Holy shit that's a lot of styrofoam!

[errantember]

So I'm in this sort of multi-year ex-girlfriend sofa exchange cycle. I currently have two sofas and a love seat, all from different ex-girlfriends. My most current relationship looks very much like the sex part is over, and, Lo and Behold, she's got a futon I could really use that's headed out the door.

More on all that later.



In preparation for Having More Room and Not Sponsoring Dog-Destruction Art in the Living Room, I've been on a mission this week to take apart the couches so I can get rid of them. The first one I attacked was this truly ugly green naugahyde couch that I've had for at least 8 or 9 years. Although it's appearance is hard to forgive, I've always liked it because it was comfortable, solid, and LIGHT. So light a very weak person could easily move it anywhere by themselves, even if they picked it up over their heads. Your grandma could use it for swatting naughty people. One handed.

But the dogs have trashed at least 80% of the cushions, so it's time for it to go. After peeling off the naugahyde, I discover that almost the *entire* couch is made out of injection molded styrofoam! There isn't even a wooden frame. There are a few tiny scraps of wood to provide attachment points sunk into the foam at various places, but *all* of the rest besides the springs, the cushions, and the skin is 100%styrofoam. And, let me tell you friends, this much styrofoam is fucking *strong*. I almost busted my wrists trying to knock it apart, and after the sledge hammer failed to speed my progress, I was finally forced to resort to my table saw to weaken the larger pieces enough to break them up. It's easy to see why it's such a seductive product. It's (in our current oil economy) cheap to manufacture, easy to inject into any shape, extremely strong for it's weight, and very durable when properly protected. To bad it's such a total environmental disaster. Actually, these days, earth-friendly alternatives probably exist, and this experience makes me wonder how hard they are to use at home...

Comments

[oracle-tx.livejournal.com]

Wow, I've had a light couch before, but never one made of styrofoam. A buddy and I were helping each other move one year, and we each had a couch. Both were sleeper sofas. Mine was full length, big enough to seat 3 touch-averse adults. His was more of a loveseat, enough for 2 big people, but not 3 unless they were really friendly. I could lift the end of my couch one handed over my head to vacuum underneath. It was large, but otherwise easy to move. The construction was mostly light metal tubes for the bedframe, and some pine boards for the rest. Even though his couch was 2/3rds the size, I swear that thing was cast iron and oak. Just to get it started on its way to the door he got on one end to pull and I got on the other to push, we both heaved and it didn't even *budge*. I had to brace my feet against the wall to get it to move at all, and instead of carrying it up and down stairs, we sorta walked it. We nearly lost control of it at one point on the stairs and he just about got his head crushed between it and the handrail.

Building couches the old fashioned way has its ups and downs, styrofoam may be not terribly earth-friendly, but it is probably safer to move.

[burning-tree.livejournal.com]

I guess you could save the destroyed couch bits and save it for packing material?

Damn. I had no idea styrofoam could be that strong.