How to Make Office Chairs Higher?

An office chair with an optimal height has myriad ergonomic benefits for human health. It promotes correct spine alignment, reduces strain on your legs and feet, and promotes good posture.

Most office chairs come with levers underneath the seat that make it possible to adjust the chairs’ height according to one’s comfort. However, not all office chairs feature height adjustment and even if they do, insufficient height range or faulty height adjustment mechanism makes it difficult to get the desired height.

In any of these cases, if you’re wondering about “how to make office chairs higher” other than using a height adjustment lever, worry not. In this article, we’ll discuss 7 simple and practical ways to elevate your office chair’s height.

Materials Required

To make an office chair higher, you would need the following materials:

• Screwdriver
• Pipe wrench
• Replacement parts (depending upon need such as office chair casters, gas lifts, cushions, footrests, etc)
• Silicone lubricant such as WD-40 (optional)
• Rubber Mallet

How to Make Office Chairs Higher?

You can make your office chair higher in various ways other than just using a height adjustment lever. We will be discussing all these ideas in the following paragraphs:

Use the Height Adjustment Lever

Using a height adjustment lever is the easiest way to make the office chair taller. You just have to follow these steps to increase your chair’s height:

• Locate the height adjustment lever, typically present under the base of the seat.
• Lift this lever to elevate the office chair to the desired height. Some levers may require turning them in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction to change the height.
• Test the chair by sitting on it and moving around to know if you have got the desired height. If you are still not satisfied with the height, lift the lever further if it has the capacity, or go for any of the other methods explained below.

Add a Seat Cushion or Pillow 

This method is very simple and convenient for raising the office chair.  You just have to take a nice thick cushion and put it on the seat to raise it. It can be anything such as a throw pillow, gel seat cushion, or fancy office chair pad. These cushions are easily available in furniture stores and online as well. Select the cushion that is compatible with your chair in terms of size, shape, and level of comfort.

However, this method has some problems because you have to compromise other features of the office chair for this.  For example, a cushion may help you to sit in a higher position but what about armrests, head support, or backrest?

Of course, these features can’t be raised in every chair and you have to compromise your posture which would cause constant discomfort and muscle strain.  Therefore be sure to use a nice ergonomic-friendly cushion that doesn’t hamper the design of the office chair and in turn your natural spinal alignment.

Replace existing casters with large casters

The majority of office chairs have small, light casters so that they look aesthetically pleasing and can be easily transported.  To add a few inches to your chair height, you can replace the existing casters of your chair with longer ones. In general, this method can bring you only a  height difference of 1-3″ inches.

For replacing casters, you have to do the following steps:

• Remove the previous casters from the base by pulling them with your hands or using a screwdriver or wrench.
• Measure their height to make sure that you get the taller casters.
• Purchase new casters that are comparatively taller than the previous casters and are compatible with your office chair’s base.
• Insert the new casters rightly and tightly into their sockets. It is also a better idea to lubricate the new casters so that they can roll smoothly.

To know more about choosing the right casters for your office chair and where they should be placed, read this article.

Replace the existing gas lift with a longer one

The length of the gas lift cylinder determines the maximum height your chair can attain. The length of a standard office chair gas lift is around 5 inches. If this length fails to cater to your needs, you should replace it with a longer lift.

Gas lifts are easily available in stores dealing in office furniture as well as online, so you can buy one that fits your chair well. The replacement process for the gas lift is also pretty simple and explained in the following steps:

• Turn the chair upside down so that you can easily work on its bottom area.
• Remove the base of the chair by gently tapping it with a rubber mallet. After removing the base, the gas lift would be exposed to you.
• Now take a pipe wrench and clutch it on the top of the gas lift. Afterward, twist the wrench and the gas lift would be loosened after a few turns.
• Remove the gas lift carefully by pulling it up.
• Purchase a gas lift comparable to your office chair by measuring the gas spring diameter, column diameter, and gas lift stroke.
• Insert the new gas lift in its socket with your hands. If it is not successfully installed, tap it gently with a rubber mallet to ensure that it has a tightly secured place.
• Reassemble the chair by installing all the dismantled parts.

Use a Footrest 

Using a footrest is an excellent way of adding height to your office chair without doing any permanent modification. If you don’t have a footrest, you can also use a box or stool as an alternative. The point of using a footrest is to raise the feet which in turn would elevate the entire seating position. In addition, the use of a footrest has other benefits as well such as improving blood circulation, relieving foot swelling, and reducing back pain.

Use a height extension kit

Another useful way to increase the height of an office chair is using a height extension kit. It is typically in the form of a ring or tube that is added to the central column of your office chair. The foot ring allows you to rest the feet at a new height and you feel elevated.

The biggest problem with this method is that it is very difficult to find a ring that is compatible with your office chair. The height extension kits also make your office chair unstable as it alters the center of gravity of your chair.

Moreover, these kits can put additional stress on the chair’s legs and base which makes it more unstable. Therefore, read the instructions and fix the kit right to avoid any sort of instability or mishap.

Add a platform under your office chair 

Adding a platform is an excellent way of elevating the office chair without tempering its mechanism. Follow the steps given below to add the platform accurately:

• Place a flat piece of wood or some other flat solid item under the office chair to get the desired height.
• Sit down on the chair to make sure that platform is stable and secure in its place.
• Adjust the seat height so that your feet are comfortable on the platform and your knees to make an angle of 90 degrees.

Before trying this method, make sure to lock the wheels to avoid any slip or potential hazard.

Final Thoughts! 

In a nutshell, an office chair with the right height is vital for ensuring comfort and productivity during the working day. The majority of the chairs have a lever or knob that can be lifted or turned to alter the height.

However, if your chair lacks this feature or if it’s faulty, there are plenty of other options as well. These ways include using an extra cushion on the seat, replacing the old casters with new and longer casters, using a height extension kit, or adding a platform under your office chair. All these procedures have been explained above in detail so you can choose one that suits you for increasing your office chair height.