How to Make Your Office Chair Taller – Step by Step

Generally, most of the world comprises people of medium height and weight. Office chairs and furniture are some of those that are mainly designed for medium size persons. Office chairs are available in various sizes, designs, and styles.

It’s imperative to select the correct height of the chair. It’s a joy to use an ergonomic posture chair of the right size for comfort and health benefits.

However, if the chair is not of the ideal height to suit your needs, it will irritate the person. Especially for an office chair, the consequences can be much worse. It can lead to a wide range of musculoskeletal issues, back pain, and spinal problems requiring surgery.

There is a standard height for desks in the office that suits most people but not everyone. In many cases, the know-how to adjust the chairs properly is a must in these kinds of hassles. Luckily tall people can raise the chair a bit.

They are not easy except for some but better to do instead of sitting in the wrong posture. Which can cause severe damage to your back? To ensure optimal comfort, you have to follow these simple steps.

Why is it essential to adjust the height of the office chair why?

Question is fundamental why you need a proper height of the office chair. The answer is that the appropriate size will guarantee you comfort and a healthy posture. On the other hand, keeping your chair at the wrong height for extended periods will develop poor posture and cause chronic injury.

For a taller person, if your seat is too low will make your legs uncomfortable, and you have to sag forward, putting undue stress on your spine and neck. This position can also cause tightness in the hips.

High chairs will refrain your feet from lying flat on the floor while sitting for shorter people. For a long time, using such chairs will lean your legs and dangle off the edge of the chair. Sitting in this position will add pressure beneath your thighs that can cause circulation problems.

Ensure the height and angle of the chair according to your body size on the ergonomics of the workstation.

Some Considerations to pay attention to:

Some factors involve that you have to consider before adjusting the height of your chair.

• Have You A Correct Chair Size:

You must be sure that you have the correct chair size before basic adjustments and tips and tricks. The recommendation is that there must be an excellent big and tall office chair for heavier and taller people before tweaking to the correct height.

Shorter people should use solid task chairs.  These chairs have an extensive range of dimensions, adjustability, and better use for more diminutive stature.

• Evaluate the Height Required:

Evaluating the required height is necessary before adjustment. To do that, sit on the chair and check the height adjustment needed.

Make sure that your thighs and knee position must be at right angles when you are seated. The chair is too high if the waist is higher than the knee during the sitting part. On the other hand, if the knee is above the core and the angle is less than 90 degrees, the chair is too short.

Measure the difference and adjust accordingly. Your forearms must position horizontally to the ground and parallel to the armrest.

Related article: Adjust Office Chair Height Without Lever

How to Make the Adjustments to get Taller Chair:

Knowing all the considerate factors mentioned above will clarify that chair adjustment is vital for the most comfortable posture.

Some methods to adjust your chair height are listed here.

Height Extension Kits Are Useful To Make A Difference In Height:

Height extension kits are handy if you have a basic chair without any adjustment. You have to modify your chair’s height by altering its construction manually in this option.

There are two methods: DIY (Raising the height with wood pieces) and an Extension kit.

First, go with a height extension kit. These kits are often designed for drafting stools and already-tall chairs but can also us in office chairs. These are the whole shebang, making your chair taller or shorter with a simple lever adjustment.

Height extension kits occasionally come with a steel foot ring, so you’ve got an extra place to rest your feet when you’re sitting up. It typically consists of a tube that adds height to the central column of the chair. It can raise the chair height 5 -6 inches or more.

The drawback of these is that they are pretty expensive. Another problem is finding the version that fits your office chair. You need to find exactly the perfect one.

DIY or Raising the Height with Wood Pieces:

The DIY method is more complex and dissembles the chair. Place a wooden piece between the seat and the lower part of the chair. Remove the seat pan from the base and measure how much you want the chair’s height.

• Put the wood piece comparable to the thickness of your needs.
• Drill out the holes through wood, same on the pattern of existing holes on the base.
• Bolted them tight and resembled all the assembly.

It is a complex mechanism to do. The other problem is that you have to do all of this manually, and here the risk of damaging your chair is relatively high.

Raising the Height of a Chair with a Threaded Post:

That is a more convenient and easy way to adjust the height of your office chair. If your office chair comes with a threaded rod under the seat, you can do it easily by following the step of adjustments.

• To start with, turn the chair upside down; your chair’s base must be upwards.
• Lubricate the threads posted up the base of the seat.
• Take a rag or a piece of cloth. Wipe away any excess lubricant. It’s also helpful to remove any debris and first that may have built upon the chair after years of continuous use.
• Put your feet over the chair’s base to secure the chair so that it will not move in any direction.
• Raise the chair’s height by turning the base of the chair anticlockwise. You can keep on rising unless you meet your requirements by spinning it. Every spin will raise the chair by 1/4th of an inch.
• Make sure that only the threaded post will move and the part with the wheels not.
• Turn the chair to its original position.
• Try out the adjusted chair and whether it is adjusted correctly. Otherwise, change it again if necessary.

