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Why are most sofas so bad?

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Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#741

Post by ErigmolCt »

verall wrote: post #650
noduerme wrote: post #619

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You say it yourself. Why spend $7k on couches over a lifetime when you can spend $4k on one that lasts forever? If you can only scrape together $1k a year for a new piece of garbage, maybe you should sit on milk crates til you can scrape together $4k. Maybe the fact that no one thinks this way anymore explains why everyone complains their six-figure income is constantly eaten up by replacing cheap shit.

It doesn't help that in 2024 a $4k sofa is probably crap and you need to spend like $12k+ for something that lasts 100+years

Yeah, agree a $4k sofa is likely of poor quality nowadays

Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#742

Post by TimeBearingDown »

EraYaN wrote: post #503
Wohlf wrote: post #343

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Particleboard is absolutely useless, MDF is mostly useless except using as a guaranteed flat surface on top of something to support it, hardboard is pretty useful in certain applications though. OSB is great and extremely affordable as sheathing, and there's a massive variety of plywood that's great for their respective purposes - from cheap rough sheathing, mid-grade for shop projects and filling large gaps in furni…

MDF is also great if you need homogeneous materials (for stuff like speaker cabinets). And for those more than sturdy enough, they are also always protected by some layer.

Yes. I went on a deep dive recently looking for the sweet spot in affordable speakers and subwoofers for near field and home theatre use, and noted that almost every top performer under 1000USD per unit used entirely MDF cabinets. The exception was the Monolith THX series by Monoprice that pay up for HDF and still do well at their price point.

Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#743

Post by BriggyDwiggs42 »

maxerickson wrote: post #453
BriggyDwiggs42 wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lets do both :)

I really don't expect that appointing a committee to decide if your use of a space is acceptable is going to improve the problems caused in large part by having a committee decide how space should be used.

I think my committee is good and other committee is bad

Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#744

Post by antifa »

noduerme wrote: post #639
ToucanLoucan wrote: post #631

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hear me out: what if we reversed the various societal changes made since the Reagan era so people make enough money to afford the things they need and want like every generation before mine did, instead of just normalizing this notion that you need to eat shit for years on end so you can have the privilege of nice things? And that would have knock on effects for huge societal issues like climate change. Imagine how m…

I'd argue that reversing those changes would require a grass-roots effort to stop consuming so much cheap garbage. If people bought American and demanded high quality products, American manufacturing would benefit. But also - I think the 1950s-80s were a complete abberation in which working middle class people could afford a better lifestyle every year. Not "every generation before" ours could afford a house and two…

> People like my grandparents built this country by saving and sacrificing their comforts.

I don't mind saving and sacrificing, that sounds awesome. The problem is that I'm not saving, sacrificing, working hard, etc. for any meaningful purpose, it's exclusively to subsidize some greedy CEOs/oligarchs luxurious lifestyles.

Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#745

Post by Doxin »

xp84 wrote: post #663
MikeDelta wrote: post #508

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could even hang some servers underneath your LACK, aka the LackRack [0] [0] https://wiki.eth0.nl/index.php/LackRack

This is hilarious, but I can't imagine relying on 4 screws into the cheapest wood known to man, all at the one end, holding up a heavier rackmount server without it sagging dangerously. On the other hand, I can imagine two LACKs stacked, with the servers on top of the bottom table, their weight being borne by all 4 legs evenly, and just mounted to the legs of the top table just to hold them securely in place. Anyway,…

The legs on lack tables used to be solid wood. IKEA is on an ongoing quest to make the production cheaper though and these days the legs are hollow.

Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#746

Post by ieee2 »

zippergz wrote: post #643
arbitrage wrote: post #618

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're exaggerating about light-bulbs. There is no way LEDs last less than incandescents. If you are experiencing this, its possible your wiring is bad. You should call an electrician and have them check that out.

There are some very bad, cheap LEDs on the market. Sometimes even under name brands. I've learned to be pretty picky about which ones I buy, both in terms of their longevity as well as the quality of the light.

Yes, when I bought a few LED lights from Aliexpress (years ago), they got broken in a few months. But I have philips LED light since ~2012 and that still works without any problem.

Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#747

Post by ieee2 »

TillE wrote: post #642
WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #636

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There is no way LEDs last less than incandescents. Sure there is. I bought a case of Sylvania LEDs in 2019. They're used a few hours a week and I've tossed 5 of the 15 I've installed.

I've been using a Philips 100W equivalent bulb for about 12 hours a day for almost 9 years now. Companies can always manufacture garbage if they don't care, but LED technology is fantastic.

Exactly

Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#748

Post by kaybe »

klondike_klive wrote: post #469
m463 wrote: post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the problem I've noticed is - the furniture that is built to last very frequently fails the partner test - "that looks like old fart stuff". Same sort of issue with cool remote controls. For example, la-z-boy has pretty good controls - remotes have better designs, have lots of adjustments, and motors seem to move faster. And they too fail the partner test - "that looks like old fart stuff" I kind of like some…

Ugh this - my partner hates the sofa that I inherited from my mother, one that she told me she used to play on in the 1940s. It's a beast, with claw and ball feet that have stubbed many a toe, but I am fighting for its survival.

Maybe if you change the fabric they might like it more?

Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#749

Post by mmcnl »

tomxor wrote: post #713
mmcnl wrote: post #656

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My experience is completely the opposite. Nokia phones weren't as durable as you remember. A Nokia phone would hardy last 2 years with limited use, either the battery or power connector would die quickly. iPhones get way more usage than Nokias and they easily last 3 years. Also I've literally never had a LED bulb die on me.

I don't know what kind of nokia your talking about but I use a 12 year old nokia feature phone, works fine, very robust, had countless drops, onto countless surfaces, often gets smushed when I go rock climbing and forget it's in my pocket. The battery is barely working but I still get 4 or 5 days charge on it. I will have to upgrade soon to a 4G version because the 3G bands are getting repurposed in the UK over the n…

I'm talking about the Nokia 3310.

Re: Why are most sofas so bad?

#750

Post by thebiss »

verisimilitude wrote: post #532
linsomniac wrote: post #512

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I ended up doing MDF tops for my workbench (1" MDF over 3/4 plywood), and finished them with shelac for a protected, low-friction surface. It is still vulnerable to water damage, but not as bad as unfinished, and as a spoil layer it's not bad. It has plusses and minuses.

If you ever need to replace that MDF, try this: https://epoxytops.com/phenolic-resin-countertops/ I'm using it for my next workbench top.

Umm, freight is $500?
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