DIY,  Makeover

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?

bungee cord chair repair

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?

zero gravity chair repair closeup

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…

chair3

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.

chair5

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.

chair6

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.

chair7

Then we sat back (literally) and enjoyed our handiwork and some big time savings.

chair8

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*

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