Classic Bunk Beds

Submitted by dwm22 on Tue, 03/26/2013 - 17:16

Construction phase of the bunk beds was about a day and a half project...Cutting, assembling, screwing, bolting. Nothing complicated about it at all. Just followed the instructions step by step. I didn't use metal brackets to reinforce the mattress rails (that the slats lay on). I'm a good 250lbs and I laid on them without a problem. Also, similar to the posted Comments, the original materials list is short a little lumber. I followed the advice of some of the Comments that indicate how much additional wood you'll need. I didn't have to make any additional trips for wood.

The finish took me another 2-3 days (incl. drying wait-time between stain and polyurethane coats). The sanding (electric hand sander) takes a number of hours to sand all the surface area and all the edges (300 grit). I then I applied 1 coat of pre-stain wood conditioner and then immediately 1 coat of Natural color stain (basically clear oil stain but it brings out the wood grain just a bit), and then 2 coats of semi-gloss polyurethane for a shine / protection. Each of those coats took me 2+ hours as I applied them using a paint brush (vs. spray gun).

Since I only need to take apart the bunk beds into 4 pieces to carry upstairs(front, back, 2 sides), I simply bolted them together using 3" bolts (with washers / nuts). 4 bolts in each of the 4 corner posts.

The only real modification I made was moving the ladder to the left-hand side (vs. right-hand side per the instructions). All other measurements were basically the same.

Really happy with the mini Kreg Jig! Simple to use and provides solid joints for the rails of the 2 shorter sides (without showing screw-heads from the exterior).

My toddlers have been sleeping on them for a week now and no squeaking or shaking. They are sturdy. And neadless to say, my boys LOVE having bunk beds.

Sure I could just buy some inexpensive bunk beds for $200-300 but where's the fun in that!?

Let me know if you have questions, happy to help out! Thanks again to Ana and her site.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
300 ($220 for pine wood plus 16 bolts, screws, sandpaper, wood conditioner, stain, polyurethane)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner, Minwax Oil-Based Natural Wood Interior Finish Stain, Minwax Polyurethane Clear Semi-Gloss
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

NimbleShopper

Wed, 03/27/2013 - 09:58

The bunks look really nice. Professional even.

What size bolts did you use?
Where did you purchase them?
And, finally, how much did they cost? Guestimation is fine if you can't remember exactly. :)

dwm22

Wed, 06/12/2013 - 09:55

The bolts I used are 3/8" x 5". I used 16 total bolts to assemble. Each bolt (+2 washers & nut) is maybe $2-$3 at Home Depot. So in total, around $35-$40 for the bolts and hardware.