How to build a platform bed
A few months ago Heather and I had finally had enough of our old, lumpy bed. I was waking up with back pain so bad I had trouble getting into my car and we both were getting lousy sleep. I got out the measuring tape and found my side of the bed dipped 2 inches from the foot to the middle and Heather’s side was worse. After talking it over we decided if we were getting a new mattress we might as well upgrade to a king size.
King size is pricey and we didn’t want to spend the money on a bed frame that wasn’t going to match our dressers so we looked into platform beds. I found a few plans online, but the basic design was so simple that I decided to just wing it and make my own plans using standard construction lumber. We made the trip to our local furniture store and fell in love with a foam mattress. We placed our order, took some measurements and after Thanksgiving I built our new bed in a busy afternoon. Here’s how I did it.
First the materials
- 2 x 4 x 96 – 10 pieces ($2.11 ea)
- 2 x 10 x 8 – 6 pieces ($7.99 ea)
- 3/4 x 49 x 97 MDF – 2 pieces ($22.99)
- deck screws
- wood glue (optional)
The tools
- miter saw
- circular saw
- power drill/driver
My basic idea was to build 2 frames and stack them on top of each other. The framing is much like framing a wall. The bottom is smaller so you don’t stub your toes (like kitchen cabinets) and taller (so the bed fits over our radiator and flush to the wall – no headboard!). I topped it all off with the MDF. Here’s the step by step photos.
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| For my base I used 2×10s. This gave me enough height to get my second tier over the radiator and allow us to push the bed flush to the wall so we didn’t need a headboard. In retrospect, 2×8s would have been better. The foam mattress was thicker than we expected and our bed is slightly taller than our old standard height bed.To determine the dimensions I added 1 inch to the height and width of the mattress we purchased. I then subtracted 12 inches from each dimension to give us the inset to protect our toes and enough space for the radiator to do its thing.For example a standard King size mattress is 80 x 76. The bottom frame would be 69 x 65. There is a lot of room for adjustment her since you never see this layer. The important thing is that your frame is level.All lumber was screwed together using some old 2 1/2″ deck screws. I drilled pilot holes to prevent splitting and used a little wood glue to create a strong bond. |
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| Next I used my scrap pieces of 2×10 to create blocking. This prevents my frame from twisting over time as the wood dries. This is the same technique used in floor joists.Make sure to offset them like I did so you are able to screw in from both sides. No exact science here, just make sure they fit tightly in the spaces. This might have been overkill, but I figured it was better to overbuild with an extra $20 of lumber than take the bed apart later and fix it. |
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| For the top layer I used 2×4s. I followed the same strategy, but this layer will be slightly larger than the mattress. Once again I screwed and glued everything taking care to keep everything square and level. This layer is very visible so take the time to do it right. |
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| Next I placed the top layer on top of the bottom and centered it. I toenailed the top layer into the bottom at all intersections with the deck screws (remember to drill those pilot holes first).When I was done I was surprised just how solid the hole thing was. Ethan immediately declared it was a pirate ship and start climbing all over. |
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| The last step was attaching the mdf to the top. I had these pre-cut at Lowes. Their sheet cutter is more accurate than I can be with a circular saw and it saves me time. I attached these with 2 inch deck screws about every 12-16 inches. Overkill again.The end result isn’t very glamorous, but I plan on using the scrap MDF to side the upper tier of the bed and create a lip to keep the bed in place. This is why I made the platform slightly larger – to give us room to put the sheets on when the lip is in place.There you have it. The sturdiest bed you’ve ever seen for about $100 and an afternoon. I was worried it might tilt when you sat on a corner, but it does not budge at all. It is HEAVY and will need to be taken apart if it every needs to leave the room. |
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| Jamie also loved playing in the framing. There is plenty of room for adding storage, but we decided against it. We were more interested in having a bed where toys, tissues, dog hair, dishes, etc could NOT get lost underneath. |
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| There was one frantic step I did not photograph. Notice the open framing in this picture. If I left it this way it would be possible for someone to reach into the framing from below and deposit something INTO the bed frame. To prevent this I used some scrap MDF and plywood to block all the spaces between the outer edges of the top and bottom frames.In a couple places, however, I screwed the plywood over the bottom frame, but left an opening. This created a hidden shelf. I have one on my side of the bed where I keep a book and my book light. One at the bottom of the bed is used by kids as a cave where their toy frogs live. |
We’ve been very happy with the end result. The bed frame is incredibly solid and our new mattress is wonderful! My back aches are completely gone and we are sleeping so much better. Feel free to post any questions on the bed and I’ll help where I can. I also plan to post an update after I get the sideboards on and the whole thing painted.
*Here is a post about the twin beds I made for the boys.
