Brought Jan a 35 year old oak side chair. It had a crack in one of the seat joints. Jan said no problem and 24 hours I picked it up, good as new. read more

I searched for several days and had a few false starts until I found Jan. Jan repaired two sectional couches for me when no one else would give it a shot. He's prompt, professional, easy to talk with, and his work is super high quality and fast. He turned around the repairs in less than three days - I'm super happy with his work and glad I got to know a very cool person. Highly recommend - and check out his spun wood art, he's not only a great craftsman, he also creates some beautiful art. read more

Jan can be trusted to perform high quality work, at a fair price and with impeccable attention to detail. I can be no more effusive than that. This review is not about master woodworking, but rather about a master woodworker who can combine other skills and produce aesthetically pleasing results. Our new place lacks storage, of any kind. There are some architecturally interesting exposed beams which held promise. Unfortunately, I was unable to find anyone capable of working with this level of abstraction until I found Jan here on Yelp. Jan made multiple visits to measure, eyeball and discuss what he might be able to do. As soon as he cleared his plate of some personal issues which were otherwise consuming his time, he completed the project in a couple of weeks. He is meticulous, skillful and fun to work with. He performed a design-build and secured the new shelving with custom-fabricated aluminum brackets to the existing beams. I'm pretty sure, like others have stated, he likes challenges. This was a challenge. He absolutely nailed it. Highly recommended. PS...he prefers SMS TEXT messaging to email. ;-) read more

Jan Saeger - Design-build of shelving into exposed beams. Nothing off the shelf about this work! - Furniture Reupholstery Near Me

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We brought in 6 old dining chairs to be glued, he did an excellent job in no time at all. Jan was great, would definitely go to Jan again with any repair needs. So happy we found him, not many people do this work especially with the care he provided. He also does woodworking, he had some beautiful work, bowls, vases, containers. read more

Jan just repaired three chairs for us: a very old wicker chair that belonged to my great-grandmother, a Danish Modern chair from my mother-in-law, and a Mission chair. He gave them all new lives and did a fantastic job for a fair price. I highly recommend him! read more

There is a photograph of my mom holding court from a velvet chair at a Christmas party in about 1963, before I was born. The picture imparts the kind of glamor that was particular to that era: sophisticated, slightly hedonistic, attainable. That glamor, in this photo, is conveyed by three elements: my mother's broad, blood-berry smile; the faceted highball glass in her hand, and the green velvet chair on which she is throned. Forty-six years later I stand un-showered in sweat pants looking at that velvet chair lying on its back like a dead spider, one leg torn completely off. I don't know how either us - the chair or I - got into the states we're in, but there is a unifying thread: I have two sons under the age of ten. I turn to Yelp and search for furniture repair. There I find Jan's listing and call him for help. He was able to look at my chair the very next day. I brought it in and he fixed it while I waited, browsing his cabinet of smooth, carved wood bowls, boxes, and urns. His wee shop was occupied with a set of immaculate, mid-century modern dining chairs undergoing some kind of loving refurbishment. The fact that my chair was getting a speedy treatment with furniture glue indicated something about the quality of the "piece" I had brought him, but I was getting exactly what I wanted. An hour later the velvet chair was back in my house, and once the glue had dried, I seated myself, enrobed in poly-cotton sweat pants and a Target t-shirt. Even without the leaded-crystal glass, without the lipstick or grosgrain Christmas gown, I am a queen restored to her throne. read more

Full disclosure, among all the reviews of furniture-fixer-uppers that I read, I never saw one describing dog-chew damage. And until I left my dogs for two weeks, I never personally experienced it. I'm proof that dog anxiety is a real thing, despite 2xdaily feeding and 3xdaily walking while they stayed in their own home. One of them (who shall remain nameless) chewed two out of four corners of a lovely cedar chest that has been in my family for decades. I chose Jan based on: --Great reviews --A helpful phone conversation in which he suggested I bring the chest for him to evaluate (others I contacted evaluate and estimate based on pictures) --He met me at his shop and offered lots of good information. I especially appreciate that he took the time to explain the difference between antique restoration and repair. Restoration would have required hunting for similar wood and grain, and spending lots of time matching perfectly. My piece of furniture, while I love it, will never qualify as a family "heirloom" that will provide someone with a family income. Having options was great. What he did do was perfect. One can now look at the chest and not know that a dog tried to eat it. Jan even replicated an indentation (which is darker than the rest of the wood ) that extends from the front of the chest around the corners and down the sides. He did a great job at a very reasonable price. I'm thrilled. read more

