone, otherwise the base of the product may break. Employees with a large weight are recommended to choose chairs with a metal cross - it is more durable and reliable than plastic ones. It is strictly forbidden to fall on the swing seat.
You should be aware of the fragility of the armrests. Under no circumstances should you sit on them. Experts recommend tightening all mounting bolts once every quarter to prevent them from loosening over time. You should not use the seat to carry heavy objects; this will quickly damage the upholstery and break the mechanisms. You cannot bring a chair to the floor if it is covered with tiles: when the rollers get into the joints between its fragments, this leads to rapid wear.
In computer chairs, the fabric is quite vulnerable to external influences. The seat and backrest should be vacuumed weekly to prevent dust accumulation. For stubborn stains, use only those products recommended in the instructions for use. It is strictly forbidden to use traditional methods.
Do not allow children to play in the office chair for fun. This quickly wears out the rollers and crosshead, and also reduces the service life of the swinging mechanism.
In order for the chair to work for a long time and not break, it is necessary to strictly adhere to the operating requirements. If the warranty on a piece of furniture has already expired, you can carry out simple repairs yourself. The success of the repair depends on the severity of the problem, as well as the quality of the spare parts chosen to fix the problem.
Operating rules
What can break first?
First of all, the moving parts that take on the maximum load fail. The gas lift often fails. At some point it may lose its tightness. This can be seen by the fact that the chair cannot withstand the height and every time it sinks completely under your weight.
In addition, wheels can often break. We may accidentally run over something, the wheel may spin unsuccessfully, and so on. In this case, the chair will lose stability, which we will immediately feel.
For moving parts that often become loose and even break, we turn to the backrest support. This is where the spring and retainer mostly fail.
Let's look at each of these breakdowns and turn to the recommendations of professionals for eliminating them.
How to fix the back of a computer chair
Various breakdowns can occur with the rear. For example, at some point we may bend too much and the spring will not be able to resist. We can also damage the upholstery with our careless attitude, which simply needs to be changed. Let's look at each of these two cases.
The mechanism connecting the seat and backrest is called permanent contact. With this mechanism we can fix the position of the backrest at different angles. Often this mechanism breaks if you overdo it a little with the fixing screw. By clamping such a screw, we can break the thread, and only replacing it will help us. Before repairing, purchase a new screw. Typically, the permanent contact is covered by a plastic cover that can simply be removed by lifting it off. If you cannot turn the nut, use a grinder to disassemble it. After removing the old bolt, you can reassemble the mechanism with a new bolt.
Replacing the upholstery is a very simple matter. Let's look at the whole process step by step:
- Unscrew the adjusting screw from below and remove the back part.
- Remove the rear trim strip.
- Tear off the old trim from the clamps.
- At this time, you can wash the foam rubber, taking advantage of the moment.
- Now you can take a new coating and repeat the whole process in reverse order.
How to repair a gas cartridge with your own hands
First, the washer is removed from the bottom of the gas cartridge, after which the plastic casing is removed. Then the upper bearing with the rubber gasket is unscrewed. Having disassembled the product, carefully inspect the gasket. If it is worn out, it will have to be replaced. Sometimes, when sitting on a chair, a characteristic cracking sound is heard, indicating a bearing failure. In this case, it will have to be changed along with the rubberized gasket.
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Why do wheels sometimes break?
The rollers bear the main load. They take on the weight of the entire product and whoever sits on it. Even simple dust can reduce their service life and lead to clogging of moving parts. Even careful use of the chair cannot completely eliminate the possibility of it breaking, especially when there is a manufacturing defect.
If the chair looks presentable, but the casters are broken, you can wait to buy a new one. First you need to understand why the wheels broke.
The reasons for the breakdown of wheels on office chairs can be different, the most common include:
- The presence of unevenness on the floor on which they move.
- Exceeding the permissible load on the chair.
- Mechanical damage.
- Expired service life.
The need to replace wheels arises when the landing pin is worn out and there is a manufacturing defect. Buying a new chair because of one wheel is irrational, especially if a person likes it and has developed a habit of using the chair.
The solution to the problem in such cases is to disassemble the chair yourself and replace the wheels. There are certain nuances of dismantling worn out rollers and installing new ones that need to be understood.
Reference! If the chair is under warranty, but the wheels have already broken, then the reason lies in a manufacturing defect or wear of the landing pin. If the rollers begin to work poorly after some time, it is most likely due to contamination.
Accumulated dust, pet hair, and even carpet lint must be removed; in most cases, this will solve the problem. Contamination causes clogging of moving parts, reducing the service life of components.
In some models of chairs, the wheels cannot be removed for cleaning, so they have to be replaced. If the work chair can actually be disassembled, then anyone can handle cleaning the casters.
At the stage of disassembling the chair, you need to act extremely carefully and not rush into anything. Hasty actions may result in damage to parts. In addition, the chair may fall and cause injury.
Rocking mechanism
Another common malfunction is when the chair stops being held in a horizontal plane. Trying to lean on her back, she falls back. The position locks do not work.
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Here the swing mechanism was probably deformed and failed. In most cases, it is mounted on the chair structure using 4 screws. Sometimes a bolt-nut connection is used.
To remove and replace the mechanism, you will have to:
- unscrew the fastening bolts or screws that hold the mechanism;
- Carefully knock out the gas elevator from its seat;
- remove the swing mechanism;
- install a new element or try to restore the old one.