We need to make a bigger bed because we’ve gone up to a king size mattress too. But we were just going to do the same thing with slats again…. tell me, don’t you have any problems with mould when you’ve got a solid piece right under the mattress? My brother-in-law got mould on his rubber mattress when his slats weren’t far enough apart. Could it be the material of the mattress? We’ve bought a Sealy Posturpedic mattress – perhaps it allows ‘breathing’ within itself and that’s all that’s required?
do you think instead of using the top layer could you go crazy screwing MDF straight to the base?
would it work? maybe just make the base a couple inches bigger????
Hey there and nice work! I’m building off of your idea for the frame, but thought you might make a recommendation on how much wider I should have the width and length be for the part that the matress sits on…it will have a lip wrapping the edge so I want to allow enough space for sheets, etc…Also, the size of my mattress is a full. Thanks much!
-Josh
Would you send the measuremens and directions for a twin.
I would like to thank you for posting your pics. I have been looking at making a platform bed for a few months now, and no one has any really good step by step pics. Yours gave me a clear idea of how it should be structurally. I will be using yours as a guide but will modify it a bit. Thanks again.
i did a 2×10 base but intead of making a top layer i screwed the mdf directly to the base works just fine and instead of using scrap mdf for siding we just used a piece of carpet underlay so the matress doesnt move i also made the base in 2 pieces, 3 bolts holding it in place, for eaiser moving if need be
hi john i am building myself a bed for my room at the mo although its gonna be a double and came across ur idea, i think its a wicked design, would u be able to tell me the measurments for the double bed, lowere tier, uper tier and how far inbetween the slats for the supports have to go plz.
thank you
martin
i checked out about 10 sets of plans on google and decided to go with yours…and boy am i glad i did! it took me and a buddy 4 hours to build the bed (queen) INCLUDING THE TRIP TO LOEWS. The frame looks great, (sleek and modern) and it’s much more comfotable than my box spring. What do you recommend i use to color it. Paint, stain, polystain, etc. Thank you so much.
SONNY
justin,
Have you had any problems so far with screwing MDF straight onto the base? How much overhang did you leave?
John, Thank you for sharing your plans with all internet users! Can you advise how to adapt the bed design using an old Queen size waterbed frame? We would like to convert to a King size, if possible.
Thanks again.
paul no problems screwing mdf directly to the base,
just pre drilled and counter sunk the screw so they dont catch,
the over hang on each side is 4inches and the overhang at the base is 5inches
top has about a half inch over hand just to butt it up against the wall
I love this design and its a easy plan to follow but could you email me the supplie list for a full/queen size bed. Im wanting to do this for Christmas for my daughter.
I’ve almost finished making a similar bed with a few significant differences. First, I’m in a 3rd floor apartment, planning a cross country move in the next few months, so I built the top section in 3 parts. Where John’s top has one frame of 5 sections, mine has 3 frames of 2 sections.
Also, as we’re in an apartment, we have very limited storage. I’ve made the bottom section basically a tic-tac-toe out of glued up 2×6’s and will have drawers all around. The bottom is totally modular and will break down so anyone could carry it out.
thanks john!!!!! now I got to figure out how to add drawers….one question… mdf or plywood for top layer? which is best? I just see mdf a little weak…
hi,
i was hoping you could post an image showing how you bed frame ended up with the lip on it. im not to sure about the deminsions you sited up above and i was hoping to see what it looked like before i bough the materials. Thanks
nice design. i am excited to start working this.
Awesome…..Totally perfect for what I had in mind. Except I have a California King. Have you refigured the size for anyone with the same problem? Im not super wood savvy so I was planning on handing a list of exactly what I needed to the wood place and removing that thinking part of it for myself. Thanks in advance. lisa
I haven’t found any place locally that will sell me only the king mattress without a box spring. Anyone out there steer me in the right direction?
I just went onto overstock.com and bought a memory foam mattress with free delivery. It is a better mattress and it is perfect for a platform bed. It also cost less then $400!
I just went to sears and bought a king size mattress by itself.
I put 2 twin mattresses together.
I believe Sam’s Club sells them seperately.
John John John…just wanted to say thanks for the bed design. I am new to wood working and for Christmas I got a bunch of new power tools for my new hobby.
First project was making a bed for my daughter. She is 2 and we have another on the way so time for her to move out of the “baby” room and move to her big girl room with her new full size bed…like I said she is 2 and 45lbs and 3 in a half feet tall so this bed should last her well into her teenage years.
I changed just a few things…on the base the 2×10’s I cut 1.5″ deep cuts into these so the top deck can fit nice and tight and this way I didnt have to use any hardware to attach the deck to the base and cool thing is now I can lift the deck from the foot of the bed and lift it up and use it for storage.
