Wicker repair in Saint Paul, MN keeps porch chairs, sunroom sets, and family heirlooms in service instead of out at the curb, and Dale’s Furniture Refinishing has been doing that work by hand for over 40 years. Loose binding coming off an arm, a few snapped strands across a seat, a peacock chair gone soft in the back: none of it means the piece is finished. Natural wicker, reed, rattan, and bamboo are all repairable materials, and Dale splices, rewraps, and reweaves them the traditional way for customers across Saint Paul and the wider Twin Cities.
How we repair wicker and rattan
The first step is identifying the material, because reed, rattan cane, willow, and bamboo do not behave alike and they do not take the same repair. Dale matches new material to the original in species, diameter, and color as closely as it can be matched, soaks it until it turns flexible, and works it into the existing weave. Broken strands are cut back to a sound point and the splice is tucked in behind a wrap or a crossing, so the joint is hidden rather than sitting out in the open where your eye lands on it.
Loose or unraveling binding on arms, legs, and posts gets taken back, the frame underneath is checked and re-glued if it has moved, and the wrap goes on fresh under even tension so it holds. Sagging seats are tightened or rewoven depending on how far gone they are. When the repair is done, the new material gets toned or finished to blend with the rest of the piece, whether that means a clear coat over natural reed or fresh paint across the whole chair.
Wicker and rattan pieces we repair
- Wicker chairs, rockers, and settees
- Porch and sunroom sets that have been through Minnesota weather
- Peacock chairs and tall fan-back frames
- Rattan headboards, bed frames, and bar carts
- Bamboo and reed furniture, including hoop and pole frames
- Wicker baby buggies, plant stands, and side tables
- Failed seats that are better replaced with a woven seat (see chair caning)
- Loose or wobbly hardwood frames under the weave (furniture repair)
- Antique wicker from the porch-furniture era (antique furniture restoration)
Natural wicker versus all-weather resin
Worth sorting out before you load a piece into the car. Wicker is a weave, not a material. Traditional wicker is woven from natural stock: rattan reed, willow, rush, or twisted paper fiber over a hardwood or rattan frame. The all-weather patio furniture sold over the last couple of decades is usually a synthetic resin or vinyl strand wrapped around an aluminum frame, and it only looks like the real thing from across the yard.
Dale works in natural materials. Reed, rattan, cane, rush, and bamboo are what he has spent 40 years splicing and weaving, and those are the pieces worth the labor anyway, because they were built with real frames and real joinery underneath. Broken resin strand generally cannot be spliced or rewoven the traditional way, so if your set came out of a patio department, this is not the right shop for it. If you are not sure which one you have, send a photo or bring it by and we will tell you straight.
Why choose Dale’s for wicker and rattan repair
- Natural reed, rattan, cane, and bamboo worked by hand, in the original method
- Splices hidden in the weave instead of patched over the top
- Frame repair and refinishing available on the same piece
- Painted or natural finish, whichever suits the chair
- Fair pricing with FREE estimates, and we always guarantee our work
- 40+ years of craftsmanship, serving the Twin Cities since 1975
Porch and sunroom pieces
Minnesota is hard on wicker. A chair parked in a sunroom bakes and dries out until the strands go brittle and start snapping under weight, and a piece left on an open porch takes the rain and humidity that swell the reed, loosen the wrap, and eventually rot it out at the feet. Both are fixable if you catch them before the frame itself lets go. Dale replaces the failed sections, tightens what has gone slack, and puts a protective finish or fresh paint back on so the piece has a real chance at the next season.
Call Dale at (651) 748-9465 for a FREE estimate, or contact us here. Wicker work sits right alongside chair caning, furniture repair, and antique furniture restoration, and current pricing is posted any time. Dale serves Saint Paul, Minneapolis, and the surrounding Twin Cities.