raderator

I just got a 8" queen-sized memory foam mattress (Sam's, $230 shipped) so I want a platform bed. I sat down with some graph paper and came up with a design that only requires two 4x8 panels and no other material. Every scrap is used, amazingly (the small pieces would be used for cleating at the headboard and platform joints). I'm not much of a woodworker but I do have a circular saw, sawhorses and plenty of tools. I was planning on using 3/4x49x97 MDF, $26.50 at Lowes. That will give me an extra inch to play with and account for cuts. I'd like to paint it gloss white or maybe gloss black. I'd nail and glue the base and just screw the platform down. This would make it movable since the headboard is only 28" high so should fit thru most doorways. It's low, sleek and modern, just what I like. It should cost about $60.

Any advice or suggestions?

lucas.j.dunton

I think you will have durability issues especially with the headboard, and it is going to be HEAVY as hell. I find that MDF is not very structurally sound, and tends to bread up, especially where joined and on the corners and such
An interesting idea for a sleek modern look that will be durable would be to build it out of bamboo plywood, you could use basically the same design and for a modern look bamboo is all the rage right now, i would just figure out how to make it able to knock down so you can move it in pieces, as it will be incredibly heavy as one piece no matter how you build it

__________________
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cabinetman

Platform beds from sheet goods work out very well. They can be done in plywood, MDF, or particle board. Basically I make them with a box (or two), as a base and a sheet (or 2) for the platform with a vertical edge for the frame. You only really need a mattress, no box spring. As a suggestion, if you want rounded corners at the foot of the bed edges, you can buy a formed radius (from 3" to 24") in various lengths and just cut for the height you want. They can be installed to the frame edges with glue and a spline. You can see them on the top of this page.

Below is a quick layout:
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raderator

Thanks for the info. Bamboo looks expensive, $135, and I don't know where I would I get it here. My platform would be the size of the mattress, 60"x80" (with another 3/4" if MDF), so would be almost exactly the area of a sheet of 4x8. So the base and headboard would be equal to the other 4x8 making it about ~96lbs. That doesn't seem too heavy for two people to carry. And the screwed-down platform would be in two pieces so would be pretty easy to move. The headboard is only connected along 8" at its base but would be glued to three base members as well as being screwed to the platform into two 1'x4" cleats.

How about just some nice sanded plywood? Could I just nail and glue that? Does plywood take a screw into it's edged without separating? Would 1/2" be enough of and edge to work with? The edges don't match the rest of the material tho.

Am I being too obsessed about making the most of a 4x8 sheet? They don't normally come any wider, do they? It was a fun puzzle to figure out. I suppose real woodworkers always have a use for the leftover material.

Edit:

3/4x4x8 sanded plywood is about $33 and they shave off a fraction of an inch, especially on the thickness.Then you have to worry about flaws showing up on this ultra-simple design if painted (not a big fan of stained wood with wood floors) as well as the wood snagging the mattress cover. Certainly, MDF is the way to go for the platform. But since I will have to buy two sheets anyway, I think my original idea is the most sensible. I have some pipe clamps but I think I'll just loop a rope around the entire base and make like a tourniquet, measuring diagonally to make sure it's square.

cabinetman

I would only use 3/4". With the base and platform being in two sections they would be easy to move and install at the site. The headboard can screw to the elevated edge above the platform at the rear of the bed.

NKYDarrell

Workbench Magazine had a platform bed in the October 2008 issue that I have been wanting to build for a while. I have a copy of the magazine but I managed to find a copy of the plan online if you are interested. Here's a photo of the bed and a link to the plan.



http://www.workbenchmagazine.com/main/pdf/wb309-bed.pdf

Oh, and for anyone interested, here are a whole bunch of cutting diagrams and free plans from Workbench Magazine.
http://www.workbenchmagazine.com/mai...0-cutdiag.html

raderator

Yeah, 3/4" is probably the minimum if you want to screw into it or glue an edge.

Didn't think of the last part, duh. But I'll probably glue a cleat to the headboard and then screw down into it from the platform. Probably be stronger and I won't have to pull out the bed to get at the back of it. Gee, design can be complicated sometimes! Besides, I want to use every scrap. And I'm not even a greenie. It's just for the fun of it.

Yes, this is an el-cheapo design but I'm into that. Take a look at the $30 computer desk I'm building. I'm going to suspend a 1 gallon water jug inside each of the sonotubes. I might paint the tubes concrete gray and with their spiral pattern, they'll look (and sorta feel) like real concrete!




I even thought of making a bed this way but that might be pushing it . Tho two 2'6" doors would be exactly the size of a queen size mattress. I'd support it on a 4' sonotube cut in five pieces and hinge it at the bottom so it could be folded up. Ya kno, it probably would work. Ha...I'm a would-worker!

I'd probably make some Xs out of 2x4s and glue them to the bottom of the doors, then put four screws in the sides of the tubes. This would help take the load off the edge of the tube which might crack the door. I was going to do that with my table but the two ropes which hang each water jug and their hooks serve to position and hold down the door and there isn't much load on a table. If I could fill the doors with foam they'd be even stronger.

Do I ever stop thinking? No!

Edit:

OK, here's how I'd do the door bed. I'd cut a hold where each tube is and spray foam in. Then all I'd need is 3 little nubs of some kind to postion each tube. To move the bed, just lift off the tubes and fold. The central tube would be well-supported on two of the door frames.

sh2005

Hi Raderator,
I am working on a platform bed very similar to your design. It's not complete yet, haven't had a chance to spend a lot of time on it. So far, I got the base done, but I haven't started on the top and the headboards yet. I will see if I can post some pics of what I have.