Jan repaired my Mom's 1961 sewing machine cabinet so now I can sew again! He came to my house to give an estimate and then did the job the next day. While at my house Jan also advised me on some chairs that he felt were at the end of their life and not worth spending $100 on repairing. He suggested an adhesive I could use to repair another piece myself. If you need a trusted artisan to repair your family heirlooms Jan is the man. His tiny shop is perfectly clean and organized...full of hand and machine tools saws and a lathe. This is old world craftsmanship here. Prices are totally reasonable though not cheap...because you get what you pay for! read more

Jan Saeger - Sharp immaculate woodworking tools in Jan's shop - Furniture Reupholstery Near Me

I'm a believer! One of my rosewood chairs from my 35 yr old dining room set collapsed when I sat on it. The front legs splintered apart, and a piece from the backrest chipped off. My husband was petty sure it was beyond repair. I decided to look through Yelp!, and when I found this business and read the reviews, I gave him a call. Jan's workshop is only a ten minute drive away, so I headed over there with the broken chair. He said he'd be able to repair the legs as well as the chip on the backrest, and have it ready for me tomorrow, and at an unbelievably low price. REALLY??!!! We had a chair that wasn't as broken a few years ago, and we took it to a place in Concord that charged almost 2 and a half times more and took 2 months to repair. The chair was repaired wonderfully! Can't even tell where it had broken. Thank you, Jan, for your superb handiwork! read more

Jan repaired three dining room chairs that were falling apart in less than a week. The work was superb; the price fair. We would definitely use him again. read more

I ordered a lovely wooden high chair from Amazon, but it arrived with a big crack down the side. Because it was the last one available, I opted to keep it with a discount rather than return it. Jan was able to fix the crack for a reasonable price and in an amazingly short amount of time. It took less than 30 minutes from when we dropped it off to when we were packing it up and ready to go. The crack is now scarcely visible-- you have to know just what you're looking for in order to even notice it. Thank you, Jan! read more

Jan (pronounced yon) has 30 years of experience with furniture repair. He has a little shop in Rockridge and a great attitude. I brought him a wooden MCM couch that FedEx had ripped the legs off of and babbled incoherently like someone who didn't have any idea even what order of magnitude price I could expect to pay. He talked me through different options of how to fix it, and I settled on the cheapest one and expected something ugly and barely usable to get me by until I had some cash for the whole shebang. He told me it would take about 2 weeks to get around to it. Was I surprised when he finished it the next day (Sunday!) and it looked fantastic and was strong as it ever was. I highly recommend Jan for people who don't have unlimited funds and antiques, but want to "repair" instead of "replace". Five stars because I couldn't have asked anymore (other than he pick it up and drop it off at my house...with ice cream, but hey, I couldn't have reasonably asked for anything more). read more

Communted from Marin after reading all the great reviews. Thanks so much! I broke two legs on an old chair when I stood on the chair to reach a bookcase. He repaired the chair in two (!) days and for half the estimated price we talked about. Truly a skilled, honest and reputable master woodworker. Worth communting to from any of the Bay Area counties! read more

I chose to contact Jan because of his excellent reviews. My experience matched what I had heard. Jan is a very competent woodworker and is a pleasure to work with. His shop is a little hidden, in a garage behind an apartment building - but do not be discouraged. He was available to meet me after work, and was prompt returning my phone calls. As for my project: I have a vintage trailer and needed to repair a built-in type table. It is a complicated piece, a corner table with a slide out to make a bigger table with leaves. Jan provided me with a new top and leaves, re-glued the joints, and repaired a cabinet. He seemed to understand the needs of this unusual piece of furniture. I am very pleased with the outcome. Jan charges by the hour for his work. Having as much done as I did was expensive, but considering how elaborate the work I needed was and Jan's professionalism, it was a bargain. read more

