Refelting a pool table can cost you an average of $380. The lowest possible price is $250, and the highest is $600.
The factors that heavily influence the price are the felt material and the length of your pool table.
Using cheaper felt material like napped cloth on a 7-foot pool table can lead you to only spending less than $300, but using worsted cloth on a 9-foot pool table can get you closer to the most expensive price.
Factors That May Affect the Price of Refelting a Pool Table
There are three main factors that can affect the price of refelting a pool table: the felt material, the pool table length, and labor.
Pool Table Felt Material
Different felt materials have varying levels of quality, which also means varying costs. While there are many pool table felt brands in the market, there are only two kinds of felt material: napped cloth and worsted cloth.
Napped cloth cost averages at $220, while worsted cloth cost averages at $340.
These prices can still change depending on the length of your pool table. Expect to add between $20 to $50 for every additional foot.
Pool Table Length
The length of the pool table can affect how much felt material you’ll need.
Pool tables come in these sizes: 7 feet, 8 feet, and 9 feet. Here are the minimum refelting costs for each pool table size:
Naturally, you’ll need more materials for longer pool tables, and you’ll also have to spend more for labor because a longer pool table takes more time to refelt.
Labor Cost
Aside from material costs, you’ll need to set aside at least $250 for refelting labor costs.
The labor cost mainly depends on your agreement with the service provider. This is why it’s a good idea to ask for quotes from multiple service providers so that you can find the cheapest or most efficient one in your area.
However, if you’ve decided to refelt your pool table on your own, you don’t have to worry about this.
Refurbishing the Pool Table
If you want to refurbish your pool table while refelting it, then you’ll incur additional charges. Services like repainting, replacing the bumpers, and refinishing can cost you an additional $120 to $365, depending on what needs to be done.
Here is a table on the costs of additional pool table services.
Tips on How to Lessen the Costs of Refelting a Pool Table
Refelting a pool table isn’t exactly cheap. However, you can follow these smart tips to save money when refelting a pool table.
Get multiple quotes on refelting a pool table
A simple way to save money when refelting your pool table is to ask for a quote from different pool table refelting service providers. Check all available companies in your area that can refelt your pool table for you.
You only really need to tell a pool table refelting service provider the size of your pool table and your preferred felt.
Take note of the prices offered by each company, then pick the one you think offers the best service for their given price.
Settle for less expensive felt
For a less expensive felt material, it is best to go with napped cloth. Napped cloth is the standard material for pool tables, so choosing this material isn’t a bad idea at all.
The only real issue with a napped cloth is that it requires more maintenance and replacement compared to worsted cloth, which is the better yet more expensive felt.
However, if your budget allows for worsted cloth, then we strongly suggest that you get it instead. Not only does its flatter weave allow billiard balls to roll more smoothly and faster, worsted cloth is also more durable compared to napped cloth.
If you are thinking of saving costs in the long run, then it’s best to just spend more for worsted felt.
Refelt the pool table by yourself (DIY)
Another thing that you can do to save money when refelting your pool table is to just refelt the pool table by yourself. As long as you have the know-how and the tools, you can do it on your own.
DIY Pool Table Refelting: Is It Possible?
If you think you got the necessary DIY skills to refelt your pool table, then it is possible to do it yourself.
The only real issue with doing it yourself is if you have access to the necessary tools required to refelt a pool table.
On a difficulty scale of 1–10 with 10 being the hardest, we find that refelting a pool table may be somewhere between 6 and 7.
If you’ve no prior experience refelting a pool table or have no tools at the ready, then it’s best to just leave it to the professionals.
A professional doing the process can lead to lower costs compared to an inexperienced person. The pro won’t waste time and materials.
A Quick Guide on How to Refelt a Pool Table By Yourself
If you’ve decided to refelt a pool table by yourself, here’s a quick guide on how to refelt a pool table.
- First step is to unscrew the screws holding the rails of the pool table. These screws can be found underneath the pool table.
- Carefully remove the old felt from the pool table. Take care not to pull it off too hard to prevent it from tearing and making the process longer.
- Scrape off the old glue stuck on the table, or if the old felt was stapled, make sure no staples are left on the table.
- Next, you’ll need to close the seams again using beeswax.
- Now comes the installation of your new pool table felt. This process can be done by stapling or gluing your new felt to the table.
- Make sure that the new felt is stretched to avoid the creation of folds on the pool table. Folds and creases can ruin a pool game, as they can prevent the pool balls from rolling freely on the table.
- After you’ve installed the new pool table felt, you can now once again screw the rails back into their places.
FAQs on Pool Table Refelting
Here are some commonly asked questions about pool table refelting which may help you.
It is a good idea to refelt a pool table every four years if you use it regularly.
However, this answer may still vary depending on how frequently you play your pool table.
If you only play sparingly, then the felt material may last as long as 15 years before it needs a replacement. This is because the primary cause of a pool table felt wearing out is constant use.
However, there are also other factors to consider like humidity, exposure to direct sunlight, and stains from food and beverages.
As soon as you feel the felt is too loose or is too damaged with many tears and peels, then it is time to replace it before it impacts your game.
The process of refelting a pool table may take up to three hours when done by a professional.
This process includes disassembling the pool table, the actual refelting, and reassembling the pool table parts.
However, please take note that the length of time may vary depending on certain conditions like the model of your pool table. Antique models may take a longer time to refelt because of their complexity and the need for more skilled hands.
The most popular color used today for pool table felt is green.
The explanation is pretty simple: it’s because this color is what was commonly shown during televised pool matches.
Another reason is that it’s a popular belief among pool players that the color green is the easiest on the eyes. It’s a good idea to use green felt to improve your pool game even further.
Most professional tournaments use the pool table felt brand Simonis.
The level of quality this brand has can produce a noticeable impact on how you play, as the texture and material of the felt can affect the way a pool ball rolls on the table.
However, there are also other brands, like Championship, that also make quality pool table felt for a price that is more accessible to many pool players.
It’s a good idea to stretch the pool table felt to about half an inch from its original form.
This ensures that your felt won’t have creases or ripples, which may affect the way pool balls roll on the table.
However, be careful not to overstretch too, as it might wear out and damage the felt material too fast.
In most cases, it is better to glue the felt instead of stapling it to the pool table.
This is because glue is easier to hide and makes for a cleaner finish compared to stapling, which leaves obvious spots where the felt is stapled down.
Another good reason to glue your felt is that it doesn’t damage the wood of your pool table, unlike staples which need to clamp down onto the wood to secure the felt.
A possible downside with using glue is that you must only use strong adhesives that can actually stick stretched felt onto the pool table. Also, it can be troublesome to scrape off the old glue when the time comes to refelt the pool table again.
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