Building Your Own Bunk Bed - Part 2

Upon publishing my last article regarding the guide to building your own bunk bed, I have received a number of emails filled with questions. While many of these questions were addressing specific problems such as what kind of wood and nails should be used, I thought it would be useful to address all the general issues with a new article.

Bunk beds are indubitably a difficult task to receive. Dozens of wood pieces must come together tightly and measurements must be completely accurate. Measuring the wood pieces of a bunk bed can be one of the more difficult parts. One wrong measurement can throw off the entire bunk bed! A bunk bed should be stable and one measurement can leave the bed unstable and rocky. So in order to measure completely accurate, you must pay very close attention. First, depending on the type of wood you have picked, most usually a set of 2x4 or AxB wood, plan out all the pieces that you will need. Draw and list out all the pieces you need! This is different from the bunk bed plans that you will be working with as drawing and listing out the parts yourself will help you organize your thoughts.

After you have all the parts listed out, this is where measurements come in. With a tape measurer, do one piece at a time. Mark every significant point and where the wood should be cut. Be patient and do it one at a time! This may take a bit of time but once you're done, cut the wood parts the way they need to be cut.

Now you are ready to assemble the parts. Remember the parts and the diagram that you had before? This is where it will come useful. With all the different parts, you may get confused with what goes where. Use the diagram and the plan to put things together step by step. As far as screws and nails go, you want to pick something that is long enough to penetrate the wood but not long enough that it will poke out on the other side! Metal brackets for the corners may also come useful as they tend to last longer than simply screwing the screws directly into the wood.

Hopefully by now, you have what looks to be a bunk bed. I must emphasize the next step! Sand down the edges! Splinters and unsanded wood can crack and will not last nearly as long. By sanding down the edges and various parts, you no longer have sharp edges and you won't have to worry about the corners and the edges chipping off. Also, finish the wood! By painting or finishing the wood, you will not only have a much more beautiful bunk bed but it will last much longer.

So there you have it. Bunk bed plans are there to help you! Make good use of it. Now your children can enjoy a nice bunk bed and you feel rewarded with the fact that you have just built a nice bunk bed.

This article was written by Chris Kim, the editor for futon bunk beds