The swing mechanisms are made of metal. If it is deformed and damaged, restoration is unlikely. It is better to purchase a new spare part and install it in the reverse order.
[adv2]
But there is one problem. Most computer chairs are assembled in China. Domestic options are less common. Spare parts from our manufacturers do not fit Chinese chairs. This also applies to the mechanism under consideration. They are different in size. If the Chinese have parameters of 20x20 cm, then ours make them 20x15 cm.
Craftsmen came up with the idea of using adapter plates. This will prevent you from drilling new holes in the metal.
By installing a new mechanism, you will be able to repair the backrest yourself. There is nothing complicated here. And you will need the most classic instrument.
Tools
It is impossible to change wheels without a set of special tools. They are in every home and even in offices. We are talking about a screwdriver, hammer or pliers.
Instead of a screwdriver, you can use a special plate. Use a thin part to pry up the wheel, carefully disconnecting it. This tool is also needed to remove the plugs inserted into the rollers.
When disconnecting the rollers, the iron pin may become stuck in the crosspiece. Pliers will help to remove it. To knock out a stuck wheel, use a regular or rubberized hammer. It is used to disconnect the gas lift.
For a more thorough repair, which involves replacing not only the rollers, but also the cross, you will need a ring drift. It will simplify the separation of the cross from the gas lift.
Important! Experts advise using lubricant to treat parts before dismantling worn ones and installing others. Many people neglect this procedure and in vain. Lubricated chairs do not creak and last much longer.
Cross
Metal crosspieces break extremely rarely. But the plastic ones are deformed with enviable regularity. Destruction mainly occurs at the junction of the beams of the cross.
Some advise taking the damaged element, filling the hollow cross structure with some material such as a polypropylene pipe, and then using glue or a soldering iron to assemble everything. But the load will be too high, and such a connection is unlikely to last long.
The most correct solution would be to replace the computer chair element. To do this you need:
- Remove the rollers. Most often, they can be easily removed from their seats. If rigid fixation is used there, unscrew the fasteners and remove them;
- Remove the piastra. Fixation is carried out here on a cone. To disconnect the element from the gas lift, you need to gently but forcefully tap with a hammer at the connection point. If it doesn’t work well, use a lubricant like WD40;
- Remove the retaining clip. It is installed in the upward recess of the gas lift;
- Knock out the gas elevator itself. It is removed by knocking it out. It’s just extremely important not to hit the cylinder itself, which is filled with gas. This is dangerous to your health and life.
Then buy a new crosspiece and assemble the entire assembly in reverse order.
Computer chair repair at home
Computer chair parts that may need to be replaced or repaired
Office chair design diagram
If you are faced with a malfunction of your computer chair, you need to find out which part requires repair. One of the most common causes of failure is the gas lift, as the part that is most susceptible to wear.
Do-it-yourself repairs will not restore the full functionality of an office chair
There are two ways to fix a broken gas lift. The first option is to replace the faulty part with a new one, no matter what, from a whole chair or purchased in a store.
A chair gas lift or lifting mechanism is designed to adjust the height of an office chair
This method can be considered expensive, since it will require purchasing an entire gas lift. To make the replacement, you will need the following set of tools:
- carpenter's hammer;
- pliers;
- bolt with a diameter of at least 10 mm;
- screwdriver or screwdriver;
- technical lubricant.
Set of repair tools
To replace the legs of a computer chair, you must follow the step-by-step instructions:
- We remove the wheels and dismantle the seat back, for which we turn the chair over and unscrew the necessary screws from the bottom of the chair. This is necessary for subsequent ease of dismantling; you also need to remove the armrests, if any.
Disconnected chair mechanism
Let's start dismantling the gas lift
New gas lift to replace the broken one
Putting the cross into place
Assembled chair after repair
The second method is cheaper; it involves fixing the gas lift in one position. However, this method eliminates the possibility of adjusting the height of the chair, but if you need the same height, it is quite suitable. You will need:
- screwdriver;
- a pipe, rubber hose, or a set of washers, depending on what you have on hand;
- cloth to remove traces of oil.
Before starting repairs, it is important to make sure that there is no gas in the gas lift and that the gas chamber has free movement up and down, that is, if the height adjustment lever dangles freely. Only then follow the instructions.
According to the instructions presented earlier, remove the chair along with the swing mechanism, leaving the cross.
Use a mallet to knock the crosspiece off the chair; you need to hit it as close to the middle as possible, alternately from different sides of the pneumatic chuck
We turn it up and see a latch in the center, remove it, and then take out the oil-coated washers. Having done this, you can pull out the outer housing, from which the lifting rod sticks out, on which a rubber damper, a thrust washer, a bearing and a second thrust washer are attached.
Removing the steel latch washer
We remove the glass, and then everything else from the axle - the rubber band, washers and bearing
Next, we select a supply that we will attach to the lifting rod, thereby securing the height of the chair at a certain level. You can use any material from PVC pipe to hose and washers with nuts, the main thing is that it fits freely on the rod.
We make a tube of the required length, with an internal diameter no less than the diameter of the axis
Measure the required length of the hose and secure it with a damper, then attach a thrust washer, a bearing, a second washer and insert the structure back into the gas lift body.
