Bunk beds

[Drew Morton]

Recently completed bunks for the kids. Still have to do the ladder and safety rails. White oak, minwax cherry stain, and several coats of laquer spray and wax over that. They can be taken apart and made into 2 single twins. They look small in the pics, but are standard twin mattresses, and the top rail is about 54 inches off the ground. Pretty fun and easy project that the kids should be able to enjoy for a long time...

Drew

Hope this attachment thing works, first time trying...

[Carl Eyman]

Good looking! I'm sure the kids will enjoy. A question: the upper bunk has no headboard. Will pillows rnding up on floor be a problem?

[Drew Morton]

Thanks Carl. I hadnt thought about the pillow thing, but now that you mentioned it, I think I was going to put a safety rail (removable, of course) on the headboard and footboard. That should keep the pillows, among other things, on the bed.

[Jason Tuinstra]

Drew, I'm sure your kids love the beds. I built some awhile back and our boys enjoyed them a lot, though mom was a bit apprehensive at first. Something about broken legs and busted arms.

Did you use plans or is this your own design? I noticed that the headboard on the top bed dosen't come up past the matress. This might equal pillow loss during the night, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. It's not until your an adult that you need a pillow anyway :p Nice job. Thanks for showing them off.

Edit: Oops - looks like Carl beat me to the point.

[Don Abele]

Drew, nice project. I'm in the planning process for bunkbeds for my girls. One of the things I researched were saftey requirements for them. One of them is that the head/foot board and safety rails (recommended on both sides) must be at least 5 inches above the top of the mattress. I'm sure they are more concerned with people falls rather than pillow falls.

One question...what are you using for a box spring? Did you go with a purchased "bunkie board" or make your own?

Again, excellent project and thanks for posting.

[Jason Tuinstra]

One of the things I researched were saftey requirements for them. One of them is that the head/foot board and safety rails (recommended on both sides) must be at least 5 inches above the top of the mattress. I'm sure they are more concerned with people falls rather than pillow falls.

I don't think most people, even kids, would fall from a bed via a missing headboard/footboard. Though, I'm sure stranger things have happened. I know that when I go to the hospital to visit young children, the smaller kids get put in what looks like a monkey's cage. Strange. On second thought... :D

We had some safety side thingies that we picked up for their beds pre-bunkbeds, and they worked great so that I didn't have to build any. I think we got them at Toys-R-Us or something like that. Regardless, safety is a must.

Glad to see that both you guys are doing the right thing.

[Drew Morton]

Thanks everyone for your replies. The plans were my own. I got the basic mattress dimensions off the web, and the rest I just kinda made up. I still am building the safety rails, and I think now I might put them on the headboard end as well as the side too.

Thanks again

Drew

[Drew Morton]

Oh yea, Don, my boxspring is a sheet of 3/4 inch birch ply cut to fit. Its heavy, but sag shouldnt be an issue anytime soon. Home Depot plywood is good for something, anyway...at 40 bucks a sheet, it was almost 20 bucks cheaper per sheet than my local building supply place. Too bad, i would have rather given my business to them, but I couldnt justify the extra 40 dollars for 2 sheets...