Clubhouse Bed - my first build

Submitted by dpeterson on Thu, 11/29/2012 - 19:32

So we wanted to build a simple twin size bed for our 5 year old son. That quickly expanded into my wife wanting me to build this PB replica (which happens to be her favorite kids bed). My response was "honey, you really don't understand my lack of ability." She insisted and after a couple of weeks the bed is done! Using Ana's plans made this not only doable but much easier than I thought (this was my first build).

We changed the design very slightly because the original was a few inches too tall (we have a ceiling fan that would have hit the top). We simply shortened the top half of the bed by 3 inches. At the suggestion of a friend (who's mitre and table saws we used for the cuts) we used dado instead of pocket holes for the stairs. We also used a lot of countersinking instead of pocket holes (for example to attach the vertical slats on the side walls).

We bought the cheapest wood we could get at Home Depot. All the wood and stain and materials cost about $250-300 (I still haven't checked the receipts exactly). However, I was told (quite sternly) that I severely overpaid for the wood by not going to a lumber yard. We used a Minwax oil-based stain (mission oak). We only did one coat.

Now that we're done with this we can't wait to get started on the next project (right after I get my dissertation going).

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax oil-based stain - Mission Oak, single coat applied using rags.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

5 tator tots (not verified)

Fri, 12/07/2012 - 18:22

I've been wanting to build this for our youngest son. He will be three before we make it and the fact that it is enclosed makes me comfortable with having him in a lofted bed, but it also looks like changing the bedding would be really challenging. Seeing your picture smoothing the quilt begs the question, how hard is it?

Nice work on the bed-what a first project!