I have been contacted by a customer to build a Murphy bed. I have several internet locations that offer hardware however I was wondering if any one had had any experience with this and which kit they may have used. And would you buy the kit again.
I built one a few months back using the Create-A-Bed hardware kit. Pretty simple and the kit comes with very detailed written instructions and a DVD. The lady I built it for is very happy with the finished product. I'd use this kit again.
I built one a few months back using the Create-A-Bed hardware kit. Pretty simple and the kit comes with very detailed written instructions and a DVD. The lady I built it for is very happy with the finished product. I'd use this kit again.
-- Not merely an absence of noise, Real Silence begins when a reasonable being withdraws from the noise in order to find peace and order in his inner sanctuary. -- Peter Minard
I built a Murphy bed with a kit from Lee Valley. It's a queen sized vertically mounted frame. The plans were clear and easy to understand. I modified the plans slightly because I built the Murphy bed out of 1 x 6 tongue and grove material instead of plywood or MDF as spesified by the plans. I also built it to come apart easily. It's too big to get out of the bedroom assembled and weighs a ton. The mechanism works well, my wife has no trouble opening or closing the bed. I would buy another kit from them again. I've found Lee Valley to be an excellent company to deal with. If there's any problem they will make it right.
My dad was a mechanical engineer, and made his own for his house. It was used almost daily.
He welded up an angle iron frame for the box spring and mattress. At the head, it had a stout angle iron headboard assembly, with wood fastened onto the steel frame. He attached some pillow block bearings to the frame and wall in a location that would make the frame end up flush with the wall when in the up and stored position. He mounted paneling on the bottom of the frame so that it would look like the rest of the wall when the bed was closed. He mounted pictures on the wall with a hinge along the top of the frame, so they would hang down as the bed lowered to become the feet for the bed.
A shaft was mounted to the back side of the wall pocket with drums that an eight inch steel cable would wind onto, that pulled on the back side of the headboard frame. A geared speed reducer chain drove the shaft and drums, with an electric motor belt driving the reducer. Limit switches stopped the motor at the correct up and down positions. All you had to do was flip a switch up for the bed to go up, and down for it to go down, with the limit switches stopping it at the correct location.
With a little creativity and a little help from an engineer friend, you could make your own, I'll bet!
Well thanks for the inspiration and it sounds like you dad had it going on....
This is going to be a paying job and time is money..... I think the kits are going to be my route as they are cheaper than my time, and probably a bit more fool proof. ;~)
Unfortunately, that was the house I grew up in. I haven't seen it in close to 25 years.
It was pretty cool. He didn't give a second thought about building something like that. A bit too much unless you really wanted to spend some time on making it all come together.
It might be something that a person could refine and produce for sale on the market, though.
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