If you bought an apartment or built a house, it's time to think about the situation. It is especially important to choose a high-quality, environmentally friendly bed in a children's room. And if there are two children, it is doubly more difficult. But there is a way out. A bunk bed will make it possible to rationally use the area of the room, which is very important for residents of urban apartments with two or more children.
Free space in their room is necessary for the organization of a play area, where a children's sports corner (Swedish wall) is usually mounted or a desk is placed.
Determine the size
A two-level bed should be stable and durable. This must be taken into account when designing a project. In addition to sleeping places, there is a staircase to the "second floor", so you need to determine in advance its location. When drawing up the drawing, the length of the berths, the distance between the lower and upper levels are taken into account in order to create convenient and comfortable furniture in operation.
It should have such design features:
- the distance from the floor to the lower tier should allow an adult to sit comfortably without raising his legs, and the resulting lower space can be used for a linen box or drawer for toys;
- the distance between the lower and upper levels is calculated so that not only a child, but also an adult of average height can sit on the lower tier without bending or hitting his head. It is undesirable to place the upper tier too high, otherwise the child will feel uncomfortable under the very ceiling.
The article includes drawings of bunk beds with optimal sizes. Dimensions are calculated taking into account the installation of furniture in a typical room with a standard area. This will make it possible to use the bed for children of different ages, including teenage.
The bunk bed has the following dimensions:
- each berth - 1800х800 mm;
- the thickness of the mattress is 180-200 mm;
- ceiling height in the children's room - 2500 mm.
Such dimensions are called universal.
Materials and tools
Supporters of natural materials prefer to assemble a bed of wood. Well-dried pine boards with dimensions are suitable:
- 30x30 mm;
- 40x80 mm;
- 40x140 mm;
- 18x140 mm.
The length of the boards is determined taking into account the total length of all the elements that will make up a home-made sleeping piece of furniture. Please note that making a two-level wooden headset with your own hands is more difficult than using chipboard, therefore, having no experience in working with a natural board, it is still better to choose a laminated particleboard material. Below we post a photo of the finished bed, which will turn out provided that step-by-step instructions are followed.
The drawing of the bunk bed includes two bases for mattresses, which are usually made from plywood sheets cut in size 900x1850x9 mm. In the work you will need fasteners (3.5x40 mm screws) and decorative caps for them, so that the product has a complete appearance.
The room in which the assembly is carried out, in terms of temperature and humidity, should correspond to the room where the assembled piece of furniture will stand. Otherwise, the material may “lead”, which will negatively affect the operational and aesthetic qualities of the finished product.
From the tools you will need the following devices:
- cordless drill or screwdriver;
- wood hacksaw;
- roulette and level;
- milling machine for sharp edges near wooden workpieces.
To work, you need a small set of tools. In order not to spend money on unnecessary parts, before buying material, you must carefully calculate their quantity. The bunk bed consists of two sunbeds (trellises), which are the basis for the mattresses. To assemble them, you need a board of 18x140 mm, 9 pieces each. The bed must be strong so that children can safely jump on it. The width of each berth, according to the drawings, is 800 mm, and the sun loungers themselves need to be made a little narrower so that when assembling they enter the seats. A support for the gratings will be bars 30x30 mm.
The bed to protect the kids from falling is protected by side walls. Access to the second tier is provided by a staircase. To make it, you need 40x80 mm boards. If desired, the lower tier can be equipped with a removable fence. The amount of material is calculated individually, depending on the type of structure and the location of the stairs.
The stability of the structure is ensured along the perimeter of the drawers. To do this, use a massive board with a section of 40x140 mm.
A two-level bed made of chipboard is much heavier than a product from a wooden board. Chipboard is more massive, but its cost is several times lower, so many masters prefer the first option.
Assembly process
After the preparatory work, involving the preparation of the drawing and the acquisition of material, you can proceed to the main process - assembly. The instruction determines the sequence of work to be done by yourself.
Experienced joiners advise: before assembling the bed, purchase mattresses in advance, and after measuring them with an allowance of a few centimeters on each side, you can determine the dimensions of the frame. This distance makes it possible to simplify the process of filling sheets.
The figure below represents the construction of the bunk bed loungers, which you should make the same, and contains approximate calculations. All bars are fastened together by screws.
After the frame is assembled, a board 150x20 mm is screwed to it on one side and end. Fasteners should be performed using self-tapping screws, while ensuring that the fastener does not pierce the side through. If your screws are shorter than the required size, drill more holes in the board using a drill with a depth limiter. The sides are attached to the frames of the sun loungers, and then you can proceed to create the legs. The racks must be strong, otherwise they simply can not withstand increased loads. For work, we need two bars, the width of which is from 50 to 100 mm. The length of the board is calculated so that it equals the distance from the floor to the guard rails of the second level. The bars are interconnected along the length so that the assembled element has the shape of the letter L.
After that, in the finished racks we make technological holes for fixing the upper tier with screws. The lower tier is mounted similarly to the upper one, using the same technology. Now we have to make a railing, for which 20x100 mm boards are chosen. The assembly scheme provides an opening in the fence opposite the stairs. This is important for access to it.
Everyone chooses a staircase configuration for himself. Add: this element can be either vertical or inclined. As a guide base, strong bars are chosen that will hold the steps fixed with 6 mm bolts. The dimensions of the elements of the staircase are indicated on the drawing (photo above). The upper step is attached to the base with the longest bolts, they are also used to fix the stairs to the bed. Lastly, during assembly, plywood sheets are mounted, which serve as the basis for laying the mattress.
So, the bunk bed is ready. It is not inferior to the factory standard in quality, but is cheaper, saving considerable money. The sleeping set made in accordance with the drawings, consisting of two levels, corresponds to the strength indicators and will last you more than one year. Despite the fact that such a piece of furniture has rather large dimensions, it will not take up much space, and the children's room will not seem overloaded. Now you know how to make a two-story bed without resorting to the help of complex professional tools and the services of a joiner.