A Basic Guide to Building a Loft Bed

A loft bed is the best type of bed to build for your child. This type of kid's bed can be converted into a bunk bed easily, and provides additional floor space or storage space for your child in a small room. They will also love the feeling of being high up, like in a fort or tree house. Building a kid's bed can be a challenge at times, but with the right tools and the proper planning, the process can be greatly simplified.

Decide how exactly you want to build the kid's bed, how tall it will be and what features you want to include underneath the loft bed. These features could include shelving, toy chests, built in desk space, or a closet. This is the most important step in building the loft bed. Without proper planning and a good set of blueprints, which you can easily find online, this project is much more difficult than it has to be.

Once you have your plans, purchase the necessary wood and materials. You'll most likely need: wood, measuring tape, saw (circular, table, or miter saws work best), screwdriver set and/or ratchet set, wood screws, sandpaper and paint or varnish.

Measure and cut the wood according to your plans. Remember to measure twice and cut once in order to minimize the amount of mistakes during cutting. The most common configuration is to start out with a 4 x 8 foot frame made of 2x4's and go from there to create the supporting posts and optional underneath features (toy chests, desk, dresser, etc).

When making the supporting posts do not go less than five feet from the ground, and do not go more than seven feet from the ground. This is a general rule for constructing these types of beds. Since the bed will by 5-7 feet in the air, it's important to attach a rail for safety. You can opt to use a single 2x6 for this step, or even two 2x4's to complete the rail installation. Simply attach the wood with wood screws, or use heavy-duty bolts for greater strength.

The final step of the installation is the finishing step. Sand all of the wood components until smooth, and then paint or varnish to wood the color of your liking. This will also help protect the wood for added durability. Just remember to keep a window open while applying paint or varnish, because the fumes can be very toxic.