What's in a bed?

[Nick]

Having a slack couple of days I have been visiting daughter, her husband + GD. Thoroughly enjoyable. Sitting in the garden I notice a redundant double bed & mattress. Son in law Tim can't get it to the tip. Council want 30 odd to collect. Let's have a look says I. Remove all visible screws, castors & fittings. Two bases with drawers. These drawers knock apart easily. Just a boot. Straight in the bin. Fabric strips off the bases very easily leaving wooden frames covered with kapok type covering. This covering removed and kept for possible future use. Frames knock apart easily with the use of hammer & boot. All stapled. Timber will go through the fire in the next few months. Bases gone. Surprised to find that much of the frames was decent hardwood, oak/ash/beech. Mattress. A very different kettle of fish. Outer covering stripped easily & binned. Left with sprung interior covered by a horsehair or coir [1] exterior which is quite securely stapled to the springs. With use of snips and brute force this is removed. Had a good look at the remains. A stainless steel structure of innumerable springs. A very intricate making. Angle grinder soon put this to bed, never leave home without one. Job took about 1/2 hr and was interesting. All disposed of in two wheelie bins. Finally gets to the point: [1] the horsehair or coir covering is decent and very strong. Would this be of use to anyone or should it just be binned? Upholsterers etc. I hate wasting anything. Thanks, Nick.

[spuorgelgoog]

Fold it into layers, insert into cushion or duvet cover and use for dog bed.

Use as dampening in loudspeaker enclosures.

Weed control or plant frost protection in the garden.

Coffin lining to absorb 'leakage'.

Wadding layer for oven gloves if sufficiently flexible.

Pipe or cylinder insulation.

Owain

[DerbyBorn]

Nice tale. Round our way people have seen how scrap metal items get taken by the "travellers" and expect other stuff for go in the same way. Sometimes it does - sometimes it doesn't. I suspect that when it does go then it will end up in a country lane not far away. I like the challenge of getting stuff into the wheelie bin. Have managed a dishwasher and a Micra tailgate recently. Some people can't even get large cardboard boxes into theirs.

[tim......]

I've twice disposed of a redundant sofa (not the same one!) by dismantling it

Apart from the solid foam seats and back (which are useful to keep in any case) the rest is a surprisingly small amount of stuff, which will fit in your dustbin

Now, why are they so expensive?

tim

[Sam Plusnet]

If you have an upholsterer anywhere near you it might be worth asking.

The ones I've met always 'recycle' the stuffing when they re-upholster, but might well need some extra.

[ss]

My best to date is over a ton of rubble and a small wall..... a couple of carrier bags and a couple of bricks every fortnight cleared it over winter.

[Dave Liquorice]

Two sofas, an arm chair or two and a single divan or at least the coverings and springs. Any proper timber went to the fire, chipboard joined the covers etc.

OP's SiL that couldn't dismantle a bed? ...

But yes the times you see a carboard box next to the bags that hasn't even been flattened. Others don't flatten cans before puting them out for recycling, then moan the box isn't big enough. How do these people manage to survive?

[F Murtz]

You have wasted a lot of nice straight pieces of spring steel wire to make things out of.

[harryagain]

If actual coir/horsehair, compost as last resort. Doesn't have much initiative your SIL?

[meow2222]

try freecycle, freegle et al

How do you straighten it when its springy?

NT

[dennis]

Anneal it, shape it, then harden it.

[Dave Liquorice]

Not taken a matress apart? There straight bits of hefty wire that join the springs together.

[ARW]

A box of matches only costs about 10p

[Nick]

'OW MUCH? Prefer a zippo mesel. If it would burn, which is unlikely, there would still be a heap of crap to clear. Probably more than at the outset. And just think about globular warning or climatic charges or wotever the boffs call it nowadays. Shame on you Mr. Wadsworth. :))

[Nick]

Product of modern education. Several degrees and a doctorate. He's a good lad and I think he can now manage shoelaces. Would def. struggle with a bow tie unless it was clip on.

[Nick]

Please see reply to harry.

[meow2222]

ISTR them being much to well attached to the coil springs to bother with. Nowadays I don't bother.

NT

[meow2222]

On Saturday, November 30, 2013 2:05:50 PM UTC, [e-mail] w rote:

You'd still be left with most of it

NT

[ARW]

Of course it will burn. You just never tried it:-)

[Tony Bryer]

I spent a few months here working in an op (charity) shop. We got given a couple of bed bases that looked as if they'd come from a

1950s barracks - wire mesh mattress base tensioned by big springs. I undid the wrong bolt, releasing the tension in one go and nearly lost a finger; the scar is still there.