Furniture repair on the Costa Blanca

When repairing furniture pays off vs replacing

The most common question clients ask with a damaged piece is whether to repair or replace. The answer depends on three factors: sentimental value, original manufacturing quality and repair cost vs a new equivalent. For IKEA, Conforama and similar budget-range furniture where a new table or chair is reasonably priced, repair rarely pays off except for very simple cases. For mid-to-high range, inherited or sentimentally valued items, repair almost always makes sense because replacing them with solid-wood equivalents costs far more, and the original piece has manufacturing quality you can’t find in current production.

The second factor is technical complexity of the repair. A piece with glued joints that have opened, fixings that have given way, or broken fittings, repairs easily and well. A piece with water-burnt wood structure or veneer detachment over large surfaces needs complex work that can approach the cost of an equivalent new piece. In those cases we tell you honestly so you can decide with full information.

Most frequent repairs we see

Chairs wobbling at the joints is the most common fault. Glued joints between legs and seat give way over time from continuous use. Proper repair requires dismantling the chair, cleaning the joint surfaces removing old dry glue, re-gluing with proper wood glue, and clamping for 24 hours to cure. A properly repaired chair can last another 30-40 years without moving again.

Wardrobe or chest drawers that don’t slide well usually have worn metal runners or, on older pieces, wooden runners worn from continuous friction. Replacing with modern telescopic runners with bearings makes the drawer work perfectly forever and modernises an old piece without altering its look.

Broken or loose handles and pulls is a quick fix. Replacing with new same-style or updated pulls visually changes a whole piece at reasonable cost.

Broken table or sofa legs require specific intervention based on the break type. Clean break: glue and reinforce with internal braces or hidden fixings. Splintered in many points: replace the whole leg with a custom-made replica.

Antique furniture restoration

For pieces with sentimental value or some age, we offer full restoration. Deep sanding to remove old deteriorated varnish, repair of joints and structural damage, veneer touch-up, application of new varnish with tone matched to the original, and the piece returned to first-day condition. Slow work requiring specific experience, only worthwhile for pieces that are worth restoring.

For pieces of great historical or artistic value, we hand off to a specialist external restorer we partner with. Museum-quality restoration requires training beyond general carpentry.