Repairing old chair

[Whyisitsodifficult]

Can anyone advise me on how to repair the underside of an old bedroom chair. The springs seem intact but the fabric is all ripped and I’m not sure if there would be lots of stuffing in there. There seems to be some remains of wool and horse hair. Should I refill the base?

As an amateur, but with some experience, I think you have a difficult job on your hands.
The stuffing on top of the springs has come through the spring cover (forgotten the correct name) as this is worn out. The only way to correct this is to strip off the blue cloth and re build from the springs up.
The back looks as if it could do with work too.
Unless the chair has sentimental value, the work may not be worth doing.
I would estimate, for a professional, 2 hrs to get the cover off, 1 hr to re stuff, 2 hr to put cover back, 1 hr for the base . So something like a days work plus materials, Maybe the same for the back.

Thank you for your detailed reply. I just assumed all the stuffing had come from under the springs as the material had ripped, but of course that makes no sense to have stuffing under the springs! Hmm it is sentimental as belonged to my grandparents, would you have any idea as to how much it’d cost to repair? Is it something I could attempt myself?

I'm in the trade OP.

Give it to a professional - it's not an easy job, trust me.

You need a complete refurbishment - the horsehair,scrim, and cotton felt all need replacing as they are natural materials and just perish/rot. You'd need to strip the cover, remove everything and replace (if springs have rusted, if not you could keep).

You can have a look at some videos on Youtube, but it's a very skilled job. We'd probably allow 2/3 days for someone to work on that in our workshop.

How do I go about finding someone to repair this, google upholsterers? Furniture repairers? I’m not sure who I need! Any idea of the cost involved?

You could find a local member of the Association of Master Upholsterers (AMU), they should be listed on their website. Or ask on a local FB site for recommendations.

As a rough idea, I'd say you were looking at £500/£600 depending on the fabric you chose and the level of restoration ie woodwork/polishing.