Hospitality Upholstery Co.
Buyer Tips

Upholstered Furniture is a "blind" item. Sales are often based strictly on exterior qualities. The fabric used, the overall size (will it fit in the designated area), does it fit in the budget, are usually the factors involved in choosing an upholstered piece. This creates an interesting problem as most of the expense (quality) of upholstered furniture is incurred in the interior. Your customer is leaving himself open to be taken advantage of unless he has some upholstery knowledge and is able to look inside and understand exactly how and with what materials a piece has been made.

We are going to cover the basic components - Frames, Springs, Cushions and Fabrics- that can be found in upholstered furniture. Specifications can get intricate - i.e. the width and thickness of a particular part. This is not what we are going to cover. The following pages will give you an idea of the basic components of upholstered furniture, which materials are considered "quality" and why. And finally what to watch out for to insure that you are quoting "apples to apples" to your customer.

1) FRAMES

There are a variety of different materials and assembly procedures in the market today. First we will cover what Hospitality Upholstery Co. uses, then we'll cover all the materials available and the pro's and con's. Hospitality Upholstery Co. uses kiln dried hardwood for all load bearing components. Kiln dried hardwood and or hardwood plywood is used for non load bearing and carved parts. No softwood lumbers, softwood plywood, chipboard, etc. is permitted in our products. All corners and load bearing joints are heavily blocked and double doweled. All hardware is galvanized and joints are nailed or screwed, not just stapled. Now we'll cover what that means.

A) MATERIALS: The optimum material would be dense to hold screws and nails, durable to hold up in the contract environment and flexible to conform to different needs.

1) Softwood plywood is usually composed of four to five layers of material that often has voids between them. Because of this it doesn't hold screws, staples or nails well and is prone to warp and distort.

2) Hardwood plywood is composed of seven to nine layers of material that are strong, dense, and without any voids. It holds screws, nails and staples quite well. Hospitality Upholstery Co. uses this for non load bearing components and for intricate curved parts.

3) Softwood lumber: An example such as pine is not very dense so screws and nails do not hold. Pine also has a tendency to warp from the effects of humidity and temperature.

4) Hardwood lumber: An example such as oak is dense so screws and nails stay put. Hospitality Upholstery Co. uses this for all load bearing components.

5) Dried: Lumber of either kind must be dried.

a) Air dried lumber is stacked after cutting to allow air to circulate through it. This is usually done outside in a lumber yard and (depending upon weather conditions) can take from a few weeks to a few months.

b) Kiln dried lumber is dried in huge ovens (kilns) to a pre-determined moisture level. It is drier than air dried lumber and is more resistant to warping, cracking and splitting. Hospitality Upholstery Co. only uses kiln dried hardwood.

6) Chip-board is sheeting made from wood scraps combined with resin. It absorbs moisture and does not hold screws or nails well. It is a heavy, low strength product which is not suitable for upholstered furniture frames.

7) Mild steel tubing is most often used in "low-end" Italian products. It cannot accommodate nails or staples and has been known to bend and rust in contract use.

B) ASSEMBLY - All modern upholstery frames are stapled together. Unfortunately there are some upholstery companies that leave it at that. To assure a long frame life, additional steps must be taken. Hospitality Upholstery Co. utilizes all of the following:

1) All hardware (staples, screws and nails) should be galvanized to resist rust and corrosion.

2) Dowels (essentially round pegs) are installed in the end of a wood rail that is inserted into a corresponding hole in the vertical surface of an adjoining rail. Double doweling of corners (which is a standard with Hospitality Upholstery Co.) should be a minimum contract requirement. It triples the strength of these areas and assures that joints are properly aligned.

3) Blocking is the use of a block of lumber screwed or nailed to the inside of a load bearing joint. All corners and stress points should be blocked.

4) Hardwood plywood should be used for shorter rails and curved parts and kiln dried lumber should be used for major stress bearing rails.

Competitors have been known to sell hardwood and deliver softwood, sell kiln dried and deliver air dried, etc.... Remember, the frame is covered with upholstery. Weigh one of our frames and compare it to a competitor’s. The difference will surprise you. Hospitality Upholstery Co. encourages its customers to turn a sofa over and look into the quality components we use and the extra steps we take in the assembly process to ensure a quality product with the longest possible life.

2) SPRINGING

Some sort of resilient surface must be under the seat cushion or the user will "sit through" the sofa and cause the cushions to collapse. Therefore there must be some sort of springing medium under the cushion. Hospitality Upholstery Co. uses only 8 gauge sinuous wire springs in our seats and 12 gauge sinuous wire springs in our backs on tight back styles. They are heat tempered and connected together with steel wire to act as a unit and spread the load. Seat springs are installed no more than 2" apart. The following will give you insight into the various springing methods in the market:

A) Hand tied coil springs are individual coil springs that are hand tied and thus extremely labor intensive. Because the load or weight is placed entirely on the individual coil spring, the constant stress will limit the strength and life span, especially in a contract environment.

