How to Repair a Wobbly Bar Stool?

On odd occasions, you may find that your bar stools are wobbly. This is usually caused by loose screws and bolts, so repairing a rickety bar stool is usually a relatively easy task.

First, we need to assess the source of the problem. Working from the bottom up, check all the different possible causes listed in this article.

Once you figure out the root of the problem, you can start to effectively fix it. We've listed the different causes of bar stool wobbles below, so skip to what you think is right for your situation. If you're not sure, then maybe just try each one in order.

The most common cause is an uneven floor surface, a particular problem in older homes with traditional tile or slate floors. However, if you have brand-new floors or a smooth surface such as vinyl, this is rarely the source of the problem.

With tile floors, there are often uneven tiles that don't line up perfectly, which creates vertical displacement between two adjacent tiles, causing the bottom of the stool to wobble. It could also be the texture of the floor, as some forms of slate have a naturally uneven surface. This can be a little less predictable with four-legged bar stools compared to bar stools with bases since the larger surface area of the base helps balance the stool.

The easiest solution is to place cushions under the stools or relocate them to get around uneven surfaces, but we understand this isn't always possible with installed countertops and breakfast bars. Rather than attempting to repair the floor, a cost-effective alternative is to raise floor mats on the underside of the plinth. Just add an extra pad for uneven surfaces. This can be done on our flat and four-legged stools and will help them keep their balance.

Dragging furniture across the floor may damage the base or the underside of the legs.

If your stool has a dome-shaped bottom, the rubber guard underneath may get stuck or come loose as it catches on the floor. Also, with flat-based designs, one of the protective pads may be pulled off when the stool is being dragged.

The fix here is simple, just push the rubber ring back into place on the round base, for flat bases you'll need to use some adhesive to stick the felt pads back into place. The included rubber grommets and felt pads prevent damage to your floors, so be sure to fix this as soon as possible to help keep your floors in great shape.

Gas lift bar stools have a plastic liner between the gas lift and the ottoman - this is also known as a "bush".

With time and continued use, the liner may come loose from the post or fall to the bottom. Without the liner between the posts, the top of the post will start to wiggle because there is nothing holding it in place.

To fix this, use glue to hold it back in place, but use it sparingly, as any excess glue will restrict the stool's movement. Without the liner, the hydraulic column could move up and down at an angle, scratching the inside of the column, so it's important to fix this as soon as possible.

Some of our wooden bar stools are assembled with bolts/screws, so the tightness of those bolts/screws may be the source of your problems.

If you have to assemble a wooden stool, the reason may be that the bolts were not tightened evenly during assembly. This means the frame could be set at a slight angle and wobble, or it could be that the bolts have loosened over time and in general use, but this is easy to fix.

Check the entire frame to make sure every bolt is tight. If this is the case, you'll need to tighten them using the provided Allen key. If all the bolts are tightened and the frame still wobbles, you will need to loosen each bolt, realign the frame and seat, and tighten evenly again.

Perhaps the problem is specifically confined to the seat. If this is the case, you should turn the bar stool upside down to solve the problem.

The screws holding the seat through the footrest may have come loose.

You need to tighten the screws on the bottom of the seat. Before doing this, make sure the seat is centered with the footrest, and make sure to tighten each screw more than once so it doesn't come loose.

When assembling the stool, we recommend that you hand-tighten each screw first to make sure they are in the correct position, then tighten each screw one at a time with an Allen key until each is securely in place.

The above briefly introduces several common bar stool instability problems and solutions. If you want to buy a new bar stool, please contact us.

As a custom outdoor dining furniture manufacturer, CDG's products include outdoor tableware, outdoor garden home sets, outdoor furniture accessories and more. For 16 years, these products have been sold to more than 10,000 large-scale projects in more than 160 countries. We are a leading manufacturer and supplier of innovative and stylish furniture for the outdoor, hospitality, home and leisure industries.