How to Fix a Broken Chair Seat

Broken chair seats are part of the adventure when restoring thrifted and vintage furniture. Here is a quick and easy fix for a broken chair seat.

graphic showing broken chair and supplies to repair the broken chair seat

fun memories

This adorable youth chair was gifted to us. Isn’t it so sweet?? Think about how many meals were enjoyed at the family table by a toddler sitting in the sweet chair!

The spills, the wriggling, the laughter….. this little chair had a lot of use!

The seat of the chair is showing the use too. Most chair seats are made from individual boards that have been joined together to accommodate someone’s bottom. In this case, a little toddler’s bottom.

Over time those boards can loosen and the joinery can become weak. And we just can’t have that, now can we??

wooden youth chair with broken seat ready to be repaired

easy beginner repair

This is a simple repair that any beginner can do! Some repairs can be more involved, but when the repair is just a broken chair seat, the repairs are simple and quick!

The joinery in the chair seat had loosened over time. They are just waiting to split open!

Let’s fix that broken chair seat together!

close up of loose boards on broken chair seat of a youth chair

supplies

The basic supplies needed for this broken chair seat repair are:

  • power drill
  • counter-sink drill bit attachment
  • wood glue like Titebond III
  • metal mending brackets (optional)
  • screws
  • hand-made wood mending bracket
  • furniture bar clamps (not pictured)
power drill, bottle of wood glue, scraps of wood for mending bracket, screws, counter-sink drill bit all laying on top of workbench

useful tool

This is a close-up of the counter-sink drill bit attachment that lives on my DeWalt power drill. It not only drills the hole for the screw, but it also cuts into the wood so that the head of the screw recesses into the surface. This makes for a finished look without the head of the screw sticking out!

close up of counter-sink drill bit attachment for a power drill

quick video tutorial

I thought a YouTube video might be the best way to show you how to do this simple broken chair seat repair.

This is what I will go over in the video:

  • description of the repair we will make to the broken chair seat
  • supplies and tools
  • how to make custom wood mending bracket
  • how to use counter-sink drill bit attachment
  • attaching custom-made wood mending brackets
  • how to use a furniture bar clamp

the finished chair

repaired and painted youth chair that had a broken chair seat

Certainly not the best photo I’ve ever taken but in a pinch, it will do!

Once the repairs were finished, the chair was thoroughly cleaned and then painted in Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint ‘Farmhouse White’. Since the chair was vintage, I felt it called for a bit of distressing. Then it was sealed in MMS Hemp Oil.

This broken chair seat is no longer a problem!

A toddler could sit at the dining table with the family with the security that the chair seat won’t fall apart! Can’t you see this adorable youth chair in a corner of a room as a plant stand?? I love using furniture pieces in ways that are creative and out of the ordinary!


Just for fun, here is another chair seat repair. It’s a totally different type of repair and I think you will love the results!

Repairing Caned Chairs | An Alternative Method

a freebie for you!

Thanks for stopping by for this tutorial! Hopefully, you can see that tackling a simple repair like this broken chair seat is doable!

I say, head to your local yard sale or thrift shop and look for a broken chair seat to repair!!

Show me on Instagram or Facebook what you find and how the repair went by tagging me! I would love to know if this tutorial was helpful for you!!

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4 Comments

  1. Such a great post and I love that it references your video. That high chair is adorable!

    1. Cynthia Gayle says:

      Thanks Anna! The video definitely is not my best but it serves the purpose! Thanks for reading the post๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š

  2. Paul Pantages says:

    Nice video CG. Kind of amazed that you can drill 4 holes in a brace and have them all lined up at the end :)… I usually (have to) put a screw into the first one or two to keep it from moving when I drill later holes..

    1. Thanks for watching and I’m glad you enjoyed it! Putting the first screw in is definitely the better way to do it!