Platform Bed
I have a very small bedroom and a very large driftwood collection. You see, I'm an artsy type. I craft sculptures and home dec items out of shells, seaweed and driftwood. I have sorted all of my supplies and have them stored in various sized plastic bins. One day, it all got to be too much.
I basically couldnt walk in my bedroom. But I couldn't work out of my basement because it's HUGE SPIDER CENTRAL. Gross!
I was also tired of lugging everything out of my bedroom into the kitchen in order to work the counter. This became problematic for my housemate also, who took exception to my half finished projects lying about so that he was unable to use the stove. LOL
I had a beautiful four post bed that took up 60% of the floor space. It had to go.
I did some research on Youtube on how to construct a simple platform bed.
I modified the legs of that project and made my new platform bed's legs four feet tall instead of 13" tall. With all that room underneath the platform, I could store my supplies, along with out of season clothing and bedding. And I could even have a little spot for hidey-hole under there for my dog PeeWee.
I went to Home Depot with my lumber list as per the video I watched.
I'm not exactly sure what decade and in which country the original poster came from but here on the East Coast of the USA, his lumber list did not cost $30 but it did cost $55 including screws. If I had followed his list regarding lengths and wood species, it would have cost me almost $80.
My supply list:
(six) 2x6x8's
(twenty) 1 x 4 x 8' furring strips
(two) metal joist hangers
30 3" self-tapping wood screws (I had these already)
60 1-1/2" wood screws (I had these already as well)
I had Home Depot cut : two of my 2x6x8's into 4' lengths for the four legs
two 2x6x8s into 78" lengths for side rails
three 2x6x8's into 58" lengths for end rails
twenty 1x4x8 into 60" lengths for platform top (they didn't have ten footers so I have 20 4 foot off-cuts. Ugh. But no worries. I will use them on a future project someday)
After loading it all into my Nissan Cube (best square car ever), I hauled it all home and into my bedroom.
I began by butting one end of the end rail to the end of the side rail and screwed it together. Since I was doing this all by myself, I placed the long board against my baseboard for leverage when using the drill. I have a long metal square so I used that to make sure the corner was going to remain square. I repeated the same procedure with the other long board and end rail board. Then I screwed the two "L-shaped" sections together, and made a large rectangle. I made sure everything was plumb and square, and voila.
This is the mess in my room I was trying to hide
Next, I stood the four leg sections together and taped them together with duct tape to make sure they were even before I attached them to my frame. Rut roh Home Depot. One leg was a bit longer than the rest. No worries. I marked the long leg and cut off a bit with my circular saw. I stood the four legs up together again, and made sure they were equal in length. Problem solved. I don't want to be sleeping four feet off the ground on a wobbly bed frame. After all, I'm almost 57. If I break a hip, my children will have me put down! ;)
I placed and screwed in each leg into each corner of the rectangle. Easy. I checked for plumb with my level and they were dead on balls accurate. (That's a technical term. Feel free to use it)
Then I had fun lifting the frame onto its side by myself, and by the sheer will of an Irish grandmother, my frame was standing on all four legs. And I saw it was good. :D
The next step was the "center support." I found the center of each end rail and marked it. I placed the joist hangers at the center mark and screwed them in using the specified size screws according to the label instructions that were on the joist hangers. I then lifted the last 2x6 in place and it was a tiny bit too long. DAMMIT HOME DEPOT. So outside we went to the porch where I took off a quarter inch with my circular saw, and carried it back it. I nudged the 2x6 into the joist hangers and was proud of myself.
Then I took all my winter clothing, winter bedding, two boxes of memorabilia I've been carting around from when my children were small, and all my art supplies and arranged them under the platform frame with the stuff I never need way in the corner, and the stuff I need the most around the perimeter of the frame. Saved a lot of aggravation doing that before I put the furring strips onto the frame. Less bending and crawling!
I took the 20 furring strips and placed them on top of the frame using my good old eyeballs to space them evenly. I screwed each strip into the frame on either end, as well as into the middle "beam."
I made a last check with my level, making sure the legs were plumb and all was square. This bed is solid. I had brought a couple 2x4's from the basement in case the frame needed bracing, but they weren't necessary after all.
I dragged my memory foam mattress into my bedroom and had a coronary lifting it onto my new platform but it was so worth it. I poured myself some wine and smiled.
The next morning, I crafted some driftwood safety rails because my dog kept threatening to jump off the bed in the middle of the night. Easy peasy. And now, I can walk in my bedroom again. My driftwood is easily accessible, and the platform height is perfect for a work station. I have a four foot piece of luan plywood that I keep under my bed for when I want to work on a craft using top of my mattress. It's the perfect height for me to see what I'm making. My bedroom is now my own studio, and I'm proud of myself.
