Disassembling your office chair might not be something you ever think about until the need arises. There are several reasons why you may want to, and this includes moving to another office, or you want to oil the parts or replace a damaged or worn out part. Whatever the reasons are, it’s important to know how to disassemble your chair.
Most office chairs require a form of assembly before you can use them, especially ergonomic chairs, and if you didn’t assemble them yourself, you might have trouble with the office chair disassembly.
However, here’s a quick guide on how to disassemble an office chair:
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Start With The Wheels
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The wheels might disturb you while you dismantle the chair or try to move it around, so it’s best to take them off first to reduce mobility. To do this, you will need a pry bar and a screwdriver. Start by turning the chair on its side to make the detaching process easier for you. You can either detach the wheels individually or as a whole unit. Now, hold the chair’s leg on the one hand and the caster on the other hand while you pull it out. The pry bar can come in handy here to pull out the caster easily. You can also press or pull the small lever in the wheels, if it’s present, to unlock the wheel from the wheelbase.
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Remove The Star Base
To remove the office chair base, you’ll need a hammer, a 2×4 piece of wood, and a human assistant. Invert your chair and let your assistant hold down the starbase while placing the wood above the gas lift. Hit the wood with the hammer and try as much as possible to avoid hitting the gas lift. Keep doing that until the pressure on the base is released, and it comes apart.
Removing the chair base is also sometimes helpful for replacing worn-out parts that may have succumbed to wear and tear. Rather than getting a new chair, you can take out the base and replace it with a new one or another chair that is no longer in use but still has it’s base intact. Apart from getting your chair back in a better condition, you will also help create a more sustainable environment.
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Detach The Armrests
The armrests are the next to be detached to reduce distractions or rather get secondary structures out of the way. Start by checking if they are detachable, as some chairs are designed with armrests that can’t be detached unless the chair is completely damaged. If it’s possible to detach them, go ahead and use a screwdriver, which could be either a flat-head or cross-head depending on the screw used. Loosen the screws and remove the armrests gently without causing damage to the chair.
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Remove The Chair Body
The chair body is a huge part of what you have left, and this includes the seat and the back of the chair. Your goal is to separate the back from the seat and have them both kept with the rest of the other office chair parts that have been disassembled.
Start with the chair’s seat, which is easier if it’s adjustable and is likely to have hydraulics, which helps lift the chair. Check if the hydraulics are attached. If they aren’t, you can easily pull the seat away from the hydraulics, thereby leaving just the cylinder. However, if the hydraulics are attached, which is in most office chairs, check for screws and bolts and loosen them, so you can easily separate the back of the chair from the seat.
However, if your chair doesn’t use hydraulics but rather a gas lift cylinder, also known as pneumatic technology, you’ll need an adjustable wrench, screwdriver, and a rubber mallet. Turn the chair upside down and unscrew the bolts under the chair to disassemble the parts. Then, proceed to separate the base from the cylinder. On the one hand, with the cylinder, use your other hand to hit the base of the chair with the rubber mallet to remove it.
Once that is done, you have to release the mechanism from the inside of the cylinder by hitting it with the rubber mallet until it’s out.
Why You Need An Office Chair That Can Be Assembled And Disassembled
Most of these chairs that can be assembled or disassembled are often the best kind of chairs to have, especially at your workplace. This is because they embody all the necessary parts required for a chair to give you the proper support you need as you sit. This includes the alignment with your spine curvature, lumbar, lower back support, neck support, and armrests.
Most importantly, it reduces your risk of musculoskeletal pain that may arise from prolonged sitting, especially with poor posture. This is also the best office chair for tailbone pain, a kind of pain common among office workers, and could arise from using a bad office chair. An office chair without a good seat with the right foam and material would hurt your glutes and could result in tailbone pain.
Also, it is to your advantage that you’re able to dismember the chair whenever you need to move or oil the parts or even replace them. A broken leg or wheel should not necessarily mean you have to throw the entire thing away if the chair can still be fixed or repurposed,
Ergonomics have been recommended for office workers in recent years for several reasons due to its many advantages. In addition to everything already stated here, it also helps you save money, as it lasts for a long time and reduces your health risks, which reduces your hospital visits and helps you stay productive at work.
Conclusion
As you decide to opt for a better and comfortable office chair for work use, you should also learn how to disassemble them when necessary or outsource to someone with better experience who can do it perfectly.