We had an old couch with broken springs and other structural problems. Unrelated to that, we also needed to get a small child-sized bed. Since we liked the couch design so much and wanted to keep it, we decided that we'd combine the two problems and sought out someone to repair and upgrade the couch into a narrow bed. We contacted several furniture repair specialists, but every single one of them flaked out and either never replied or never followed through -- except Jan Saeger, who not only was the most responsive and accessible, but who also quoted the lowest price. So we hired him and were not disappointed. He followed our instructions for how we wanted the couch to be reconfigured (replacing the broken springs with wooden slats), and completed the whole job in one afternoon (most of which was spent simply shopping for the right wood). Very quick, very efficient, good craftsmanship, and he doesn't charge an arm and a leg. Now the couch is stronger than it ever was before. The one disappointment is that the slats don't have a lot of "bounce" or spring to them (as we had envisioned), but Jan explained that the expansion and contraction of springy slats would over time weaken the couch's structure, so it wasn't a good idea to have springy slats anyway. Overall, we were very satisfied. We got our couch repaired and got a new "bed" for 1/4the the price it would have cost us to buy stuff new. And it's better quality that modern furniture. Recommended. read more

Jan Saeger has many years of Handyman experience- projects large and small. And he also Turns wood and repairs furniture. I have used him for 10 years or more for all my smaller projects (not requiring a Contractor with crew). I have never had to ask him to re-do anything. My clients have also used him with the same results. Jan is also a Woodturner. I commissioned a couple pieces ( a wedding and for a pet urn) and they were really nice. He uses reclaimed trees and lets you pick the wood and have some design input if you wish. Im a fan!! Taree Lyn read more

He came to my home to fix my dresser. He was prompt, efficient, a nice guy, and did the job cost-effectively. What more can I ask?

I brought a chair to Jan for repair. Four days and a reasonable fee later and It's been beautifully and painstakingly given new life thanks to Jan's skill and touch. Would I seek him out again for refurbishment and restoration? You bet I would! PLUS, upon carrying the chair to my car he noticed my tire was flat and urged me to get it repaired IMMEDIATELY. I took it to a dealership and in doing so met a remarkable man and new friend ...but that's another story for another day... read more

Great Work, Nice Guy Based on other Yelp reviews I contacted Jan regarding a needed repair on an older chair that is part of special dining set we've had for years. Jan was easy to contact and within 2 days I had my repaired chair. Really could not have been easier. I'm very happy with the work done, and the cost was quite reasonable. I'd recommend Jan in a minute. Thanks for your help Jan! read more

Jan did a great job repairing a little gingerbread side table for me last month. One leg had fallen off and the rest were wobbly. Originally I was planning to sand and paint the table a wild color since it isn't really much of an antique, but Jan also polished it up very nicely. When I picked it up, I decided it was looked too good to paint for the time being! He was very easy to work with; if we have any other furniture repair needs in the future we'll be calling him. read more

Long story short: we bought a chair online for a great price. Couldn't get the bottom piece on, convinced it was defective. Ready to return it. Jan put it on for us--we didn't even have to take it all the way out of my car! Less than $50 AND we got a huge credit from the site we bought it from. Awesome! But Jan is the story here. Super nice, super quick. Amazing workshop. read more

I called Jan after reading the reviews on Yelp. I have two antique wood chairs that were damaged in move, and I wanted to get fixed. I spoke to Jan on the phone and brought the chairs by for a quote, and his pricing was very reasonable. He got them back to me earlier than I expected, and it cost exactly what I expected. The chairs now look better than they used to! We use them in the living room and they are as good (probably better) than they ever were. I will go back to Jan for wood furniture or antique repair. Recommended. read more

Jan came right to my house just a day or two after I first contacted him to fix some rustic wooden couches I shipped over from Kenya. He immediately identified an easy solution, went out to purchase materials, and completed the repairs. The couches are steady once again. Thanks Jan! read more

Jan did a great job repairing two of my chairs from a 30 year old dining set! He was able to squeeze my repairs in between projects, turning them around in just a few days and under the price he initially quoted me! Will definitely use him again for my furniture repair needs! Thanks for a job well done, Jan! read more

Jan did a difficult repair to some drawers on long industrial-type slides. Work was done better than the original cabinets, despite his having to do some real acrobatics to get the job done. He was very patient and the charge was VERY fair. Highly recommended! read more

This review is over due. Earlier this summer Jan skillfully repurposed my cal king solid oak waterbed to a king size platform bed with storage. I am very happy with the results and will request Jan's help again with any woodworking projects. read more

Jan Saeger - Oak waterbed that needed converting - Furniture Reupholstery Near Me

