Hi all, I'm building my son a bed which is nearly finished and I'm just wondering what is the best type of wood to use as the slats?

My boy is nearly 14 and would weigh roughly 60KG so I think the pine slats would more than likely snao if he were to land on his bed.

Thanks
Geoff

Geoff: My question, too!
Advice to me so far for a queen-size bed frame to support the mattress for two adults a bit less than 100kg each:

1x 6 (18mm x 140mm) spaced with 50mm gaps. Center support and a center post. Also tack the strips to each other with a 50-100mm canvas belt strap so they stay evenly spaced (floating.) Then if you have to, you can roll the whole set up in a bundle.

We get what's called S - P - F which means spruce - pine - fir, although it is usually spruce, sometimes pine.

From a children's book: "No more monkeys, jumping on the bed!"

On my queen bed I would say I have 70x35 pine, spanning full width without support. I have tacked on a few strips of 42x19 pine to keep them spaced at approx 70mm.

No problems supporting my 100kg and the Stinkette's 60kg even if I just stand in the middle of one.

__________________

I'd imagine that any 'Springy' wood will fit the bill.

But a saying from history is the answer to your question, to 'Not rest on your Laurels'. Before the advent of modern mattresses and springs, wooden Laurel slats were used.

__________________
Dragonfly
No-one suspects the dragonfly!

Thank you, Sir Stinky:
The Christmas crunch has left me financially stranded so the bed frame will need to wait some time.. . . . . I was thinking of more support than that recommended to me.

I've had a queen bed with slats for years and its just 19mm pine. But mine is screwed at the ends. its about 150 wide I guess with a 50mm gap. No trouble at all. No central supports and never broke a slat in the 20 years. Yes, Made the bed then as well. I can walk across it if I want, the mattress spreads the load. I'm 85 kg
Your son will be happy even when company stays over.

Yep. I agree. 70 X 35 pine is ideal. You can source this (Non structural Pine) from Bunnings for around $3 for a 2.4m length. Maybe even cheaper. You need to choose the pieces you want carefully as most of it is only fit for making boomerangs, its so bent.
You need to select the straight pieces and they will give you all the support you would need.

__________________
I'm not fat, I'm just easy to see
Cheers John

Thanks for all the replies. I think Bunnings only sells 19mm thickness in all of it's dressed pine though, so might need to glue a couple of pieces together if I want it thicker.

All pine is dressed these days. You'd be hard pressed to find rough sawn for sale.

I built a QUEEN SIZE bed for my in-laws several years ago ( Father_inlaw weighed 140Kg +) , sides are 190x14pine with a central rail and leg also an extra leg on each side.

Slats are 75 or 100 x 20 mm pine , and they have never had an once of trouble and the bed is as solid as the day I built it.

Jeff

I've made a few beds - all with 150mm x 19mm pine slats. I do put a rail up the middle though, so they only span half of a queen size. No problems with these.

Beds are a personal thing, in terms of hardness etc.

cheers
Arron

__________________
www.patonga.me - A website about Patonga - fishing, wildlife, flora and local events. Take a look.

So you reckon on a single bed for my boy i'd get away with pine slats 70x19??

Short answer is "yes".

Pawlonia is also a suitable timber for slats.

Look aound the demo yards for old floorboards. Usually cheap and plenty strong enough.

Agree, yes. Here's a shot of our current bed. Slats are 90x19. Spaces between slats are 60mm. Note the spacer is nailed down, but the slats are not. This means when they flex they are not working against a nail/screw. The slats are cut a little short too - prevent binding and squeeking. This is a queen size with a rail up the middle, so each side is probably the same as a single bed.

Once the mattress is on, you dont feel anything to do with the slats. No noise either. Its a beauty to sleep on.

I'v used pine for the outside rails and not bothered to finish it because its assumed to be always covered with a quilt.

You will need to choose pine without large knots.

I often see piles of bed slats in our council cleanup. Usually they are 70 x 19 (single bed), usually with 2 rows of some type of webbing up the middle, and the slats stapled to the webbing. I assume this is done to keep the spacing without having to use spacers as I have done.

cheers
Arron

Attached Images

Bed.jpg (117.9 KB, 12 views)

__________________
www.patonga.me - A website about Patonga - fishing, wildlife, flora and local events. Take a look.

Thanks heaps Az.