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What would you do if an overweight relative kept breaking your furniture?

346 replies

AlittleBitOfApple · 06/12/2023 16:59

My partner has a very overweight family member, I am not being mean. I would say they are most definitely in excess of 20+stone, potentially over 25. This is the second time they have broken a piece of furniture.
The furniture is brand new and we paid for insurance on it which doesn't have an excess and unlimited claims for 5 years. So at least it won't cost us anything to get it fixed.
I am going to have call the furniture company on Monday and ask them to come out and look at our sofa because its clearly broken. You can feel it when you sit on it/its creaking and its the bit they always sit on when they come to visit. Its a 2k sofa so not a cheap one.
It makes me feel uncomfortable having them in my house because I am worried about things getting damaged. How on earth do you broach with someone that they are breaking your things with their weight? They are very defensive about it and I know if we said something it would affect the relationship my DP has with them. Equally I think they would try and deny it and say their sofa is fine etc. Both times it has happened we didn't notice until after they had gone. For example with the sofa, we don't often sit on the bit that I today have noticed is broken, however it is where they sit when ever they come over.

It's just a really awkward situation.

OP posts:
Pigsinpainauchocolat · 06/12/2023 19:34

moonlight1705 · 06/12/2023 17:03

Get a less shit sofa! I'm 21 stone and have never broken a bit of furniture in my life.

That you know of. Maybe people have been too embarrassed to tell you.

bellac11 · 06/12/2023 19:34

Avacardo2023 · 06/12/2023 19:27

I weigh 8.5 stone so if there were two more of me on my lap at one end of any sofa then I would expect it to break, especially if I put all that weight on one sofa arm to get up. Just checked the bottom of my sofa and it states a 16 stone limit for each seat.

God knows how you can say anything to the relative though, I think you will need to visit them instead and not open the door if they arrive unexpectedly.

Correct.

Other posters have deliberately ignored my previous posts and the link I posted about weight limits in order to try to argue that a sofa is going to take any old weight.

21ZIGGY · 06/12/2023 19:34

@WoolyMammoth55 you hit the nail on the head. My mother brought her incontinent MIL to live with us not rejected her for 15 years. Everything was replaceable, my grandmother wasnt

BMW6 · 06/12/2023 19:34

Emotionalsupportviper · 06/12/2023 19:25

Why?

Because the practical, everyday problems caused by obesity are being addressed? They don't go away just because you ignore them.

Well said.

Butterflywings18 · 06/12/2023 19:35

It's undoubtedly an embarrassing situation for both parties if found out. It's not nearly as bad as a TV documentary I watched where an obese man's mother fed him until he couldn't get out of bed. He eventually needed to be admitted to hospital & required the fire brigade to remove him from the house. Good luck to fat activists who dont believe in using the word obesity & believe weight doesn't contribute to health issues. Ask this man who was totally breathless & ulcerated then ended up with sepsis. This isn't fat shaming. People like this are seriously unwell & need help to maintain a 'healthy weight' along with treating other underlying health issues.

Emotionalsupportviper · 06/12/2023 19:36

Ykn · 06/12/2023 17:31

Yet another fat shaming thread but then of course MN is full of slim and perfect women...

I have to admit that I , personally, am in perfect shape . . . . "round" is a shape, after all.

I'm therefore qualified to have an opinion.

Deathbyfluffy · 06/12/2023 19:36

GrumpyandSleepy · 06/12/2023 17:01

Be direct. They will be aware of their size and probably noticed it breaking when they sat down so the conversation shouldn't be a surprise to them. Yes they'll be offended but so what? You're 2k out of pocket.

I take it you missed the part where they've said it'll cost precisely £0 to repair?

Myfabby · 06/12/2023 19:36

21ZIGGY · 06/12/2023 19:32

@Myfabby

Given that you inexplicably missed the judgement, here it is:
That’s just a ridiculous size. Not far off a 6 month old calf to put it into perspective…

Getting snarky with me won't help. 🙄

25 stone is a ridiculous size. Fact.

Pigsinpainauchocolat · 06/12/2023 19:37

forgivingfiggy · 06/12/2023 17:17

There is an uncomfortable undertone to this thread.

What "undertone"? That hugely obese people may break furniture? It's just the truth. And I'm on the chubby side myself, although working on it.

Deathbyfluffy · 06/12/2023 19:37

To the OP, regardless of if it was 2 grand or not it must be pretty shit if it can't hold 25 stone.
I'm a larger chap (not quite that large though!) and I have confidence our £1k sofa would still handle me if I was 10 stone heavier.

