How to Install Mending Plates on a Sofa

Mending plates are small pieces of metal that have pre-drilled, countersunk holes for flat-head screws. Some are also made with spikes on one side and are hammered into the wood as a complete plate. Mending plates are used to reinforce joints in construction, woodwork and furniture. Sofas, which can become wobbly and unstable after being used for years, are sometimes just held together with wood glue and heavy duty staples. Mending plates are added to the sofa's wooden frame to reinforce its structure.

Mending plates
Pencil
Drill with 1/8-inch bit
Flat-head screws -- 1/8-inch
Flat-head screwdriver

Instructions

- 1
  Choose the type of mending plate needed. A flat plate will secure two pieces of wood end-to-end. A T-shaped plate will secure a butt-joint -- where wood is joined together at a 90-degree angle -- and an L-shaped plate will secure a corner.
- 2
  Position the sofa so the joint requiring a mending plate is facing upward as a flat surface.
- 3
  Lay the mending plate on the exposed wood of the joint with the countersunk screw holes facing upward.
- 4
  Mark the wood at the screw holes of the mending plate, using a pencil.
- 5
  Remove the mending plate, and drill into the marked screw holes.
- 6
  Replace the mending plate, and screw the flat-head screws into the drilled holes.
- 7
  Repeat Steps 2 to 6 until all joints of the sofa are secured.

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