Murphy Bed - How long to make

[James Ashburn]

Hey everyone,

I have researched the creek regarding Murphy beds and came up with several hits. Great info here. I think I'll use the Rockler kit but I'm concerned how long this project will take. Can this be completed in a weekend provided I have all the materials on hand?

My wife would like a beach theme so I'm thinking it will be a whitewashed stain and clear-coated. I'm planning to use maple and beech ply. Any thoughts, recommendations or gotchas?

Thanks,
James

[Jamie Buxton]

If you're including time for paint to dry in your one-weekend schedule, I strongly doubt you can do it. If you're gluing edgebanding on your plywood and then trimming it flush, that would probably also cause you to exceed your two-day budget.

[Lee Schierer]

I agree, even if you skip sleeping it will take you longer than 2 days to get it done and get a decent level of craftsmanship. If you are working from plans, they probably contain at least one error that will cause you to make a part over and even if the plans are perfect you will make at least one cutting error and have to get more material. You also have to allow time for the "honey can you help me with......" delays and of course eating once or twice.


If you had all the pieces cut you might be able to assemble it and get one coat of finish in two days.

[James Ashburn]

Thanks for the replies. I'm really hoping to get input from someone that has built a murphy bed using this hardware and plan before. All the other threads address areas other than time. Anyone know where I might be able to get an electronic copy of the plans?

Thanks,
James

[Jamie Buxton]

I believe that what Rockler sells is the Create-a-bed kit. I've built two Murphy beds based on that kit, so I have basis for my estimate.

First of all, the pic you see on the Rockler site is not the "basic plan" included with the kit. The pic has cabinetry to the sides of the bed, crown molding, and other niceties. I like that stuff, so the the beds I built were considerably more elaborate than the "basic plan". Elaboration, of course, takes time. Mine probably had 4-5 manweeks in each.

If you are trying for the shortest possible construction time, build just what is in the basic plan. However, even there, I couldn't bear to do just that. The basic plan uses iron-on veneer tape for edgebanding the plywood. That stuff, IMHO, is way too fragile for this application. The edges get dinged and frayed, and it peels off. I'd use glued-on hardwood for the edgebanding. I'd also use plywood for everything, not the particle board which is suggested. With those changes, I'd allow 3-4 days for woodwork. I'm pretty experienced, and work pretty quickly. On top of that is the finish job. "Whitewash, stain, and clear-coat" sounds to me like three or four coats, with drying time for each. You might be able to do a coat per evening, letting the work dry for a night and a day. All in all, this is adding up to a week or so. If you add the side cabinets shown in the Rockler pic, you're probably looking at 3-4 weeks.

[Jamie Buxton]

Thanks for the replies. I'm really hoping to get input from someone that has built a murphy bed using this hardware and plan before. All the other threads address areas other than time. Anyone know where I might be able to get an electronic copy of the plans?

Thanks,
James

http://www.wallbed.com/ is the kit manufacturer. I don't think they sell the plans separately.

[Dick Strauss]

James,
I helped a friend build one over several months. It was the wallbed.com kit for a queen size mattress that Jamie noted. Needless to say, the two of us wouldn't have been able to take this from rough lumber to finished project over a weekend. Even using lacquer in a spray booth, just the finshing job will take a day or more not including rubbing out the finish. As others have mentioned, there are always plan issues that you have to fix as well (like the latch and stop locations).

The Size
The structure gets very bulky because it finished out to be roughly 64"x88" IIRC for the queen kit. You don't want to build one of these in a basement because it is almost impossible to get it back upstairs once you've completed the build. DAMHIKT...we had to lift it through the bulkhead doors with the stairs removed to get it out of the basement. You will also need two people to move it to its final destination.

The Weight
I don't know the final weight of the mattress frame, but I'd guess it to be in the 300# range between the poplar spine, about 4 whole sheets of 3/4" plywood, about 1.5 sheets of 1/4" plywood, and the 2-3 bf of 1/4" solid wood decorative strips.

Take your time and build something that you'll be proud of for years to come!

[Chris Padilla]

All my projects take at least 10x what I think and that is after I triple the time! :)

[Kelly C. Hanna]

When I built one for a friend it took me the better part of four days and then 3 hours to install it for him on the 5th day. No finish was applied at the time of construction.

[Mike Hedges]

I have built one --- create a bed ____ don't rush a mistake can be very costly--- read the directions and review the DVD . I would not plan on having it built ,finished and installed in a weekend. I followed the direction to a "T" and it turned out great.

[Steve King]

I had a few heath issues. I used the Wallbed system and it worked out perfect. Like mentioned before, follow the instructions to the letter. I was recovering from sugary on my right rotator cuff when my customer ( friend ) agreed on the price, wood (Cherry) and finish (Waterlox) It took a little longer to get started but I was off and running. But not long after things were rolling I had to have a total right knee replacement. After rehab I was back on the job. Well don’t you know it happens in three’s, I had to have my left rotator cuff overhauled. But I finally finished. It was a big joke with all our friends on how long it would take. Another thing that slowed me down was the addition of the office marble counter top, upper and left Cabinets.
Good Luck,
Steve

[Stan Smith]

I built one from the same kit. I used birch plywood and popular and painted ours to match the molding color in the bedroom. Not being a pro, I try to take my time having learned the hard way that I just cannot rush my work.

The plans are actually not bad at all. I found the dvd to very helpful and probably watched it 10 times for some steps. I did make a mistake and mounted one piece of hardware on the wrong side. You really have to think about what you are doing to end up with the desired result--like thinking of mirror image between the right and left sides.

If you are a real pro and are willing to put in more than 12 hours a day, you probably can build one in a weekend. The wall frame had to built in place and it's important to have a helper for that. The bed was really heavy and took 3 people to carry it in from the shop. We painted it prior to mounting into the wall frame. Thankfully, all the parts fit pretty good when it was assembled. PTL! We are really glad that we have the murphy bed though. It frees up a room for my wife to work on her craft stuff and provides a nice bed for company. We got a decent matress for it and everyone says that it's very comfortable. The design is well thought out, IMHO>

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[Cary Swoveland]

I believe that what Rockler sells is the Create-a-bed kit. I've built two Murphy beds based on that kit, so I have basis for my estimate....If you add the side cabinets shown in the Rockler pic, you're probably looking at 3-4 weeks.
Yes, it is a Create-A-Bed. I have built just one, and found it very time-consuming. I think Jamie's estimate is pretty good. I found the plans to be pretty good, with no errors, but it takes some time to figure everything out. In particular, the dimensions of some components are not all together, but are spread out over several illustrations. (It is as though the author wanted to avoid any redundancy.) You'll want to go over the plans carefully, and add dimensions where they are missing in the drawings. Incidentally, the mfg. provides good telephone support.

Finishing is particularly time-consuming, because there are so many pieces and so much surface area. Also, the base (on which the mattress over plywood rests) is quite large, so you may not have big enough clamps for the glue-up. I used pocket holes in lieu of clamps (and Festool Dominos for the joinery).

I don't mean to suggest that the Create-A-Bed kit is not a quality product. Were I to built another Murphy bed, I'd use the kit again. Incidentally, in addition to Rockler, the kit is also available from Lee Valley and other suppliers.

Cary