First things first: as a rule, defective office chair casters are only something you have to deal with if you have bought office chairs of questionable quality. The quality of a desk chair is revealed in the details above all else. Alongside the gas lift the chair casters are a heavily used component and therefore need to withstand a lot. Discount suppliers often use inferior materials for these components, with the result that they lose their shape even under normal use. Round casters that glide quietly across the floor gradually turn into egg-shaped ovals that bounce across the office floor so much that damage is inevitable.

Speaking of “damage”: there are also the wrong casters. Most chairs come fitted with hard plastic casters as standard so they roll well on carpet. However, if you have parquet or laminate in the office, home office or living space, you should get suitable casters for hard floors from a specialist retailer. These are a little softer and do not leave unsightly scratches and dents in the floor, which in the worst-case scenario could lead to trouble with the landlord or property owner.

In principle, the casters on a quality chair can be  easy to replace, as shown in our video. When ordering casters, you should therefore pay close attention to the diameter of the pins used to insert the casters into the base: the standard sizes are 10 or 11 millimetres. Once you have found the right chair castors, you can get started with the replacement. Below is a more detailed description of the video.

REMOVING THE CHAIR CASTORS: OPTION 1

• You will need:
  …a little strength and less than a minute.

• Procedure:
  Remove the gas lift from the five- or six-star base of your office chair. Stand the base on the castors and hold it in your stronger hand so that the castors point away from your face. With your free hand, grip the inserted pair of castors and pull firmly – always away from your body to avoid injury. The stem pin used to secure the chair castors in the base should come loose with a short, firm tug. Continue in this way until you have pulled all the castors out of the base one by one.

REMOVING THE CHAIR CASTORS: OPTION 2

• You will need:
  …a blanket, a little strength and less than a minute.

• Procedure:
  If you find kneeling difficult or the first option has not been very successful in getting the castors out of their mounting, this alternative may work better: place a blanket on the floor to protect it from damage and lay the removed base on it “on its back”. Use your own body as a counterweight and place one foot on the centre of the base to keep it fixed to the floor. Then pull the castors out of the base one by one – using one hand or both. Be sure to keep your back straight and make sure the pulling force is applied at a right angle to the floor. This helps you avoid unnecessary effort.

INSTALLING THE CHAIR CASTORS: OPTION 2 (NOT SHOWN IN THE VIDEO)

• You will need:
  …a set of new office chair castors and about half a minute.

• Procedure:
  Check that the socket for the stem fitting is free from dirt and, if necessary, clean the base and all openings with a standard lubricating or cleaning spray. Then insert the castors one by one into the designated mounting holes and press firmly on them until they click into place.

  Then turn the base so that it stands on the floor on its castors. If it stands crooked, one or more of the chair castors have not clicked in properly, so please lay the base back down on the blanket and apply a little more force. Under no circumstances should you stand with your foot on the base and the castors to force the castors to click into place – there is a real risk that the pins will snap off, causing irreparable damage to the castors.

Never use brute force when removing or installing them. If in doubt, please contact the manufacturer.