Bunk Beds in Celery Top - Project Thread

[rogerwilco]

Alright, this one has been a stop/start project, but now with the kids back at school/daycare, it's time to get it done.

Here's the basic idea:
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Nice material for this project. Big reclaimed Celery Top Pine posts (75x75 in 2-3m lengths). These are from Urban Salvage in Spotswood.
Quite rustic, with some fairly big cracks. But it's quite straight appears to be very stable. It's probably been dried for 60 years!
There was limited stock available of these big posts, not enough for the full build. So I have to get creative with some of the parts.
I sourced a variety of thick and wide boards from Delta, and also all the lengths I need for the chunky dowel. It's actually handrail stock.
These parts are massive, and I realise the bed is significantly overbuilt. I normally would go for a much more refined look. However, this is kid-land, and I think that oversizing and including a lot of round/circular elements is going to give it a fun and playful presentation.

Rough stock and parts markup
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I need to make up 2 extra long rails to match the big posts (not enough stock available). Achieved by ripping a wider board on the bandsaw, plane the face on jointer/thicknesser, for a nice clean glue-line.
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These parts were then planed and thicknessed to near final dimensions, and left to acclimate. I'll share a pics of that later. But I can tell ya, it was pretty tricky getting these through my 12" Hammer jointer/thicknesser. Heavy, long, awkward boards on a short bed combo. But I got it done with some rollers and brute force.

[rogerwilco]

Next up, a question or two.

I need to think about slat design. I want the lowest possible profile. The rails will be ~75mm height, and it's important to have a few cms so the mattress is captured inside the frame, and there's somewhere to tuck sheets and bedding for a neat look. It's gonna be tight.

This Ikea option is fine. Comes in at 55mm height.

Or I make my own support rails and slats.
Support rails glued and screwed to the inside of the frame rails, with slats spaced out and fixed with canvas webbing to keep it all together.
Do you think a 25mm thick rail and 12mm thick slats are going to be strong enough? I'd be more comfortable with 38mm rail and 16mm slats—but now we're back to 54mm total profile. Bearing in mind it's only supporting a standard single kids mattress, perhaps 25mm rails and 12mm slats is fine. Use wide slats to distribute the weight, and drill countersunk pilot holes then glue and screw with high quality construction screws will help.

Any better ideas?

[John Samuel]

Made a similar bed from Surian Cedar (with pine slats) for two of my granddaughters four and a half years ago.

Bunk Beds.jpg

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These girls might look cute, but they know how to play rough, including the age old kid favourite of bed jumping.

The slats are 150 mm wide and 18-20 mm finished thickness with 50mm gaps between the slats. Over four years and two moves later the bed is as strong as ever. Mind you, I am often accused of over-engineering, and justifiably so.

Only about 25mm of the mattress is captured within the frame, but that works fine.

[GraemeCook]

... I realise the bed is significantly overbuilt ...

But is it kid proof? Looks good, and about right.

One small point; Is it worth rounding over the square corners on the rails and posts? This should make them less vulnerable.

[Alkahestic]

The bed I did recently has 32mm of space from the top of slat to top of the bed side, could definitely be less. 20-25mm would capture the mattress quite securely and be easy enough to change sheets (32mm isn't a problem either).

Have you used the Ikea slats before? All of the Ikea beds that can use these curved slats (not that I looked at all beds mind you) have the slats captured in a groove, likely an integral part of using the slats successfully. I can't imagine Ikea would over design any of their furniture.

If you need a really thin profile, maybe thinner slats (Ikea or otherwise) but with a central rail attached to the header and footer with a cross support in the centre would provide any additional support required?

[John Samuel]

But is it kid proof? Looks good, and about right.

One small point; Is it worth rounding over the square corners on the rails and posts? This should make them less vulnerable.

Probably ... Most of the furniture I make for my grandurchins is Surian Cedar, because it is soft. Years ago, I made a NG Rosewood bed for a grandson. Strips of cedar were placed on the tops of the head and the foot, to soften any kid-contact. My daughter told me that by the end of day one with the new bed the cedar had proven its worth.