Vinyl Strap Restrapping for Patio Chairs and Chaises

When vinyl straps go brittle, crack or snap, the fix is a full restrap: every strap off, new vinyl stretched on hot and left to shrink tight. Typical Tucson pricing is $80 to $95 per chair, $110 to $145 per chaise lounge, and $50 to $65 per ottoman, with cross-weave or basket-weave patterns running about 25 to 45 percent more. Strap work can often be done right on your patio.

Why vinyl straps fail in Tucson

Vinyl strap is PVC made flexible with plasticizers. UV and heat drive those plasticizers out over time, and the strap turns rigid, then brittle, then cracks. Strong cleaning products, chlorine from pool splash and some sun products speed it up. Tropitone’s care guide warns that PABA in some suntan and sunblock products is harmful to vinyl and can permanently discolor it.

Tucson stacks the odds: about 85 percent of possible sunshine and a normal of 68 days a year at 100 degrees or more. A chair that sits on the pool deck all summer is getting the worst of both. Our brittle or snapping straps page has the quick check that tells you whether one strap or the whole chair is going.

Typical restrapping prices

Cross-weave or basket-weave: add about 25 to 45 percent. Those patterns weave every strap through its neighbours instead of running straight across, which takes a good deal more hand work.

These figures come from published restrapping price lists that include the vinyl, new fasteners and labor, and they match our pricing page. Metal clips, where a frame uses them instead of rivets, add cents per clip.

Single wrap, double wrap, cross-weave

• Single wrap. The strap is riveted to one side, stretched across, wrapped around the opposite rail once and riveted. You can see the rivets.
• Double wrap. The strap wraps twice around the rail on each side, hiding the fastener. It takes more vinyl and more time.
• Cross-weave and basket weave. Straps run in both directions and are woven over and under each other.

If you are not sure which you have, a photo of the underside of the seat answers it.

How we restrap a chair

1. Measure. We wrap a cloth tape around the frame along the old strap’s path, rail to rail, and take off about ten percent. The strap goes on shorter than the path because hot vinyl stretches and then shrinks back tight as it cools.
2. Strip the old straps. Old rivets are drilled out, and the frame is cleaned where the straps wrapped, since that is where grit and corrosion collect.
3. Heat the vinyl. New straps go into boiling water for a few minutes until they are soft and pliable.
4. Fit while hot. One end is riveted, the strap is pulled across and stretched past the opposite rail, wrapped and riveted. This has to happen fast, because vinyl that cools stiffens before it is fastened.
5. Let it cool. As the vinyl cools it pulls tight across the frame, which is why the measuring step matters so much.

Frames come in two attachment styles, rivet and slot, and Tropitone’s guide says to specify which when ordering. We check yours on the first visit.

What about vinyl lace?

Lace is the narrow vinyl cord woven through a frame in a pattern rather than flat straps. It follows the same hot-vinyl method but the labor depends entirely on the weave, so lace is quoted after we see the piece. Tell us it is lace when you send the photo.

On site or in the shop

Most strap jobs can be done where the furniture sits: we need a spot to work, an outlet, and water. Pieces that also need a weld repaired or a refinish come to the shop, and it makes sense to do those before the new straps go on, since straps have to come off for a frame to be coated.

Making new straps last

• Rinse straps with mild soap and water. Tropitone suggests about a quarter cup of mild liquid soap per gallon of lukewarm water. No abrasive cleaners.
• Brown Jordan and Winston both recommend a vinyl protectant.
• Put a towel down if you sit out in sunscreen.
• Rinse pool splash off rather than letting it dry on the vinyl.

Is it worth restrapping?

On a solid aluminum frame, yes. Winston and Tropitone both warrant their straps for five years against breakage and their aluminum frames for fifteen, which is the makers telling you the strap is the wear part. Price a whole set in the sling and strap cost calculator, or read the brand page for Brown Jordan, whose strap and lace designs are some of the best-known pieces we see.