Making a bed where no box spring will be used.. For years I have always opted for using a maple plywood platform over using slats... I guess the original decision came from one... slats do take a lot of wood.. and my junk bed at home, which is old but has maple slats that do sag.. so on my beds I use the rails around the bed and then install 3 beefy rails across the bed and lay the plywood on top... Queen bed.. What's your approach ??
Joel
I built 2 sets of twin-sized bunks (oak for the boys, painted poplar for the girls) using rails and 3/4" A/C plywood, no slats. The upper bunks are actually 1" A/Luan plywood, so the kid on the bottom didn't have to stare up at a C-grade surface for his entire childhood.
BTW - The boys split their bunks into two singles when the oldest moved out a few months ago and took his half with him. That was the plan 18 years ago when I built 'em and it finally came to fruition.
My wife and I sleep in a queen sized platform bed - again using 3/4" A/ C, no rails, no slats. It was built like a waterbed I once saw. Under the plywood are 2 large X's of 3/4 x 12 pine boards. The base is a rectangle made of 2 x 12's. The platform overhangs the base ~5" on all sides.
Without getting too graphic here, I will say that the platform bed has held up well for over 25 years and is partially responsible for the need for the 2 bunk beds.
You might find it interesting to go over to the Ikea site and look at the slat sets that they sell.
What do you want, style wise?
Platform beds have a totally different look than a standard headboard / footboard setup. Platform beds are also probably easier to construct a truly solid product.
The slats used in a standard bed can be the ugliest, cheapest wood you can find in a species of sufficient strength. Ask at the wood dealer to see the "cull" bin.
Other than that, start by deciding on the look you'd like.
The slats would take less wood plus allow some air circulation. You can flip the slats over (or use more slats) when they start to sag. Some old beds use ropes instead of slats.
If you use slats, sure to attach them to the side rails - I've been dumped out of bed in the middle of the night when an unattached slat slipped from a side rail. The current bed frame is metal with a support in the middle of it.
And remember that kids play under anything that is high enough to wiggle under. There was a death in the area this week when a group of kids was playing and jumping on a bed and it collapsed on the six-year-old girl who was under it. I don't have details on the bed, just the family.
John
Apologies if this point has already been made - I've only just seen the latest posting. Remember to consider how you would dismantle and move the bed if you moved house. Slats fold up to a small space, plywood doesn't. Agree about securing them though. It makes them less liable to snap too, if the ends are screwed into a rail on the sides of the bed. Or, since the slats don't have to be great wood, you could fit enough of them so there isn't a space between them, making them less liable to shift. Still easier to move around than two 6'x3' sheets of plywood.
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house. Slats fold up to a
the ends are screwed into
wood, you could fit enough
Still easier to move
Given the choice of moving two 6' x 3' sheets of plywood or the equivalent square footage of slats, all of which are individually secured to the rails, which do you think would be easier to dismantle, carry, load, unload, carry again, and reassemble?
As far as taking up space, two 6' x 3' sheets of plywood will fit just about anywhere in a moving van, pickup truck, mini van, etc.
My thoughts exactly... I did what I always do.... Three beefy slats 2 x 3 ash The wood cleats around the perimeter, and a descent maple ply...
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house. Slats fold up to
the ends are screwed
wood, you could fit
shift. Still easier to move
Yeah but you can unscrew the slats and roll them up together into a bundle, tie them with a rope or sump'n. 25 * 6' x 3" should do it. Of course, this assumes the rest of the bed dismantles....
However when the furniture's
I put a 1" wide ledge inside the bed rails and dovetail 1/4 oak slats into the ledge. Easy to move, easy to assemble or disassemble and they stay in place while being used. The end of the slat is a single dovetail. :-)
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latest posting.
house. Slats fold up to
the ends are screwed
wood, you could fit
shift. Still easier to move
them with a rope or
I have built a couple of custom units - queen sized platform bed with drawer banks underneath, and the X-braces turned so they are at 90 degrees instead of 45 degrees, for more usable space and maximum drawer storage.
When I move, the thing that I hate is that the mattress is heavy and floppy and doesn't have any good way to carry it. Plus it gets dirty and can tear the cover fabric very easily if you don't wrap it in plastic. I had the idea of a queen platform bed where the platform becomes a box to hold the mattress during the move. You can take the thing into the new room on edge, take the mattress out, set the platform down, then plop the mattress on top of the platform. The platform would have to be slightly oversized to accomplish this. Not sure how that would look.
Bob the Tomato
ledge. Easy to move,
end of the slat is a
Now THAT is the way to do it.
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