B) Sinuous wire springs are springs that are connected to each other with a steel wire which (unlike coil springs) causes the entire surface to be load bearing. When connected in this manner, a person sitting near one arm of a piece will cause the springs near the other arm to move! Sinuous wire springs should be heat (not electrically) tempered and a minimum of 8 gauge (the lower the number, the thicker the steel) diameter for seats and 12 gauge (on tight back pieces) for backs.

C) Elastic webbing and sheeting is actual elastic webbing that is stretched over the frame and tacked down. It is used mainly in low end products such as wicker or rattan where the frames do not have the strength to resist the traditional spring tension. Elasticity is lost over time, causing these products to stretch.

D) Flexolators resemble fishnet. They're made of steel wire and are attached to the perimeter of the frame with staples. They have the same drawbacks as elastic and also tend to squeak as they age.

Competitors are known to install springs 4" to 5" apart (as opposed to the 2" that Hospitality Upholstery Co. specifies). Many do not use heat tempered springs so they will eventually squeak and break. They often use 9 or 10 guage seat springs and 13 to 14 gauge for back springs (as opposed to the 8 gauge and 12 gauge respectively that Hospitality Upholstery Co. specifies).

3) Cushioning

When designed for use in a heavy contract environment, the optimum type cushioning should have a "crown" or rounded appearance and be made of high density polyurethane foam and dacron polyester. Thus you have a quality "finished" appearance that will last. Hospitality Upholstery Co. uses a 2.0 density foam for seat cushions and a 1.3 density foam in our back cushions. Our seats and backs are wrapped in 3/4 ounce per square foot dacron polyester fiber on the top, bottom and (depending upon style) front so that they are reversible. Now we will discuss density.

Density should not be confused with firmness. Density is the weight per cubic foot of polyurethane foam. The industry standard for a seat cushion is 1.8 which means that one cubic foot of foam will weigh 1.8 pounds. (Hospitality Upholstery Co. has a standard for seat cushions of 2.0!) So while density has no relationship to hardness, it is a good measure of quality and longevity.

To achieve the crown or rounded appearance, Hospitality Upholstery Co. uses a 3/4 ounce dacron polyester fiber sheet that is wrapped and glued around the seat cushion (top and bottom). Polyester fiber was originally developed as a replacement for goose down. it has been used in upholstery as a filling material for back and throw pillows and in bed pillows. Although it provides a plump look or "crown", it requires regular fluffing and turning in order to prevent it's flattening and migrating. It's not suitable for contract applications in this form. However, when combined with resin and produced in flat sheets it makes an excellent cushion wrap. Used in this way it provides a softer appearance and acts as a barrier between the foam and fabric, extending cushion life by preventing abrasion.

Another common cushion used in the market is shredded foam. This is scrap foam or recycled foam that has been shredded into pieces and is used to fill back and throw pillows. It tends to migrate into clumps of material and is therefore unsuitable for the contract environment.

Competitors often use a hard, low density foam and claim it's "high density". Polyester fiber sheets can be applied to one side of a cushion (instead of both sides) and in some cases, shredded foam or loose polyester fiber is blown into back cushions.

4) FABRICS

Since most upholstery work involves C.O.M. you need to make sure that your customer is choosing a fabric that is compatible with a contract environment. The following affect not only the price but the lifespan as well.

A) Durability is extremely important. If you've built and assembled a quality product, then you want a fabric that will last. The most common test for fabric durability is the Wyzenbeck surface abrasion test. A minimum of 15,000 "double rubs" is required to be certified for contract use.

B) Flammability standards vary from State to State according to the end use of the product. Certain usage's may even require modifications to cushioning materials and upholstery techniques.

C) Pattern upholstery fabrics can require 10% to 20% additional yardage to properly match. Patterns may be printed "up and down" (up the roll) or "railroaded" (edge to edge). A sample of the C.O.M. fabric should always be submitted so that correct yardage requirements can be determined.

Unfortunately many of our competitors that offer a fabric selection do not provide complete specifications regarding durability and flammability. Often they sell fabrics that are not suitable for contract use. Many are known to over estimate the C.O.M. yardage needed, thereby getting extra fabric for free.

Hospitality Upholstery Co. uses only Leggett & Platt contract mechanisms that are built with heavy gauge steel, rivets and linkages and carry a limited warranty from the manufacturer for contract use. Our mechanisms have a support system that eliminates the feel of crossbars through the mattress. Our mattresses are a full 6" thick innerspring, not foam, exceed flammability standards and are covered in a soil resistant Teflon TM coated fabric. Compare this to our competitors "residential" mechanism. Residential units are less expensive, do not have the heavy duty construction and the manufacturer's warranty is immediately voided when used in a contract environment. Mattresses are often 4" thick foam and are covered in a non-cleanable, flammable material.