Zero Gravity Chair Repair On The Cheap
We tend to keep things for a really long time. In this case, our two zero gravity lounge chairs have moved with us from Minnesota to Oregon to Georgia. That’s a lot of miles, baby! I’d guess that makes them 8 or 9 years old.
While we do store our outdoor furniture indoors during the winter, 8 summers is still a long time to be exposed to the elements.
And let’s face it, aging gracefully is hard to do. When you start to sag, sometimes your only option is to do a little nip, a little tuck… Ahem. We’re still talking about chairs, right?
When we pulled the chairs out this summer, we found the cord holding the seat to the frame was rotten and broken in places. For awhile the chair would hold our 4 year old, but that didn’t last long.
We considered replacing the chairs. The actual replacement for this particular chair Travel Chair Lounge Lizard
was pretty pricey at $169.99. Clearly, it is a good brand though because they have lasted a long time. This chair from Strathwood Basics
got high reviews and was much cheaper at $67.88, but it didn’t look like it had a cup holder. You can never have too many cup holders. Am I right or am I right?
The other option was just to fix the chairs. The frame was solid, as was the mesh seat. All it needed was some replacement cord
 (aka replacement string for zero gravity chair). Except we didn’t buy the replacement cord. Oh no. That would be too easy. Instead, the Hubby ordered 100-ft of 1/4″ black shock cord
. So, basically, we can replace the cord on these chairs for the next, oh, 50 years or so. In his defense, we did save a few bucks on the deal.
Anyway, we started by cutting off all of the old cord with scissors. It always looks worse before it gets better – at least the gravity chair fabric seems built to last…
How to restring a zero gravity chair
Then The Hubby started threading the cord through the holes, starting at the bottom and working his way to the top. It really wasn’t as hard as he’s making it look here.
When the cord was pulled all the way to the top, he secured it with a knot. From the knot, he started pulling it tight, working his way back down to the starting point at the bottom of the chair.
Once the cord was pulled tight and the tension looked even with the other side, he cut the cord and secured it with another knot.
Then we sat back (literally) and enjoyed our handiwork and some big time savings.
It’s been a few weeks and the zero gravity chair repairs are still holding strong! It’s the small things that make me happy. Now, if someone would do something about the stain on the deck…
Moral of this story, if you find any of these zero gravity chairs for cheap at a garage sale or on Craigslist, it is worth fixing them up!
Hope the small things are making you happy today too!
EDITED TO ADD (JUNE 2019): A reader just kindly pointed out that you can now get replacement fabric
for your zero gravity chair on Amazon. There are a bunch of different options, but this one also included the laces to attach to your frame.
*affiliate links in this post*
23 Comments
Luca
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Lupe
Do you have any advice on where to find fabric (mesh) and/or maybe where they sell a replacement seat cover? I have search multiple times and no results for something inexpensive.
annisa
That is a great question! I think the manufacturers’ just want you to buy new chairs! I found a couple of things, but can’t vouch for them. This link shows replacement mesh with grommets already in for about $34. http://www.macsports-store.com/Gray-Replacement-Seat-Cover-p/part-c845s-235-seat.htm Then this company has the mesh for less than $10, but I don’t see that it has the grommets, so you’d have to know how to sew in order to make it work. http://www.zerogravitychairnow.com/accesories/zero-gravity-chair-replacement-fabric-green-colour.html If you have any luck, let me know! I’ll keep searching. Thankfully, our mesh is still holding strong.
Angela
Outdoor Fabrics Canada Inc sells Phifertex Plus Mesh. That is what you need.
annisa
Great info!
Terra
Hi, i ordered the cord to do this to my fav chair now that i have it the quarter inch seems to big and difficult to knot… Can you please share the knot you used?
Mahalo
annisa
Of course! We used a double half hitch knot. Sometimes it is called a two half hitch know. There are a ton of descriptions and pictures on Google images. I hope that helps. Ours is still holding strong – we haven’t had to tighten it since we initially re-corded it. Good luck!
Lisa S.
About how much of the shock cord did you actually need?
annisa
Hi! Not much at all. The safest way to know is to carefully cut the cord off your particular chair and measure the entire length to know for sure. If you had to replace the cording on both sides of the chair, I’m guesstimating 10 feet or less. Don’t hold me to it though – it’s been a couple of years! When we did ours there wasn’t hardly any price difference between a large and small roll, so we went with the large roll of cording.
Bruce Berlanstein
Would anyone know of a repair for the chair arms? Ours are blistered and look like they are melting away. Thanks.
annisa
Hi – Could you cover over them with something else? Wrap them in a water resistant fabric or rope? Also, are the arms removable? If they are, could you replace them with a similarly sized piece of wood?
Judy Robertson
HOW CAN WE REPLACE THE RUBBER PART THAT SITS ON THE BOTTOM FRAMEWORK OF THE ANTI GRAVITY LOUNGE CHAIR TO KEEP THE METAL FROM SITTING ON THE CONCRETE? OURS WORE OFF AND NOW THE RAIL IS GETTING RUSTY AND LEAVING RUST STAINS ON OUR CONCRETE. DO THEY SELL PARTS ANYWHERE? OR, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT TO USE TO REPLACE THEM? WE THOUGHT OF WRAPPING AN OLD HOSE AROUND IT BUT WE DIDN’T HAVE ANYTHING TO GO WITH THE BRONZE FRAME. THE NEWER CHAIRS HAVE FOUR CORNER HARD RUBBER TIPS. OURS WERE BOUGHT YEARS AGO BUT ARE STILL IN GREAT CONDITION EXCEPT FOR THIS ISSUE. THE RUBBER WAS FLAT ON THE BOTTOM WHICH WORE OUT. THANKS!
annisa
Judy – I’m trying to picture how big those rubber pieces are without looking at the chair, so forgive me if these ideas are way off base. Home Depot has 7/8 inch screw-on rubber bumpers. They also have adhesive rubber bumpers. Check it out: http://www.homedepot.com/b/Hardware-Cabinet-Furniture-Hardware-Furniture-Accessories-Caps-Tips/N-5yc1vZc2ee
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Amy wood
I have a zero gravity chair that is missing an arm rest where can I find a website to order black arm rest for a zero gravity chair.
annisa
Hi! I’ve only seen them on Alibaba, but then you’d have to order a TON of them, which isn’t helpful. I think you’d have better luck taking them off another chair that someone wants to get rid of. Or, replacing the armrests with a piece of wood in a similar size/shape. Good luck! Sorry I don’t have an easier answer.
Daniel Wiley
Nice post, changing a zero gravity chairs bungee cord and lawn chairs webbing takes time. The most important thing is to make sure you have the same length of the cord for points and clips.
Peter Tang
Yes,you can order the Zero Gravity Chair replacement cloth & replacement cord here;https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073GYK9J4,just 32.99,you can make your chair as a new one.
annisa
Thanks for the heads up! This is awesome news! That link wasn’t working, but I added the info in the post and here is the link in case anyone needs it: https://amzn.to/2KPJcuD
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