Please find below the terms and conditions that govern all work performed by Malcolm’s Fine Upholstery. By engaging our services by dropping off furniture, or making your initial deposit, you agree to these terms.
Scheduling: “First come, first served.” It takes time for fabric to be delivered, it also takes time for you to deliver your furniture, but I have to work every day and cannot sit idle waiting for any one job to start. If I have all the materials and the furniture in house, that’s the job I start working on first. I often have a backlog of work, and any start date or completion date is an estimate only as there are many things that come up during the re-upholstery process that cause delays. My waiting to hear back from a client about any issues with frame condition/ material choice/ or techniques will lengthen the completion date of the job.
Deposit and payment: 50% of labor estimate due before furniture is dropped off, balance must be paid before pickup. I do not accept credit cards at this time, checks with a copy of govt ID or cash. I also have a pay-pal and Zelle account for you to make a wire transfer. Not accepting credit cards enables me to charge a few percent less on each order which most people appreciate. Sales tax will be assessed on materials, not labor, this is an Arizona requirement. If you qualify for exempt status or resale you must provide paperwork before the balance of the bill is paid.
Estimates: I will provide you an estimate if you can send me a few photographs and measurements, but this is only a rough estimate as I am working from your photos and your measurements. Till I actually see the furniture in person I will not know exactly what it will cost to do the job, not unlike your auto mechanic. Some frame damage is obvious and must be repaired before upholstery takes place, sometimes it’s not till I remove the cover and some of the interior materials that I discover additional issues. I will call you at this point with an additional estimate for frame repair and you may decide at that point to continue with the job or not. Multiple layers of fabric will be considered “excessive” stripping and will be charged accordingly. My estimate presumes only one layer of fabric attached to the frame. I cannot put the cover material back the way it was, that’s not possible, you will get back your furniture partly deconstructed. Frankly any furniture not repairable should be disposed of so this is normally not an issue.
Storage: I have limited storage space in my shop so any excessive storage of your furniture (as defined by me) will be charged a storage fee, this will necessitate my renting a storage locker nearby which you will pay for in addition to the transport fee before you can claim your furniture. Please be prompt in your drop off time and pick up time to avoid these fees.
Pick up and delivery: Clients normally handle this but I do offer pick up and delivery of small items I can move myself for $100 each way, which covers a moving van and a bit of my time. I can arrange with a moving company on your behalf to move larger pieces as necessary.
Insurance: While I am insured in my shop for “slip and fall” my insurance policy does not cover your furniture. The delivery company must have it’s own liability insurance for pieces in transit and if your furniture is sufficiently valuable please contact your insurance agent to get a “rider” for your furniture against theft, fire and damage in transit for the brief period it is out of your house. Normally this is only a necessity for valuable antiques or other costly items. I take every precaution I can to protect your furniture but if it’s very valuable you are responsible for insuring it through your insurance company.
Mold, urine & bugs: I expect you to tell me if your pets had an “accident” on your furniture, this will enable me to strip the frame outside. I reserve the right to immediately suspend work on any contaminated furniture. Any contaminated foam must be replaced, but sometimes the frame itself is contaminated and would need significant remediation to make it safe for residential use. Mold is toxic and I cannot reuse any moldy materials. I’ll notify you of the condition of your furniture and then you can decide if the remediation cost are worth it to you, though there will be a disposal fee if you decide not to pay for remediation costs in addition to my upholstery estimate.
Abandoned work: I will make every reasonable effort to contact you when the job is completed, if you abandon the project and leave an unpaid remainder of the invoice you are still responsible and will incur storage fees. After I send a registered letter and you still have not responded I will consider the furniture “abandoned” and I will liquidate it to cover the remainder of my fee, any deficiencies are still your responsibility and unfortunately legal action may be necessary at this point.
Disposal, you are responsible to pick up rejected work, if not, I will have to charge a disposal fee.
Warranty: I guarantee the work I do, but as I do not sell fabric I cannot guarantee fabric performance in your home or office. Discuss any warrantees with your fabric seller but be forewarned that the warrantee does not cover the labor to remake the piece! buying cheap fabric is a false economy because the labor is far more than the cost of the fabric and no upholster can afford to remake your job for free due to fabric failure. Fabric failure is not “poor workmanship” it’s a failure of the fabric to stand up to the abuse it’s subjected to. I will recommend types of fabric for your anticipated use, but generally the more decorative the fabric the less durable it is. When buying fabric always specify “upholstery grade” fabric and not drapery or garment fabric, they are very different. Within the types of upholstery fabric there are many grades of material and I can consult you on this, but generally one needs to find fabric with a sufficiently high “double rub” standard for abrasion resistance and also how the fabric can be cleaned. Fancy fabrics generally need a solvent based cleaner whereas performance fabrics generally use water and mild soap. Outdoor, medical, automotive, contract, hospitality and marine fabrics are very different from residential upholstery grade fabric. Commercial use fabrics often have anti-soiling treatments applied at the mill and can also include fire retardant chemicals. If you are chemically sensitive be sure to ask the supplier if the fabric you are interested in has any chemical enhancements added during finishing.
I look forward to working with you on your unique project!
Regards,
Malcolm