It is heavy as all *ell but I can park a truck on it cut a hole in it and change the oil of needed.
I am also attaching a head board to it using left over 1/2″ plywood and some batting and fabric with buttons to finish it off…
last thing i did was put some left over ply around the bottom of the deck so no little hands can reach up and drop things into the base, and added 1×6 trim on all sides except the headboard side on top for the mattress can sit in.
This is my first post ever and if anyone wants to see pics please tell me how and I will post them.
John thanks again your family is lovely and your web page is one of the best planned and laid out pages i have ever been on.
Thanks again,
Corey
Corey~
I have been looking at plans for a platform bed and this one seems t b the easiest. Would you pease send me pics of theone that you built?
Do you have any photos or tips on when or how to add the lip around the edge of the bed? I would love to get this done this weekend before our new bed gets here!
Yay!!!
thanks a lot
E
Hello John,
Did you finish the bed already? If so do you have more pictures of how it ended up looking in the end? I was thinking about buying one but you have inspired me into building my own.
I have uploaded my pics of the bed to my myspace account…please click on my name and that will take you to myspace and go to pics and projects..enjoy
John thanks again…
Can you also send me the dimensions for a twin bed….this is perfect…i want to make one for my grandson. thanks!
Great idea for the base and top framing. I got going and modified the base so it is 2 pieces that bolt together so it can be taken out in pieces. Same for the top frame. I also added 4 drawers for storage under the bed without compromising strength or rigidity. But thanks to you, I definitely got some building juices flowing with your plan of attack! I appreciate your posting this!
Say – can you send or post photos of your drawers and how you did that under the bed? You folks are inspiring me!
Over a year later and we are still talking about it…you must be feeling very proud. I love the design and plan on doing this probably this weekend. Thank you so much for sharing your plans with all of us. I am really curious to see the finished product though…will you please post those pics!
Geez, was I ever tired of sleeping on air matress that loses air every other night, found your plans and the photos are fantastic, guess Ill give it a try. Thank You.
Hey, I’m interested in using your plans to build a custom sized bed and I’d appreciate your thoughts on the measurements and quantity of wood you think I’d need to accomplish a finished size of two standard queen mattresses together…
Thanks!
Nice job with the bed! It looks like it could hold a tank! I may have to borrow some ideas from this when it comes time to build a platform bed for my kids. FYI, I came across a bunch of other free bed plans at http://www.free-bed-plans.com/. The quality varies quite a bit but I came across a few plans there that look promising.
-Josh
Thank you for the great post, that’s what i have been looking for for my readers. I have told my readers about this post on my blog. Keep it up!
Thanks John for the plan. I needed a quenn size and this is how my plan looks http://piddler43.blogspot.com/ . I am no computer genius when it comes to blogging so excuse the blog.
Scott
I have searched Hi and Lo for good plans, and yours is by far the best I have seen! Great job and thanks for the inspiration!
Hi can you give me the dimensions for the base, and for the top (I have a king size bed).
I’ve never done something like this, but your plans are so well displayed, that you give me hope.
Eddie
Good work!!!, we are building 4 beds from your plan!, Thanks so much we were kinda worried about the cost. We are building 4 beds for under $300.00, you cant beat that!
Nice!! I have been searching online for an easy platform bed design. This will save so much money we are remodeling our daughters room, and bed frames are between 400 and 1200$. This is a great family project not too mention you only have too buy the mattress, and no boxspring.This bed will be great for my youngest who is two because it is close too the floor.Good job!
I’m definitely an amature at this but your plans make it seem simple and I plan on using them with one exception.
I’ll be looking for something other than MDF for the upper base. Perhaps plywood if I can find the right kind. I’m just a little concerned about using MDF as Formaldehyde resins are commonly used to bind MDF together, and testing has consistently revealed that MDF products emit formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds that pose health risks at sufficient concentrations, for at least several months after manufacture. Whether these chronic emissions reach harmful levels in real-world environments is not yet fully determined so it may be just overkill on my part in being cautious.
I mentioned the “right kind” of plywood as the adhesives used in plywood have become a point of concern, as well. Both urea formaldehyde and phenol formaldehyde are carcinogenic in very high concentrations. As a result, many manufacturers are turning to low formaldehyde emitting glue systems, denoted by an “E” rating (”E0″ possessing the lowest formaldehyde emissions). Plywood produced to “E0″ have effectively zero formaldehyde emissions.
At any rate, thanks again for sharing your idea and pictures as they are very helpful. I can’t wait to get started.
You are my hero!!!!! I have wanted plans this dummy proof for sooo long!!! Now I can get my bed at a price that I can afford!!! I LOVE YOU!!!