How to Disassemble Office Chair | 8 Easy Steps

You might be thinking, “Why do I need to learn how to disassemble my office chair?” Well, there are different reasons behind this.

For instance, you may shift to a new office; you may want to oil the chair parts and replace damaged or worn-out parts of the chair. 

In this scenario, do you call someone to dismantle your chair, or can you do it alone? As a human being, you should have a basic know-how of things you are using.

Here are the instructions for dismantling your chairs:

1. By taking off the wheels from the chair, you can reduce its mobility. 
2. Disconnect the five-star base from the chair.
3. Remove the armrest of the chair.
4. Disassemble the chair’s seat.
5. Take out the gas cylinder carefully.
6. Put off the backrest of the chair.

Keep reading and learn how to disassemble office chairs.

Related:
Why Are Office Chairs So Expensive?

Do Office Chairs Ruin Carpet?

How to Measure Office Chair Seat Height?

How to Dispose of Office Chair?

Are Refurbished Office Chairs Good?

How to Disassemble Office Chair- 8 Easy Steps Guide

Let’s dig into the Step-by-step guide to disassembling your Office Chair.

1. Material Required

In any DIY project, you don’t want to get halfway through and realize you’re missing a tool.

Therefore, gather the tools you’ll need to disassemble your chair first to avoid mismanagement.

• Pipe wrench
• Screwdriver
• Hammer
• A new gas cylinder
• 2 x4 wood pieces
• Pry bar
• WD-40
• Newspaper

Tools You Can Buy From Here:

To remove office chair components, you typically don’t need powerful tools. Most modern office chair has many snap-together parts.

Therefore, no special tools are needed to assemble or disassemble the chair.

2. Create a Productive Environment

You can complete this task on the ground or spacious table. The tip here is to protect your work surface by covering it with newspapers or blankets.

3. Start with the Chair’s Wheels

The wheels are the first order of business when it comes to dismantling the chair. The reason is quite simple.

You can move around while sitting down because of the wheels on workplace chairs.

If you separate other parts of the chair first without removing the wheels, things will get a little trickier.

How can you disassemble the constantly moving chair?

• To do this step, you will need a pry bar and a screwdriver.
• Start by flipping the chair on its side to make the detaching process easier for you. You can either take off the wheels separately or as a whole unit.
• Hold the chair leg with one hand while pulling the caster out with the other.
• Here, the pry bar can help you remove the caster quickly. To use the pry bar, place the nail end of the tool between the chair leg’s caster wheel. Carry out.

4. Dismantle the Five-Star Base from the Chair

To do this job, you’ll need a hammer, a 2×4 piece of wood, and a human assistant. First, position the wood just above the gas lift.

Then hit the wood using the side of the hammer.

Make sure you don’t hit the gas lift. Continue beating the wood. It will eventually assist in separating the base of the chair.

5. Remove the Armrests of Your Chair

Armrests are of two types: Removable and not Removable. So before following this process, first ensure your chair armrest type.

Furthermore, the armrests on certain chairs are just attached to the seating pad. Other chair designs, however, bind them to the backrest as well as the seating pad.

You need a screwdriver to remove the armrests, as they are attached to the chair through bolts or screws.

Depending on the type of screw used to attach the armrests to the chair, a screwdriver may have a flat head or a crosshead. 

If there are bolts holding the armrests together, you can take them off using an Allen wrench.

Keep in mind that some office chair designs have stoppers covering the screw places.

In this scenario, remove them first in order to have access to the screws. With a pull, you should be able to detach the armor wrists after removing all the screws.

Tip: After removing the screws and bolts, wrap them in plastic and put them in a secure location. It will prevent you from losing them.

6. Remove the Office Chair’s Seat

Most chair seats have hydraulic attachments that aid in lifting the chair. It is crucial to check if hydraulics are attached to the seat before lifting it.

If they are not, you can easily pull the seat away from the hydraulics leaving just the cylinder.

However, if the hydraulics are attached, then; it means screws or bolts connect the seat pad to the backrest.

As a result, you must locate these fixtures and use an Allen wrench or screwdriver to loosen them.

7. Remove the cylinders from the chair

What if your chair uses pneumatic technology- a gas lift cylinder -rather than hydraulics? How will you get it out of the way, then? 

First, spray WD-40 on the joints of the gas cylinder and allow it to dry.  This lubrication process makes it easier to knock off the gas cylinder from the base of the chair.

After that, pull the pneumatic gas cylinder away from the base using your pipe wrench. Remove the chair’s base by pulling on it.

Then, take your hammer and tap the cylinder’s bottom until it pops out of the chair.

8. Pull Out the Backrest of the Chair

There are only two things left to do: the backrest and the seating pad.

Please consider that these two sections may already have separated depending on the design of your chair.

Some office chairs have armrests attached to both the seating pad and the backrest, which hold them together.

Therefore, if your office chair fits that description, you’re done.

However, certain chairs, like the Steelcase Leap, have arms and backrests incorporated into the frame.

Therefore, removing the backrest from the chair requires a separate mechanism.

Tips to consider before dismantling your office chair

• Do not remove any internal parts of the chair.
• Use the right set of tools.
• Keep in mind the connections and disconnections.
• Replacing the cylinder after taking it out of the chair is preferable.

Wrapping Up

As an office person, you always desire a comfy chair. But problems may come chair with time.

In some situations, you may need to dismantle your chair to check the problem. So, it’s good to learn how to dismantle office chairs.

Although it can take some time, removing your office chair is not difficult. Always remove each component slowly and use the proper tool.

By doing this, you can prevent some of your office chairs’ essential parts from getting damaged.