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DIY Platform Bed With Floating Night Stands
DIY Platform Bed With Floating Night Stands
DIY Platform Bed With Floating Night Stands
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Step 4: The top trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Step 5: The almighty headboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Step 6: Floating Nightstands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Step 7: Sanding and Leveling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Step 8: Finishing and staining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Step 9: Enjoy! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/
Step 1: Acquire
The first step in this, or any project, is to decide what you need and then acquire those things that you decided you needed. I measured my mattress, made a rough game plan, and wrote out a list of the wood I thought I would need. I rethought this several times and made several trips to the Depot. The items used in the end for this project are as follows: Tools You don't need anything fancy for this project. In fact 90% of the cuts made for this bed were entirely using my sliding miter saw. But here is what I used: -Table Saw -Miter Saw -Air Compressor with 18ga nail gun -Electric sander (mine is an orbital) -Tape measure -Carpenter's triangle (or whatever the crap it's called. EDIT. speed square. thanks.) -Pencils -Screwgun/drill -Hammer/rubber mallet -Several C-Clamps. I have 6 12" ones, and that seemed to be good enough for my needs. -Sawhorses -9/16" wrench -9/16" ratchet Wood As far as the frame goes (and this is for a queen size bed, so you may adjust the wood sizes to your own measurements), you will need: - 10 to 20 1x3x6' boards (these are the wood slats that act as the boxspring, and you don't need nearly as many as I used, as you will see). - 1 4x4x8 ft board (douglas fir, not the green outdoor treated ones) - 6 2x4x8 ft boards (more if you make sweet mistakes like me) - 1 2x2x8 ft board (I bought this by accident, but it really came in handy).
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/
The trim, or cosmetically inclined part of the bed, required a few more pieces. This is where you get to decide what type of wood you will use. I used pine because it is the cheapest, and is quite easy to work with. The results would probably be better with a harder wood like rosewood, walnut, or oak. You may choose based on your own budget and assessment of your skills. I assess my skills at a medium to high risk of mucking up, requiring forking out more cash for high grade wood. This was a wise choice. In any case, you will need: - 2 1x10x8 ft pine boards - 1 1x10x6 ft pine board (you could just buy 3 8ft boards, but I wanted to save money where I could, and this saved me a whopping buck fifty. - 4 1x6x8 ft pine boards. - 1 1x4x8 ft pine board Then the headboard, you may do whatever you like. I wanted something simple and modern. I found at the lumber store some already pressed together pine sheets that were 24" wide by 96" long. This suited my needs perfectly, so that is the primary component in my headboard. That should do it for the wood you need. Unless I'm forgetting something, in which case, I apologize. Other Stuff -Sandpaper in 80, 100, 150 or 180, and 220 grit. If you have an orbital get all these in discs but buy regular sheets of 220 as wel. -1 quart Pre-stain (this stuff is for people like me who buy crappy soft woods, so the stain takes more evenly) -1 quart Stain of your choice. I used all minwax stain products, for consistency, even though I don't really think it makes a difference. -1 quart finishing polyurethane. I chose satin because I hate glossy things, but that is up to your own tastes. They also make products that are supposedly stain and polyurethane in one? I think I'd rather stay away from that. -Wood putty. I prefer the squeeze bottle. -small flexible putty knife for the above. -Nails for the nailgun. 1.5" are a good size -A crapload of wood screws. 2.5" and 1.5" -Wood glue. I bought two good sized bottles, but one was enough. I bought the Gorilla Glue brand wood glue because it was on sale. And because Elmer's should stick to non-toxic elementary school glue. -tack cloths. -mineral spirits -lots of cotton rags, like cut up t-shirts -sponge brushes, i used 2 and 3" sizes -2 Metal brackets for applying a center 2x4 to the frame -Another 4 sweet metal brackets that slip over a 4x4 and have bracket for 2x4 coming off 2 ends. I don't know what they are called, but there are pictures of them later. -4 5.5x3/8" hex bolts -16 3/8" washers -16 3/8" hex nuts Now that you spent all your money (the total cost of this project for me was about 400 bucks), we can get on to the good stuff.
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/
Slat it up Now that the frame is built, it's time to add some slats to act as a box spring or something. I guess just to hold the mattress and you up. In any case, measure the outside edge width of the frame, and that is the size you need to cut all of your 1x3 boards. You can space them out at your discretion, but make sure they are the same distance apart from each other (assuming you're anal like I am). I spaced mine by the width of a scrap of 2x2, for consistencies sake. This is way overkill, but in hindsight, I still would at least space them by the width of the 1x3s themselves. Nothing wrong with building a really sturdy bed. Just go across with your screwgun and 1.5" screws, and drive one in on each end and the center support of the frame. And after a while, your frame will finally be complete. At this point you might want to throw your mattress on there and just test to make sure your measurements were right. There's no going back, now.
Image Notes 1. These are the sweet brackets I was telling you about. I'm glad somebody was awesome enough to invent these.
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/
Image Notes 1. Notice how it's just kind of floating in there, thanks to low uneven ceiling in the stairwell.
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/
Image Notes 1. You can see the gap the screws created for me. I silently cursed, but got over it quickly.
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/
Image Notes 1. The long side requires more clamps, as you can see.
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/
Image Notes 1. The screws in the brackets created a bit of a gap for me, but it's nothing that isn't correctable with a little elbow grease and a lot of sanding!
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/
Image Notes 1. This was a huge fail. It's going to take a lot of sanding, finessing and wood puttying to fix this giant uneven gap, but you will see the wonders of what can be done shortly.
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/
Image Notes 1. I originally used wingnuts, but finger tight was not good enough for me, so these were replaced by standard hex nuts.
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/
Image Notes 1. I forgot to mention your side trim should be 2" longer, or you can extend the trim from the headboard all the way down to the floor here.
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/
Image Notes 1. This side tilts slightly upward, but it's not horrible.
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/
Image Notes 1. This was a huge fail. It's going to take a lot of sanding, finessing and wood puttying to fix this giant uneven gap, but you will see the wonders of what can be done shortly.
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/
Image Notes 1. Pre-sanding, but at least here you can see that that massive gap in the last photo has been successfully filled.
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/
After a couple hours, very softly sand it by hand with 220 or higher grit sandpaper just to get rid of some of the bubbles and even the surfaces. You'll see a few scratches and you'll likely freak out, but don't worry. Mineral spirts and tack cloth everything one more time, and then put on the 2nd coat of poly, same way you did the first. Let this dry for at least 24 hours and you are finally, really, awesomely finished with the bed.
Image Notes 1. immediately after applying the stain, letting it soak in.
Image Notes 1. Pleasing results after wiping the stain off. The grain really shows through nicely.
Image Notes 1. This is what happens when you don't put plastic or a tarp down or something. Your garage floor becomes a disaster.
Image Notes 1. The finished headboard came out way more awesome than I could have imagined.
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/
Step 9: Enjoy!
Bring the bed inside (carefully! pine is REALLY soft and even one tap can cause a nick in your brand new awesome bed). Bolt the headboard and nightstands in place. Throw the mattress in it's place (hopefully it still fits), and take a nap with your dogs. Thanks for reading. Ladies, the dogs are willing to share the other half of the bed.
Related Instructables
DIY Platform Bed and Mattress Substitute - OutOf-The-Box, Portable, Lightweight, Inexpensive by sbansban
DIY Platform Bed Substitute Out-Of-The-Box, Portable, Lightweight & Inexpensive by sbansban
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Platform-Bed-with-Floating-Nightstands/