Today’s post is about how to restrap commercial pool furniture – the type that uses colored vinyl straps.
Pool chair straps generally last 5 years or more before they weaken. Don’t throw out that chair or lounge – do a pool chair strap repair!
How to Re-Strap Pool Lounge Chairs
- Vinyl chair strapping and plastic rivets
- Fabric measuring tape and kitchen tongs
- Screwdriver, power drill, good scissors
- Some hot water, but not boiling
STEP ONE: Cut & Remove the Vinyl Chair Straps
Use scissors to cut through the vinyl strapping to be replaced. Unwind them from the chair or chaise rail and pop out the rivets with a sharp pull on the end of the strap. Use a small screwdriver or pliers to remove any remaining rivet pieces.
TIP: Bolt down the chair or place sand bags on bottom rails of chaise lounge chairs, to keep it securely in place while you work.
STEP TWO: Measure and Cut the New Vinyl Straps
Most vinyl pool chairs and patio chairs use a double wrap on the frame and the strap wraps around the frame twice, but some outdoor chair straps only wrap once around the frame.
For a double wrap chair or chaise, hold a cloth measuring tape over the rivet hole on one side, wrap it twice on that side, and pull it across and wrap it twice on the other side, and take the measurement at center of the other hole.
Pull the measuring tape tight to get a good hole to hole measurement (plus the one or two wraps around the frame). Now – because the vinyl straps stretch tightly, subtract 15% of the measurement. For example, if the total hole to hole (plus wraps) measures 33″, cut the straps to 28 inches (33″ x 0.85 = 28.05″).
TIP: Measure twice and cut once! Install a few straps to be sure the length and tension is correct.
STEP THREE: Prep and Heat your Vinyl Strapping
After cutting vinyl straps to the right length, use some good scissors to dog-ear the ends, cutting off the corners on each end with a 45° wedge cut. Then use a drill bit to place a hole in the end of each strap, in the center, near the end. Push in a new plastic rivet through the hole on each end, both facing the same way.
TIP: Use heavy duty scissors to cut the corners, and a 3/8″ drill bit to cut a clean hole, 1/4″ from the end.
STEP FOUR: Heat the Vinyl Straps
Heat the vinyl straps in water that is about 200°, on a stove top or gas grill, in a large steel cooking pot. Don’t allow the water to boil, but keep it just below bubbling. Add 2-3 straps at a time, allowing them to soften for 2-3 minutes in the hot water.
TIP: Don’t wear colored gloves, which can bleed their colors from contact with the hot water.
STEP FIVE: Install new Vinyl Chair Strapping
Use tongs or gloves to pull out one strap and immediately install it before it cools. Pop-in the rivet on one side, wrap it twice around the rivet and stretch it to the other side, but not over the hole, so you can wrap it twice and push in the other rivet. Then pull up on the vinyl so you can slide it over the hole, as shown by this expert from Florida Patio.
TIP: Be sure that the first strap installs easily, and with good tension after cooling, before you cut the remaining vinyl straps.
Order your new vinyl chair strapping, sold in 200 ft rolls, a pack of plastic rivets and you can restrap pool chairs and chaise lounges yourself, saving over half the cost of buying new pool furniture!