What wood to use

[Alfred Hoffmann]

I am in the process of deciding what wood to use to build a bunk bed for my grandsons. Checking on the affordable cost at my local borg it is coming down to Aspen, Poplar or Pine. Can't afford Maple. What in your experience would be the best choice?

[Joe Scharle]

If I couldn't do oak, I'd at least use poplar. Need something that will hold screws and it takes paint well.

[Jake Helmboldt]

I'm willing to bet that a quality lumber yard can get you maple or oak for close to or cheaper than borg wood. Plus, you'll have better selection.

My hunch is that poplar would not be adequate for bunk beds.

[Clifford Mescher]

How about ash? Strong, not expensive and you can stain to look like oak.Clifford

[Frank Drew]

Alfred,

There are better woods for looks, but of the three you mention poplar would probably be the best structurally and paints well, if that's your choice. I'm not wild about the looks of poplar under clear or clear stained finish, but I'd probably say the same about pine and aspen.

[David Bodkin]

My father built a bunk bed for me 15 years ago out of Southern Yellow Pine and it has held up well. I'm not sure if SYP is available up there though. If it is, it is cheap and strong enough for the task. It does dent more easily than a hard wood though.

If you do go for poplar try looking around for somewhere else to get it from. From a local hardwood dealer, I can get poplar for 1/2 the price they charge at the local BORG. You can also avoid the olive green colored wood that makes up 95% of the poplar the BORG seems to carry if you buy from a dealer..

[Michael Donahue]

I know that everyone isn't in quite the same situation, but here's one option.

The I know that the oak they have at the borg is easily 30% more expensive than even S4S at my local hardwood place. The guys at my hardwood distributor have been pretty good to me and I like to give them all the business I can, but if I just need a small piece or don't have time to get down there I resort to another tactic. At the Home Depot near me they claim they will meet and beat any competitor's price by 10%. If you show them something saying how you can get the same oak elsewhere cheaper, they should meet and beat the price.

I wouldn't trust aspen to hold up, and poplar might work OK but I hate painting! :D

[Michael Schwartz]

Some of the more sturdy commercially made bunk beds I have seen are made from pine.

Just whatever you choose use sturdy joints and hardware and make sure it isn't top heavy and its not going anywhere.

If you do use 2x southern yellow pine buy 2x10 or 2x12 floor joists since they are the clearest and best quality as they are intended to carry a load and have to be pretty clear. 2x4s' are sketchy.

Again if you want to paint it Poplar would probably be a better choice. Just make sure you use beefy joints. When in doubt over build.

[Jim Becker]

If you're forced to buy at the 'borg, the poplar is a good choice, albeit extremely expensive for poplar. You'd be doing yourself a favor in finding a real lumber store/mill near you or even ordering online to get better material.

BTW, you don't have to paint poplar. It takes dye wonderfully and can mimic many other close grained woods. I use it a lot and have never painted it outside of the rails/stiles in our kitchen which by design are colored.