Service
Structural repair
Loose joints, split panels, snapped legs and sagging doors, repaired with traditional joinery so the fix outlasts the original glue.
What this covers
Most old furniture fails at the joints before it fails anywhere else. Animal glue dries out, timber shrinks in air-conditioning, and a chair that was tight for eighty years starts to rock. We take the joint apart, clean out the old adhesive, repair or re-cut the tenon and re-glue it so the piece is sound again.
- Loose or rocking chairs, tables and stools
- Split or cracked tops, panels and sides
- Broken legs, stretchers, spindles and arms
- Sagging or sticking drawers and doors
- Missing or broken mouldings and feet
- Earlier repairs with screws, nails or filler that need undoing
How we do it
Where possible we repair rather than replace. A broken part is glued and reinforced; a missing one is made new in matching timber and coloured to blend. We use reversible adhesives on antique pieces so a future restorer can take the work apart again, and we avoid metal fixings unless the piece already had them.
Every repair is photographed before and after, and the summary we send with the piece notes what was done and what was left alone.
What to send us
A photograph of the whole piece, one or two close-ups of the damage, and a shot of the underside or back if you can. If a part has broken off, keep it; original material is always better than new.
From the journal
Why old furniture cracks in air-conditioned rooms
Why antique and heirloom furniture splits and loosens in air-conditioned Singapore homes, and what to do about placement and repair.
Repair or replace: when restoration is worth it
A plain guide to deciding whether an old piece of furniture is worth restoring, with the questions a restorer asks before quoting.
The problem with screws and filler
Why quick fixes with screws, nails and wood filler damage old furniture joints over time, and how a restorer takes those repairs apart.
Have a piece that needs attention?
Send three or four photographs and we will come back within two working days.