new to site. Looking for advice.

[bssage]

Short story and request for advice.

Hi all.

I am replacing some living room furniture. My family includes 4 people My wife and myself. My thirteen year old boy. And my 10 year old Autistic daughter. My daughter is very hard on all things. And as much as she is my shining light. She gets credit for destroying the old furniture.

I have not bought new furniture in a very long time. Most of what we have gotten in the past was "hand me downs" So I was a little surprised at prices. For the purpose of the story I will use a reclining chairs as a working example.

Its seems like most run in the 600+ range. My thought was I could either go "inexpensive" and not have to shed a tear when I have to replace it in a year or two. Or go "Modestly high end" hoping to get a warranty that would stand the test of time.

It occurs to me in my research that my "Modestly High End" warranty idea is flawed. The thread here. And my own research has not supported a great warranty plan. And that if I am going to keep the "high end" option alive it would have to be because of the reviewed durability of the product. Correct??

I am not finding a good way to compare durability of products. They all claim to be durable. And I am wading through reviews about financing, delivery, ect ect... Or review's for recent purchases not finding much on lifespan, ability to take punishment ...

Any advice on how my research should proceed??

Thanks
Bryan

[drcollie]

Hi Bryan,

The weak point in any recliner, from any maker, is the mechanism once you are at mid-level to high end buys. On the cheap end of things, the frame of the chair itself is substandard and generally will not hold together, so you don't want to go too far down on the inexpensive buy. Like you said in your post, its all lifestyle as to how long pieces last - warranties really don't come into play that much from any maker. The things that break or fail are usually outside the scope of the warranty. The key to mechanism survivability is to not use the piece hard when its in the open or reclined position - that's when most the damage occurs. They chairs are strong when closed and vulnerable when extended out so that's the key to keep the mechanism from failing.

If you really want durability, then a tilt back chair with ottoman is the way to go. More comfortable (IMHO), the base is solid stationary, and there is no mechanism to break - only a cable and gas strut to activate. These are much stronger than recliners overall but it will be difficult to find anything under $ 1K for the chair and ottoman combo.

Now if we are talking furniture in general - the key is a solid maple frame, they simply don't break. But only the higher-end makers are still using that - mid-line has moved to plywood. And like we all know from going to Home Depot, there are different levels of plywood. As the price comes down, so does the material quality. I've even seen a few pieces at the lower end of the price spectrum with particle board and cardboard as frame components - that piece is doomed to fail early.

Best bet? If you live in a larger town watch Craigslist and in particular keep your eye open for anything made by Hancock & Moore, Baker, Henredon, Councill, Sherrill. etc. Those are all solid maple frame builders and you can buy them pre-owned for 1/4 of the price new in many instances. Good luck

[bssage]

I'm in a very small town.

We have wal-mart and the local furniture store which carries "Catnapper" of which the reviews I have seen are not all that great. Although a common theme of poor reviews seems to be they don't understand furniture warranty they way you explained it. And bitch about financing or delivery a lot.

Craigslist would be a stretch as it would involve travel and my experience with Craigslist, is "you have to break some eggs to make an omelette" which would be time consuming and costly considering gas.

I did not know they had chairs that just the back reclined w/ottoman. That was my original thought (chair/ottoman) For the reasons you mentioned. But wanted something that reclined. Any recommendations for a manufacture for those? Is there a chair type (keyword) I should search for?


And your right. That is exactly how the last chair's and recliner couch failed. In the open position.

[drcollie]

Best one around is this one...bar none. But its not inexpensive:

http://www.hancockandmoore.com/produ...productid=1680

Another good example - less pricey than the H&M but still not inexpensive:

http://www.bradington-young.com/amer...AILS&style=548

Either can be mail-ordered.