Building Bunk Beds for Children

Children love bunk beds, but unfortunately these types of beds quite often cost way too much. I recently went looking at beds, and the most inexpensive set of bunk beds that I would trust my children to cost was still over $900. True, there are some out there that I saw for less, but many they looked rickety. Yikes!

Since I didn't have the money to purchase the high end ones, and I didn't trust the lower costing brands, I decided to try making my own. Turns out that this was one of the more fun projects that I have engaged in, and in the end I was able to make something that looked just as good (if not better in my opinion) as those expensive ones. Here's how I did it.

1. Plan. Draw out a simple blue print for you to follow. It is easier to know what your doing if you have at least a rough idea of what the end result is supposed to look like. Base your designs off of a regular twin sized bed. Twin sized mattress are usually three feet wide, and at least six inches thick. Plan that your bunk bed foundations are going to be that size, as well as that your bunk beds should have support posts that are five feet tall, and I would say 4"x4".
2. Gather. Once you have drawn out your plans, you need to gather together all your materials and equipment. For this project you are going to want to use pine and plywood. These are fairly inexpensive materials, and quite easy to come by. You are also going to want to use screws that are long enough to securely fasten everything together, On average 2" screws should work, but use what you think is going to work.
3. Cut. Ensure that all your wood has been cut to the proper dimensions, as laid out by your blue prints. Many people would suggest that you use something like ten or twelve boards lined up to form the foundation for the mattress to lie upon. My personal recommendation is to use ply wood, about 1/4" thick, as it is going to help spread out and support weight in a more even manner.
4. Assemble. Once all your pieces are together, and cut to the proper length begin assembling everything together according to your diagram. Once you have all the wood pieces put together, place your mattresses upon the bed frames and make the bed. You might also want to either purchase a ladder for your children to climb up, or make one an integral part of the bed frame itself.

Finally, all that is left is to test out the bed. Prior to letting your children climb up onto their new bed, try it out yourself. This design is going to be quite sturdy, and even allow a full grown adult to be on it with out trouble. Enjoy.