Expensive doesn't always equal good

Puzzledandpissedoff · 06/12/2023 19:37

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Troll hunting?

Sallyh87 · 06/12/2023 19:37

Sounds like a really rubbish sofa! I have a relative who is at least 18 st, very tall, very muscular rugby player. He has never broken anything and I doubt a few extra stone would make a difference.

21ZIGGY · 06/12/2023 19:38

@Myfabby congrats on being another judgemental oracle

Myfabby · 06/12/2023 19:39

21ZIGGY · 06/12/2023 19:38

@Myfabby congrats on being another judgemental oracle

😂

I'm hurt.

Pigsinpainauchocolat · 06/12/2023 19:39

TheShellBeach · 06/12/2023 17:19

Oh goody.
Another fat-shaming thread.
Hmm

Oh fgs.

It's not "fat shaming" to say someone obese is breaking stuff. It's just a fact. If we can't say anything about anyone obese, it's not going to help the situation is it.

Op isn't fat shaming, she's asking for ways to help.

It's such a difficult one but I think you do need to address this OP. Maybe it will be the push they need to look at their health.

Myfabby · 06/12/2023 19:40

Sallyh87 · 06/12/2023 19:37

Sounds like a really rubbish sofa! I have a relative who is at least 18 st, very tall, very muscular rugby player. He has never broken anything and I doubt a few extra stone would make a difference.

Let's blame the sofa and the other piece of furniture broken.

And 50kg more won't make a difference- right!

StarlightLime · 06/12/2023 19:42

21ZIGGY · 06/12/2023 19:38

@Myfabby congrats on being another judgemental oracle

It all seems to have really touched a nerve with you...

Emotionalsupportviper · 06/12/2023 19:42

AnneValentine · 06/12/2023 18:09

It’s a shit sofa. My husband weighs 25
stone. I weigh 11. Him and me and kids sit on sofa no issue. Kids sit on him. Heck we’ve had sex on the sofa.

Heck we’ve had sex on the sofa.

TMI!!!!! 😮

Emotionalsupportviper · 06/12/2023 19:43

Sallyh87 · 06/12/2023 19:37

Sounds like a really rubbish sofa! I have a relative who is at least 18 st, very tall, very muscular rugby player. He has never broken anything and I doubt a few extra stone would make a difference.

Tall and muscular can control their descent a lot better than fat and unfit.

ThisMama1 · 06/12/2023 19:45

I don’t know whether you’re wildly underestimating their weight or if it’s just that particular model of sofa but my BIL is about 6’3” (he’s a bit taller than my husband who’s 6’2”) & weighs 27st (he’s currently trying to lose the weight so he’s discussed his weight with us) & no one has even had any issues with furniture. His mum is a size 22 (no idea her weight though), his step dad is overweight too & manage to sit 3 of them to a sofa with no issues. Our sofa was a cheap £500 one from eBay (new, to put us on until we’ve saved for a better one) so definitely not well made, his & his mums were definitely more expensive sofas though

ButterBastardBeans · 06/12/2023 19:46

forgivingfiggy · 06/12/2023 17:17

There is an uncomfortable undertone to this thread.

No. No there isn't people are talking about facts.

dannyufcfan · 06/12/2023 19:48

Any time they come over instead of sitting for a chat, play a game of twister.

It means that they won't be sitting down on the sofa and I suspect it would stop them coming over ever again!

Pigsinpainauchocolat · 06/12/2023 19:51

YuleDragon · 06/12/2023 18:53

a sofa should comfortably be able to handle 2 or 3 (if its a 3-seater) full grown adults + dog/kids/whatever.

That would easily be 30st+

IF the sofa is breaking at 20st its a shit sofa, sorry, but it is.

Edited

But it's not all in one spot, and it's not 20+ stone landing hard at once is it?

BMW6 · 06/12/2023 19:51

Floralsofa · 06/12/2023 19:19

https://www.reinforcedbeds.co.uk/collections/sofas/products/extreme-ellerton-sofa

A reinforced, expensive sofa for bariatric people, weight limit of 30 stone, yet people think it's impossible for a 25 stone person to break a normal sofa?

This needs repeating.

This reinforced chair especially built for obese people has a weight limit of 30 stone.......

BlackberrySky · 06/12/2023 19:52

PlainWoman · 06/12/2023 17:37

This has been posted previously. So dull.

That applies to about half the threads on MN, to be fair.

Swipe left for the next trending thread