Replacing a Broken Sofa Leg (VIDEO)

Posted by CraftFoxes Staff on Oct 25, 2016

You probably don’t think much about a couch leg until it’s broken. Perhaps a budding gymnast decided to turn the family room in his or her trampoline park. Maybe a remodeling specialist scraped the couch across the floor one too many times. There’s also a chance that a makeover maven wants to spruce up the lumpy settee with some nice new spokes, possibly made out of wood or metal instead of plastic.

If you have an antique, you may need to do a little research into the origin and style of the piece to get a close or an exact match. While some sofa feet will need custom replacements, many can survive just fine with an off-the-shelf leg or set of feet. A site like TableLegsOnline.com stocks quite a few options. Got your new replacement ready to go? The following videos will explain how to remove those unusable or unloved furniture legs and install new ones.

Upscaling Your Sofa Legs

Jennifer Campbell of Set Your Stage demonstrates how replacing plastic sofa legs with chrome ones can make a ho-hum couch look much more stylish. A few new holes need to be drilled, but once done the couch gets a brand new look.

Mending a Broken Frame

When a sofa leg snaps, sometimes the leg is intact, but the point in the frame where the leg screwed into the seat has split. To attach a new leg with a snug fit, you’ll probably need a metal top plate with screw holes that match up with the leg’s dowel screw. Drill new holes to screw the plate in place as well as create a space for the leg to attach. When you pick a location on the sofa to place the plate, be sure the frame has plenty of wood left in the area so it won’t split again.

Installing Hanger Bolts

Some new sofa legs need a hanger bolt installed. That may seem like a simple tweak, but using a couple of nuts to create a screw top makes the process much easier.