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Another overdue review. I had two dining chairs that had both been broken in two parts by shippers. I wasn't sure they could be repaired. I found Jan on Yelp and could see he was the right person to go to. Boy, was this right. I brought him the chairs in the morning and they were perfectly repaired by that evening and the price was fair. I would use him again for any wood related repair, big or small. read more

Jan came over on a moments notice since he happened to be free and removed a piece of trim around a recessed mirror in a cabinet in hardly twenty minutes. Had the right tools for the job, good attitude and gave me some good tips to finish the project. Well done. read more

Jan is great. I had a sub-par chair that needed fixing and he did a quick fix that will keep the chair alive for quite some time. He gave me some great advise regarding taking care of the type of chair I brought in, charged a fair price AND showed me his gorgeous bowl collection. He is great. I am going back for one of his hand-made madrone wood bowls....and recommend him for furniture repair. read more

Jan was able to fix my broken 1950s handmade danish dining chairs quickly and excellently. He showed great care in working with the very delicate old antiques. read more

Excellent work at a fair price, quickly done. Plus a totally cool workshop to boot. Jan is a true craftsman.

After reading others' Yelp reviews, I brought Jan Saeger 3 bentwood cafe chairs with embossed seats, purchased in the Netherlands 15 years ago (they're probably more than 100 years old. While not precious-- they have charm). The chairs had become creaky with time. Jan was able to tighten up the chairs in half the time and half the estimated price to which I'd agreed. I'm delighted to have gotten these nice old chairs back into excellent working condition, and at a very fair cost, as well. Jan is very professional and affable. We made appointments for me to drop off and pick up my chairs, and he was punctual and available exactly as promised. read more

I came to Jan with two jobs. The first he said I could do by myself more easily and cheaply than he could do it and proceeded to explain to me exactly how to go about accomplishing my goal. The second project wasn't difficult, just custom and not standard. Jan helped me figure out what I needed to know before he started and then, when I came back to him with the information he needed, did a beautiful job making me a piece I needed to adapt a European vintage light fixture to an American set-up. He went above and beyond what I commissioned, for a fair price, and thought of some details I hadn't. Thank you Jan. read more

Jan has fixed wooden chairs for us. It's great to have a chair go from rickety and hazardous to good-as-new. He does what he promises - work done when promised for the fee promised. Highly recommended! read more

I found Jan's name here on Yelp and decided to trust the five-star recommendations. That trust was well placed. Jan turned out to be a truly talented craftsman. He refinished two mid-century teak tables for me. It was a delicate job that required skill and finesse. I was hoping for good results but Jan's work surpassed my expectations. The tables that were worn and stained, now look new. I'm so pleased! Thanks Jan! read more

very experienced and professional. He is certainly the right person to call for any professional furniture repair. He comes right to your house and gives you all options for taking care of the problem. Thanks Jan. read more

Jan is more of a cabinet maker than a carpenter --and I mean that as a compliment. He's happy to do carpentry, but he really shines when you ask him to build something for you. Unbelievably beautiful work. I don't know how he does it in his one-car garage shop. The only downside: He doesn't own a car, so he has to have wood delivered. That adds something to the price, but it won't stop me from coming back. read more

Recently the leg and cross brace snapped off our Victorian piano stool -- a valued family possession for more than a century. I was at a loss as to where to bring it for repairs, when I saw all the positive reviews for Jan Saeger on Yelp! I called him, and he said he was backed up and would not be able to work on it for a week. So, a week later I called him again and, good as his word, he said bring the stool over. I took it to his small shop in the Rockridge district of Oakland and he had it back to me in less than 24 hours. Jan charges by the hour, and he only charged me for an hour and twenty minutes. Quality workmanship and reasonable prices. Highly recommended! read more

I tried to refinish a flea market mid-century chair myself and botched it horrendously. Jan came to the rescue for a very reasonable price and VERY quickly. We dropped the chair off and picked it up 3 days later. It looks great, he erased every sign of my inept work. Next time I score a find in need of some TLC I'll take it straight to Jan. read more

Jan Repaired a rocking chair that's been in my family for a couple of generations (It's not special objectively but I like it!!); he was fast, very reasonably priced, did a great job, and couldn't have been easier to work with. (He's in Rockridge now, not north Berkeley -- or maybe both?) read more