And Peewee has his hidey hole, which is the most important thing :D
I basically couldnt walk in my bedroom. But I couldn't work out of my basement because it's HUGE SPIDER CENTRAL. Gross!
I was also tired of lugging everything out of my bedroom into the kitchen in order to work the counter. This became problematic for my housemate also, who took exception to my half finished projects lying about so that he was unable to use the stove. LOL
I had a beautiful four post bed that took up 60% of the floor space. It had to go.
I did some research on Youtube on how to construct a simple platform bed.
I modified the legs of that project and made my new platform bed's legs four feet tall instead of 13" tall. With all that room underneath the platform, I could store my supplies, along with out of season clothing and bedding. And I could even have a little spot for hidey-hole under there for my dog PeeWee.
I went to Home Depot with my lumber list as per the video I watched.
I'm not exactly sure what decade and in which country the original poster came from but here on the East Coast of the USA, his lumber list did not cost $30 but it did cost $55 including screws. If I had followed his list regarding lengths and wood species, it would have cost me almost $80.
My supply list:
(six) 2x6x8's
(twenty) 1 x 4 x 8' furring strips
(two) metal joist hangers
30 3" self-tapping wood screws (I had these already)
60 1-1/2" wood screws (I had these already as well)
I had Home Depot cut : two of my 2x6x8's into 4' lengths for the four legs
two 2x6x8s into 78" lengths for side rails
three 2x6x8's into 58" lengths for end rails
twenty 1x4x8 into 60" lengths for platform top (they didn't have ten footers so I have 20 4 foot off-cuts. Ugh. But no worries. I will use them on a future project someday)
After loading it all into my Nissan Cube (best square car ever), I hauled it all home and into my bedroom.
I began by butting one end of the end rail to the end of the side rail and screwed it together. Since I was doing this all by myself, I placed the long board against my baseboard for leverage when using the drill. I have a long metal square so I used that to make sure the corner was going to remain square. I repeated the same procedure with the other long board and end rail board. Then I screwed the two "L-shaped" sections together, and made a large rectangle. I made sure everything was plumb and square, and voila.
This is the mess in my room I was trying to hide
Next, I stood the four leg sections together and taped them together with duct tape to make sure they were even before I attached them to my frame. Rut roh Home Depot. One leg was a bit longer than the rest. No worries. I marked the long leg and cut off a bit with my circular saw. I stood the four legs up together again, and made sure they were equal in length. Problem solved. I don't want to be sleeping four feet off the ground on a wobbly bed frame. After all, I'm almost 57. If I break a hip, my children will have me put down! ;)
I placed and screwed in each leg into each corner of the rectangle. Easy. I checked for plumb with my level and they were dead on balls accurate. (That's a technical term. Feel free to use it)
Then I had fun lifting the frame onto its side by myself, and by the sheer will of an Irish grandmother, my frame was standing on all four legs. And I saw it was good. :D
The next step was the "center support." I found the center of each end rail and marked it. I placed the joist hangers at the center mark and screwed them in using the specified size screws according to the label instructions that were on the joist hangers. I then lifted the last 2x6 in place and it was a tiny bit too long. DAMMIT HOME DEPOT. So outside we went to the porch where I took off a quarter inch with my circular saw, and carried it back it. I nudged the 2x6 into the joist hangers and was proud of myself.
Then I took all my winter clothing, winter bedding, two boxes of memorabilia I've been carting around from when my children were small, and all my art supplies and arranged them under the platform frame with the stuff I never need way in the corner, and the stuff I need the most around the perimeter of the frame. Saved a lot of aggravation doing that before I put the furring strips onto the frame. Less bending and crawling!
I took the 20 furring strips and placed them on top of the frame using my good old eyeballs to space them evenly. I screwed each strip into the frame on either end, as well as into the middle "beam."
I made a last check with my level, making sure the legs were plumb and all was square. This bed is solid. I had brought a couple 2x4's from the basement in case the frame needed bracing, but they weren't necessary after all.
I dragged my memory foam mattress into my bedroom and had a coronary lifting it onto my new platform but it was so worth it. I poured myself some wine and smiled.
The next morning, I crafted some driftwood safety rails because my dog kept threatening to jump off the bed in the middle of the night. Easy peasy. And now, I can walk in my bedroom again. My driftwood is easily accessible, and the platform height is perfect for a work station. I have a four foot piece of luan plywood that I keep under my bed for when I want to work on a craft using top of my mattress. It's the perfect height for me to see what I'm making. My bedroom is now my own studio, and I'm proud of myself.
And Peewee has his hidey hole, which is the most important thing :D
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