Most furniture repair calls in San Diego run $85 to $250 for a standard handyman visit. A wobbly chair costs less than a sagging bed frame, and flat-pack failures fall somewhere in between. Whether you searched “furniture repair near me” at 10pm or you’ve been ignoring that squeaky dining chair for six months, here’s what the repair actually involves and what it costs.
What a handyman can fix
Most furniture problems come down to three things: failed joints, worn hardware, or stripped fasteners. A handyman handles all three without specialty equipment.
Wobbly chairs and tables are the most common call. Chair legs loosen over time as the wood dries out or the glue breaks down. The fix is usually wood glue injected into the joint, clamped while it sets, and occasionally reinforced with a corner bracket. A single wobbly chair takes about 30 to 45 minutes. A set of four dining chairs might take two hours.
Broken drawer slides happen constantly, especially on older dressers and filing cabinets. Metal ball-bearing slides wear out; wooden slides get sticky and warp. Replacing a pair of slides is a 20-minute job once you have the right replacement parts. The slides themselves cost $8 to $25 per pair at any hardware store.
Cabinet hinges strip out or bend, leaving cabinet doors hanging at an angle or refusing to close flush. Soft-close hinges can also lose their damping action over time. A handyman can replace a hinge set and realign the door in under an hour. If the screw holes are stripped, that’s a quick wood filler fix before re-drilling.
Loose joints on bed frames are a safety issue, not just an annoyance. Slat brackets work loose, side rails separate from headboards, and center support legs sink into carpet. These are all fixable with the right hardware, some wood glue where appropriate, and sometimes a heavier-duty bolt to replace the original.
Flat-pack failures deserve their own category. IKEA cam locks strip. Wayfair dowels snap. RTA furniture assembled by someone following the instructions backward develops mysterious wobbles six months later. A handyman can disassemble, reassess, and rebuild the piece correctly, often in less time than a first-time assembly attempt. See our IKEA furniture assembly cost guide for pricing context.
Stripped screw holes are the silent killer of otherwise solid furniture. Once the wood around a screw gives way, the joint never tightens properly again. The fix is a wooden toothpick or dowel plug soaked in wood glue, let it dry, then re-drill. It costs almost nothing in materials and takes five minutes once you know the trick.
Sagging bed frames are often a slat support problem. Center support legs drop, slats bow, or the ledger rail separates from the side rail. Most platform bed sagging issues can be fixed in an hour without replacing anything, just reinforcing what’s already there.
Here’s a quick reference for common repairs:
| Repair type | Typical fix | Cost range | DIY or handyman |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wobbly chair | Wood glue and clamp joints | $65-$120 | Handyman if multiple joints |
| Broken drawer slide | Replace slide hardware | $75-$130 | Either, if slides are accessible |
| Cabinet hinge realignment | Adjust or replace hinges | $60-$100 | Handyman |
| Stripped screw holes | Dowel plug and re-drill | $60-$85 | Either |
| Loose bed frame joints | Re-bolt and reinforce slat supports | $85-$175 | Handyman |
| Flat-pack rebuild | Disassemble, reassemble correctly | $95-$200 | Handyman |
| Sagging center support | Adjust or replace center legs and slats | $75-$150 | Handyman |
Pricing assumes a single-visit handyman rate in San Diego. If you have several pieces to repair in one visit, the per-piece cost drops because travel and setup time get spread across the job. See our full furniture assembly cost guide for how hourly versus flat-fee pricing works.
What needs a specialist instead
A handyman is not the right call for everything. Knowing the difference saves you money and protects pieces worth preserving.
Upholstery work is a separate trade entirely. Refoaming cushions, respringing a couch, or reupholstering a dining chair seat requires sewing, fabric sourcing, and sometimes frame rebuilding under the fabric. An upholsterer does this; a handyman doesn’t.
Antique restoration is skilled woodworking that goes beyond repair. If a piece has provenance, it may need hand-cut joinery, period-accurate hardware, and finishing techniques that preserve value. A general handyman using modern construction adhesive on an 18th-century chair can actually reduce what the piece is worth. Get an antique restorer or furniture conservator for anything you’d consider a family heirloom.
Refinishing and stripping mean chemical stripping, grain filling, staining, and finish coats, and that’s a painter or finisher’s scope, not a handyman call. A handyman can touch up a small scratch with a furniture marker or wax fill stick, but a full refinish is a different job.
Structural veneer work on high-end furniture, like bubbling or lifting veneer on a mid-century credenza, needs heat tools and specialized clamping that most handymen don’t carry. If the veneer is small and undecorative, it can be glued and clamped. If it’s a large decorative face panel on a quality piece, call a woodworker.
For work that overlaps between furniture repair and structural wood repair, like rebuilding a damaged solid wood joint or repairing a broken table leg tenon, our carpentry services cover that scope.
Frequently asked questions
How much does furniture repair cost in San Diego?
Most handyman furniture repair visits run $85 to $250 depending on what needs fixing and how long the job takes. A simple chair joint repair might cost $65 to $85. A full flat-pack disassemble and reassemble runs $100 to $200. If you have multiple pieces, the cost per piece usually comes down.
Is it worth repairing furniture or should I just replace it?
For solid wood furniture, repair almost always makes sense. A $120 repair extends the life of a $600 table by years. For inexpensive flat-pack pieces, it depends. If the piece has been rebuilt once already and is failing again, replacement is probably the better call. A handyman can give you an honest opinion when they see it.
Can a handyman fix IKEA furniture that’s falling apart?
Yes. Most IKEA failures are cam lock fatigue, stripped dowel holes, or a reassembly error. All of those are fixable. If the particle board itself is swelling or delaminating from water damage, that’s a replacement situation, not a repair. Our IKEA furniture assembly cost guide has more detail on what that work typically costs.
What causes drawer slides to fail?
Metal slides wear out from friction over years of use. Wooden slides swell with humidity, which is common in coastal San Diego homes. Both fail faster if the drawer is overloaded or if the furniture was assembled slightly out of square. Replacing the slides is almost always cheaper than replacing the piece.
Do you fix outdoor furniture too?
We handle outdoor furniture assembly and minor repairs. For rust treatment on metal frames or more extensive weathering damage, scope matters. See our outdoor furniture assembly guide for what’s typically involved.
How do I know if my furniture needs a specialist versus a handyman?
If the repair is structural (wobble, broken hardware, loose joints, stripped fasteners) it’s a handyman call. If it involves fabric, foam, antique finishes, or decorative veneer on a valuable piece, bring in the appropriate specialist. When in doubt, a quick phone conversation can tell you which direction to go.
When to call us
Wobbly chairs, broken drawer slides, sagging bed frames, stripped screw holes, flat-pack rebuilds. If the problem is structural and the piece is worth keeping, a handyman can almost certainly fix it for less than a replacement costs.
Call us at (858) 925-5546 for a same-day estimate anywhere in San Diego County.