How to Disassemble a Desk Chair

Use household lubrication spray on any stubborn desk chair screws.

Whether you are packing to move your office contents, or you are taking apart a newly ordered chair to return it to the manufacturer, disassembling a desk chair is best done in small steps. Be sure to have a zipper bag on hand in which to store all of the screws and nuts, as replacing exact desk chair screws is sometimes difficult. Keep all of the desk chair's components together once you've disassembled it, to make reassembly, if applicable, easier.

Things You'll Need

• Screwdriver
• Wrench
• Allen wrench--optional
• Household spray lubricant--optional

Instructions

1. Turn the chair upside down and rest it at an angle on the floor with the seat supporting the chair. Remove the casters. Casters are the parts that include the wheels; they attach either with screws or by the insertion of a metal or plastic post into holes in the bottom of the leg base.

2. Unscrew the screw bolt holding the leg base to the main chair post. If the screw bolt is tight, squirt the bolt with a light spray of household lubricant. According to Blue Hen Office Furniture, you should give the lubricant about 5 minutes to saturate the bolt. Use a wrench to twist the screw bolt to get it started. Use a screwdriver to remove the bolt. In some instances, there may be an accessible nut instead of a screw bolt. Loosen the nut and the screw bolt will come free inside of the chair post.

3. Remove any protective cover or cylinder by sliding it off of the chair post. These coverings are usually plastic sleeves or expandable plastic sleeves.

4. Unscrew the chair seat foundation from beneath the desk chair seat. This is usually steel. Remove the desk chair seat. Once the chair seat has been removed, usually any seat adjusting lever or mechanism will fall free. There may be a screw securing part of this mechanism beneath the desk chair seat. Unscrew any screws that may be present.

5. Slide the chair post from the chair seat foundation.

6. Unscrew any desk chair armrests that may be attached to the chair seat foundation, the under edge of the chair seat or the back of the chair seat back.

7. Use a screwdriver to unscrew the seat back support arm from the chair seat foundation. The seat back support arm is the support holding the seat back to the chair seat. This often has a rubber or plastic sleeve over it that will slide off when the support arm is removed.

8. Use a screwdriver to unscrew the seat back from the seat back support arm.

Tips & Warnings

• Some desk chairs assemble and disassemble with an Allen wrench that usually came with the new chair. Use an Allen wrench to disassemble those chairs. Allen wrenches in varying sizes also can be purchased at hardware, discount and home-improvement stores.

References

• Blue Hen Office Furniture: How to Disassemble a Desk Chair