The Quality Control Process at UKDK Furniture

By Cameron Potter - 28th February 2024

1 Complete check over.

Due to our ongoing aim of reducing waste and promoting the pre-loved, we deal with furniture in lots of varying conditions. Once the lorry has been unloaded and all of the cusions, legs and bases have been paired with their parent chairs and sofas, we begin the vitally important and very satisfying job of giving each and every item a thorough renewal.

First comes a visual check which will alert us of any stains, rips, scuffs or marks. Next we check the structural stabilty by giving the item a good shake. Any loose legs, joints that need re-gluing or missing serpentine springs will be noted at this point. Finally, we give the item the 'inhalation' test I.E. would we be happy to have our face near it for a prolonged amount of time.

Once the issues have been noted the item will either move to the repair area to have any structural issues or stitch work done or if it is strucurally sound, to the cleaning zone where it will have a full vacuum and machine wash. Unfortunatly, some items arrive in a condition too far gone for us to fix. While we do our best to save every item, the ones that fail our 'three strike' system are given a lopving send off.

2 Cleaning, repairing, renewing.

We have a fully trained group using professional equipment, ensuring that every item that passes through us is in better condition than when we recieve it.

We have a dedicated workshop with full sized equipment to deal with any major structural repairs to the frames incluing the ability to turn new legs on a lathe if needed. We have an ssortment of glues and stains to ensure that any issues with the wooden aspects can be fixed to a high level.

Our leather repair specialist has the ability to fix tears and holes as well as colour matching the original dyes.

We also have a professional fabric cleaner with a full set up of different cleaning agents and methods to renew the upholstery on our chairs and sofas. This process involves a full vacuum of the item followed by a detergent soak to lift dirt and a subsequent full rinse and extraction with our professional grade machine (soak, rinse & extraction on fabric items only)

We never hide from the work that has been done to a piece - giving a new lease of life to high quality furniture is a thing we are proud of and rest a lot of importance on as it reduces waste and offers you the chance to buy a beautiful pre-loved piece that you know has been stabilised.

3 Photography

Once the item has been through our repair an cleaning process, any opersistant issues E.G. a stubboirn ink stain are noted prior to photography. This ensures that we can write a comprehensive condition report so you know the exact condition of the items before they arrive at your house. We always aim to be mildy harsher on the condition of the furniture and have found through over 3600 items sold and a 100% positive review rating (eBay) that this works well.

Our photos are all taking in a neutrally painted studio set up to ensure the colours of the items come through as clearly as possible. We also make sure to include all angles and photos of any issues. This, with the fact we are happy to offer further photos, videos or condition reports, makes sure that the item arrives to you exactly as you had hoped, if not better!