Repairs
Although “caning” is a general term for chair seat weaving, there are actually many types of weaving each involving different types of materials, techniques, and TIME!
Hand woven/laced caning can take 15-18 hours. Others, like authentic hickory splint weaves are very costly to replicate because of the production of the materials…literally stripping bark from a tree in the springtime!
Below you will find a general description of the types of “caning” your seat may have and what it may cost to fix your chair. Check the bottom of the page for additional fees that you may incur. Please keep in mind that Uncle Sam gets 30% of our fees!
Call 828-707-4553 or email gochairrepair@gmail.com.
Common problem with fiber rush after decades of use. Often there is a clean break on an edge or around a nail.
PAPER FIBER RUSH: $7/inch (measure across the widest part of the seat, usually the front edge rail). This type of chair takes about 7 hours to complete. Often this measurement is around 17 inches, so 17in. X $7 = $119.
How do I know if my chair is natural or fiber rush? Turn the chair over. Is the rush cord of uniform size and the same on the top and bottom? It’s paper rush. Often rush breaks are clean cut and do not shed grassy fibers. Cats often like to sharpen their claws on this type of chair! See below for natural rush indicators.
Wider Herringbone Splint Weave
SPLINT/SPLIT WEAVES (1/2 inch wide or larger): $7/inch (measure across the widest part of the seat, usually the front edge rail). Again this measurement is usually around 17 inches, so 17in. X $7 = $119.
SPLINT/SPLIT WEAVE (less than 1/2 inch wide). It’s amazing the difference an 1/8 inch makes both in time and in painful fingertips! It takes about 15 hours to do a seat.
$12/inch across the widest side. $12 x 17 inches = $204
Shellac for splint weaves
$15/chair…or DIY!
ex. of groove & wooden spline in pressed/machine woven cane chairs
MACHINE WOVEN CANE:
The spline is the key…Imagine your chair seat or back as a picture frame with the cane as the picture. Look at the edge of the cane. If your chair has a groove with a long slender piece of wood it is machine woven cane. Unusual weaves/patterns/shapes will require on-site pricing.$7-8/inch across the widest length of cane. $7 x 15 inches = $105.
How to tell if your chair is laced or woven cane.
HAND WOVEN OR LACED CANE:
Count the holes drilled around the frame (not in the pattern of the cane!) and multiply by $3.
$3/hole X 70 holes = $210
How to tell if your chair is natural rush
NATURAL RUSH
$9/inch measured across the widest part of the chair (Ex: 17 X $9=$153)
Does your chair shed dry grassy flakes? If you flip the chair over and compare the back of the weave to the front of the weave, and they are different, then you have a natural rush chair. The front of the weave is tight like a cord and the bottom is flatter and wider, often poofing out. This type of weave is labor intensive and the materials more costly than fiber rush. Request shellac for $15/chair…or DIY!
Typical wear and tear of Danish Cord.
DANISH CORD:
$9/inch (with small additional fee if you need new nails)
17 inches x $9= $153
Danish cord looks like two small cords twisted together like a rope. Danish cord is steep twill paper cord. Sea Grass is its natural counterpart. Usually found on footstools, natural seagrass less sturdy and more costly to repair.
great granddaddy's hickory splint chair
AUTHENTIC HICKORY SPLIT:
Your great-granddaddy probably did one. The materials alone are VERY expensive, well over $100 and it is labor intensive work. Priced according to job.
The less expensive option is the above splint weave. Splint will be uniform in width and depth, obviously from a machine. The next step up is still mechanically produced but uses higher quality more polished maples, hickory, and smoked ash. It’s worth meeting to see all of the options for your chair.
A Shaker Tape Chair
SHAKER TAPE:
Available in two sizes:
1 inch wide straps: 1 0r 2 colors are $7/inch or $119 for a 17 inch chair. Additional colors (3 or more) $15/color (requires a lot of sewing and waste of material) 5/8 inch wide straps: $7.50/inch (requires just a little more material and time) $127.50
Miscellaneousness:
- Please leave the old seat in so that I can see the pattern/style, etc. Prices include removal of old materials, which in the case of machine woven cane can take a several hours!
- PLAN AHEAD FOR HOLIDAYS! We often have a backlog of 30 chairs and only two people to work on them. It is hard work and we often have sore backs and hands and cannot possibly cane chairs 8 hours/day, 5 days/week!
- Minimum price for any weave is $60 (which after taxes is actually $40 minus the material cost. Please understand, even if your little stool is only 10 inches across, we will make less than $10/hour!
- Pick-Up & Delivery: FREE if you live between my house in West Asheville and the studio in the River Arts District, otherwise, priced according to distance, with a $10 minimum.
- Cleaning fee…please take the time to wipe down your chair and reduce allergens in our place of business. We will charge based on time it takes to clean…we have spent 5 hours cleaning one chair!!
- Areas of service include Western North Carolina, East Tennessee, over to Charlotte, and as far south as Charleston, SC! You can always mail us your chair, especially if the seat comes off or if you have a footstool…or plan a trip to Asheville. Our most far-reaching clients so far are from Green Bay Wisconsin, New York City, and New Orleans!
- We don’t stain cane! We are weavers…staining is a whole ‘nother ballgame and we are not set up with proper ventillation. Cane is particularly difficult to stain and we recommend taking it to a professional if you want it stained. We put a coat of shellac on rush chairs and splint chairs at your request. It is not included in pricing so that those who need to save money can do it themselves. Pricing is about $15-$20/chair.
- Small extra fee may be added to rush chairs with slots, rush chairs that are frame only (no legs or back), machine woven cane with shared seams, or machine woven cane that is particularly difficult to remove, chairs with fine/fine cane or several hundred holes, or chairs with recessed holes. Blind cane and medallion chairs priced according to each chair’s particularities.
- Structural work may be required before we weave. We can suggest folks for you to go to if your rungs are broken or if your laced cane seat is cracked through the holes. We can re-glue rungs for $15-$25. If you want to refinish the wood, please do so before caning, but PLEASE BRING IN THE CHAIR OR TAKE A PHOTO (both top and bottom of seat) BEFORE YOU REMOVE THE SEAT…you can also save the old seat so we can make sure we replicate your seat as best as possible.
Call Brandy Clements and Dave Klingler at 828-707-4553
Or email gochairrepair@gmail.com
