How to Measure and Install Chair Leg Protectors

In this DIY furniture repair blog, Jeff will show you how to measure and install chair leg protectors. Watch the video or read the step by step transcript below.

How to measure chair leg protectors

Chair leg protectors are caps that typically will fit on the outside of the chair frame, as opposed to any kind of inserts that go inside it. This is typically because it's a solid framework that we'll use the chair leg protectors which fit outside.

By simply measuring the outside diameters we're going to get the right size glide or cap to use. What we would do is measure this and you'll see we can come up with this at the, half inch mark so then we're going to use the according cap which is the 7/17 in this case.

Here's how to install chair leg protectors

A tip is to put them in some hot water which would make them real pliable and easy to push on, or you can use a mallet and and smack it on there. The hot water can also work on plastic caps, not just vinyl ones. It helps soften them a little bit. Sometimes if you just need that little extra edge when installing them and putting them in some hot water can be useful.

The caps that are going to fit outside of the frame are typically four solid pieces like the ones above. What we do is we drop this into some hot water which will make this a little more pliable and easy to slide on if it's the clear vinyl.

I did just put this in some hot water and I took it out so we would be able to push this on pretty simply. Then you can always finish it off by using a little hammer and tapping it into place.

If you are going to use a plastic glide (sometimes you have a worn-out hole and you prefer to use the cap glide or chair glide protector to go outside of it) you're simply just going to put that on as far as you can and then finish it off by smacking it on with the hammer, and that's how you install the chair leg protectors.

Think your chair is fine as it is and wondering why you need to bother repairing the feet at all? Read our list of reasons on why you need chair leg protectors in your life here.