Lubricating Squeaky Recliner

[dwainw]

I tried several things with the bottom cushion. Seating the bottom cushion all the way back into the seat does not improve things -- I had already tried this. And there is no moving the back cushion as they are attached and firmly sprung. However, lining up the front of the cushion with the base that it rest on and then cramming the cushion into the back of the seat actually helps to keep enough of the cushion out of the foot rest so that it can latch properly. I say enough of the cushion , because the bottom of the cushion casing still gets pinched a bit by the footrest. Would using a different style cushion core alleviate this? Would any particular type of core be more resistant to rolling over?

As for the mechanism, I think I could probably handle installing it myself. Would there be instructions? It looks pretty straight forward, but some guidance might make the job quicker.

Finally, would it be possible to upgrade to the power unit? If the mechanism has to come out anyway, I thought I would ask. What would something like that cost?

Again, I thank you for your help here. It's things like this that make me glad I purchased from such a reputable dealer.

[dwainw]

One other thing I tried was slipping a piece of 3/8" plywood under the cushion that extended out to the front edge of the cushion. This solved the pinching problem, but as you would expect, greatly reduce the comfort of the chair.

[drcollie]

That's no good - putting plywood under the chair. I sent your photos to the head people at H&M on Friday, give them a few days to look them over and we'll have a solution that works permanently. We'll get this fixed right. And I'll check on the motor conversion as well....probably more than you would want to do, but if we wind up returning it to the factory to fix the pinch and mechanism, it might be practical to do then. I'll find out.

[drcollie]

Dwain,

Here's what I think we should do with your situation. Let's send the whole unit back to H&M so we can get the cushion pinching issue evaluated and fixed. I think they will have to re-cut the casings and install new cores to do so. We will also replace that noisy mechanism with a new one all at no charge to you. If you want to covert to power mechanisms then we will do that for you at that time as well, just pay the regular price difference between manual and power off the regular price list - no extra labor charges to retro-fit. (would be $ 338 per side) Let me know when you want to return the piece (I'd suggest waiting until the new year) and can bring it back to my store - I'll do all the rest. I would estimate a 3 week turnaround time.

[dwainw]

Well, Duane I'm torn. One one hand, these are not major, end-of-the-world problems. And hauling this heavy beast in to be shipped all the way back to NC seems a bit excessive for these little annoyances. On the other hand, given how much we use the loveseat (daily) and how long we plan to keep it, we want to fix it right.

So the wife and I are trying to weigh the options here. And we wouldn't be able to get it in until after the first anyway. If it were yours, what would you do?

I must say I appreciate your and H&M's efforts to make this piece perfect. If you look back, I started this thread simply to find out what sort of lubricant to use on the mechanism. You have already gone out of your way to exceed customer expectations. That is quite telling of the level of service you supply to your clients.

[drcollie]

Hi Dwain,

I understand completely! The important thing is what do YOU want? The goal is to get as close to 100 % complete satisfaction on your purchase. Of course, there is the major inconvenience of pulling the piece out of the house, transporting back and forth, and being without it for about a month when all is said and done.

The mechanism itself should not be noisy, or bind. Especially one that is less than a year old. So right there I'm suspect of that piece of metal. It takes about an hour to change one out for someone who is handy as I know you are with your equipment business. The pinching of the seat cushions into the footrest should not be happening, either. Now we can try a new set of cores and if we do I think we should go extra full and Plus 1 on the firmness to try to get away from that soft front edge that is catching the footrest. That might do the trick.

So if you're good with new seat cores and a new recliner mechanism, I can have those sent to you easily enough.

If you want H&M to go over everything (and possibly install power recliner units) then we can do that too, I'm glad to do whatever you would like on the piece - as is Hancock and Moore.

Just for the record, EVERY dealer should respond like this as well. Its really the right way to do business and I'm surprised when I hear that other stores may not do so. You paid a a lot of money for a premium piece and it should perform day in and day out flawlessly for many years.

[dwainw]

After a lot of head scratching, I think I'll have you send out the cores and mechanism. Considering everything, that should be the best solution for these issues.

[drcollie]

OK! I'll order them up and have them sent to you at your business, or home if you prefer.

Which side mechanism is the one that needs to be replaced if you are standing in front of the piece and looking directly at it? Left Side or Right Side?

[dwainw]

Standing in front of the loveseat, it is the LH side. Sitting on it, it would be the passenger side. 8^)

My Commercial Street address would be great. Thanks.

[drcollie]

Ordered up today, Dwain. Two new seat cores as well, extra firm (Plus 1). Let me know if that solves the cushion issue with the footrests. If not, we may want to return the cushions and have an inch or so removed from them depth-wise.