I am disillusioned enough to think I can make a bed for my son (he's three, it's his first bed).
I am trying to make a loft bed. I'm using 4x4 cut to 3 1/2 feet for the posts and 2x4 to hold the posts in place. I'm gonna notch the top of the 4x4 so the 2x4 fits in/on the top. I'm covering the whole thing in 7/16 OSB that will form the lip that holds the matress in place.
I feel I need more support for the posts than just one piece of 2x4 at the top. I was thinking of notching the 4x4 near the middle and placing another 2x4 there as well.
My questions are:
1) Will the OSB provide enough stablization or do I need the extra set of 2x4's?
2) Will notching the 4x4 in the middle weaken the 4x4 even though I'm going to put a 2x4 in the notch? This is for a three year old and he's going to jump on it I'm sure.
3) If I'm just totally lost please let me know what I should be doing to reinforce these posts.
Thanks for then help.
Tom P.