New And Bigger Casters Are Easy, Quick, And Efficient:

First of all, what are casters? That word sounds fancy to hear. Casters are the wheels on your chair. We all noticed that the vast majority of office chairs are that their wheels that are pretty small and are for hard surfaces.

The wheels of office chairs are low-profile, simple in construction, and easy to fit in packages for shipping. One major thing is that for chair manufacturers: they’re cheap.

Here are two ways to adjust the height of your chair with this method.

• Replace the Casters.
• Replace them with tall chair glides.

Replacing the caster is quick and easy to do. It will take only 2-3 minutes and will extend the height of your office chair. Casters typically have a central hub with bearings, and a giant rubber wheel might also be called a rollerblade wheel.

That assembly simultaneously allows smoother rolling, no damage to floors, and you’ll probably roll around faster. You can manage casters from any hardware store or pop online and get them that way. 

This option is less expensive than a height extender kit, and you can install it in ¼ of the time. If you want to change the casters, follow the listed steps.

• Genteelly pull the wheel by using a pry bar or screwdriver.
• Note the diameter you need for replacement wheels.
• Measure the height of the wheel to replace it with the taller wheel.
• Replace all the wheels with the new ones that are taller
• Purchase replacement wheels.
• Lubricate these wheels if necessary.

On the other hand, the chair glides are not the wheel. They are flat plastic extensions that turn your office chair into a stationary position. These Chair glides are ideal if the chair spends most of its time stationary.

Install Longer Gas Lift Cylinder:

The office chairs usually come with the gas lift cylinder. These cylinders will decide the maximum height a chair can go—standard office chairs equipped with gas lift cylinders whose max stroke is about five inches.

If that height is not enough, you must change the gas lift cylinder with a higher stroke. Gas lift cylinders are available as high as eight inches of stroke. That is an excellent choice to give additional height to low office chairs.

Detach Or Remove The Bottom From The Seat Of Your Chair:

Detaching the center from the bottom is another way to raise the height of your office chair. Before working on the chair, you must take it to the safe work area where you can work on it. Put it upside down on the floor. Put a cloth or a towel on the floor to protect the cushioning side of the chair.

Now open the mounting screws that hold the seat with a bottom with the help of a screwdriver. Every screw type is different depending upon the model and the brand of the chair. Most office chairs come on the market with a universal mounting screw. If you feel small nuts, screw the seat with the chair’s bottom, and open it with a different tool like an Allen wrench.

Add Cushion or Pillow:

Raise the height of your office chair. A simple method is simply adding more padding to your chair, so you’re sitting on a taller surface. So adding a pillow or a cushion will give a minimal amount of height.

It would help if you had a thick cushion that is relatively firm. Another way is to put something between the existing chair cushion and your new cushion-like solid box or a woodblock.  It will help you not sink too much or compress your cushion and need a new one sooner. Sitting like that, an additional box with a pillow on top can add several inches beyond what you get from a buffer alone.

You can pick the specially designed height-added cushion from Amazon. There is also a fancy option available, like memory foam, which gives ergonomic support to your pillow. Adding a cushion is marvelous for a minor adjustment of height, which boosts your sitting elevation and an enormous boost in your comfort.

A major drawback of that method may misalign your body, especially your headrest and lower back support. Your armrests need to adjust higher if you use armrests.  It is challenging to add height to armrests. That will lead you to change your body posture, which can cause cascade up your spine and stress the muscles in your back, leading to more back pain and eventual spinal issues.

Use the Height Adjustment Paddle or Lever:

Here is another simple method: the paddle or the adjustment lever comes with the most ergonomic office chairs. This lever is below the seat on the right side or in the middle.

Working with that lever to adjust the height of the chair is simple. You sit on the chair comfortably and engage the adjustment lever or paddle. Uplift the chair’s height by releasing your weight from the chair by engaging with the lever until the required size.

 Doing all this, one thing you must do is put your feet flat on the floor, and your knees should be at a 90-degree angle. Your elbows have to rest on the armrests comfortably, and your forearms should be parallel to the floor.

Conclusion:

The sitting position is vital and primary not only for comfort but also for avoiding the chances of experiencing the issue of backache or pinched nerves. It’s always helpful to have an idea to adjust your office chair height.

Adjusting to make the chair a little taller is relatively easy. You can replace your chair caster and involve an extender kit, etc.

Whether you’re a writer or work from home type, your comfort of sitting must be essential.