New house? Awesome.

3 boys needing to fit into a room the size of a large closet? Not so much.

Giving credit where credit is due is muy importante over here, and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Mariana from The Bumper Crop, who convinced me via cyberspace that where there’s a will there’s a way!

Of course, the plan couldn’t go completely according to…well…plan because the beds made by the fabulous Mariana who, I’m quite certain, I was separated from at birth (if you know my life at all — and read her blog at all — you’ve already gleaned this) were for a room that was, quite unbelievably, 3 feet longer and 2 feet wider than my boys’ room.

And let’s be clear. Those 6 extra square feet? Yeah. They’re a big deal.

In addition, they had two otherwise un-utilized walls to work with. As it turned out, the wall opposite the big wall (if you can call it a big wall) in our boys’ room is not a wall at all. It’s a closet door. So I had to figure out how to make all this work in a 10×10 room with only 2 walls at my disposal.

First, let me start with a picture of the before. It was pretty bland, no?

Just so you know, there will be many pictures in this explanatory post as well as some video. I’m a visual person, so I need to see things (real well) to understand them. And, sometimes, I need someone to show me “live” in order to really understand.

I built the beds in very similar fashion to the explanation given by Mariana, but I did tweak them a bit. For starters, our boys are 10, 10, and 7, and I wanted to be absolutely sure that the beds were durable enough to hold for several years. Additionally, given what I know about our boys, I wanted to make sure the beds were installed very (very) securely both into the wall and with support to the floor—but (and here was the design kicker) without the support to the floor making the whole thing unsightly. Part of the reason I loved this concept from the beginning was that it frees up so much floor space—space that can be used for storage!

Because I know cost is often a motivating factor (as well as a curiosity) when it comes to DIY, let me tell you that I built and installed these 4 beds (our daughter has one in her room as well) for approximately $300. So that works out to be about $75 per bed.

The time involved was greater than anticipated, but that seems to be par for the course with projects I undertake!

PART 1: BUILD THE BEDS

*These directions assume you are building a twin-sized bed. I would not personally hang anything larger than this from the wall. If you prefer a video how-to format, scroll down a bit where you’ll find a video explanation and demonstration of most of the following steps.

1. For each bed you’ll need 18 2x4s. Make sure that you select 2x4s from the kiln dried bin. Oftentimes, green wood will make its way into the kiln dried bin. If the 2×4 you pick up feels awfully heavy (and a bit damp), it’s likely green wood. Put it back. Trust me.

2. Take someone with you to the home improvement store to help load the wood. This is my favorite building partner in crime. He’s 10.

3. Kindly ask (or flat-out beg) someone to help you load all this wood into the back of your truck. Alternately, do it yourself, and get the arm workout of a century.

4. Use a miter saw to barely trim the end of each piece of wood so that they are straight. They aren’t always cut square, and it can cause a less-than-ideal snafu later in the game if you have uneven pieces. Again, trust me. It matters not which end you trim, but when you lay your pieces back down, keep all the trimmed sides pointing in the same direction.

5. It’s now time to make the frame. Cut two 2x4s at 82.5″ and six at 42.5″. Lay out the frame with the 4 extra 42.5″ 2x4s evenly spaced from top to bottom. Using a Kreg pocket jig (this is one area where I did things a bit differently as the Kreg jig allows the screws to be hidden and also creates a tighter bond by ensuring that the screw goes into the center of the adjoining 2×4), drill two holes at both ends of each of the shorter boards. I set my Kreg jig to 1″. In the video I said 7/8″. You can do that, but on occasion the screw may pop through to the other side. Like, perhaps, when your sides aren’t square. Remember that? So 1″ is really best. Do and learn, people; it’s my motto.

6. Using 2 1/2″ self-tapping Kreg screws, create the frame by connecting the ends of the shorter boards to the inside of the longer boards. You don’t have to pre-drill.

You should now have a basic frame. Here is the video explaining exactly how to use the Kreg pocket jig system, and how to get to this point in the process:

7. Cut 12 top boards to 85″ each.

8. Attach the first top board flush with the back (long side) of the frame. This is the part of the bed that will go against the wall, so none of the top slat can hang over the edge of the frame or you won’t be able to attach it flush. Trust me.

9. Use a 1/2″ piece of scrap wood as a spacer between the slats. Position all 12 slats without attaching.

10. Now it’s time to actually attach the top boards.

NOTE: Attach only every other—or even every third—board at this point. You can pre-drill the others, but wait to screw them in until the bed is securely hung on the wall. If you have all of the boards screwed in from the get-go, the bed is heavy (real heavy) and it makes it very (very) hard to install. Trust me.

This photo shows all the slats installed. You don’t want to do that at this stage.

11. Apply a small bead of wood glue to the frame where you’ll attach the slat. Pre-drill two holes into the long board at each point it meets part of the frame. Honestly, you could probably get away with just one hole. If I were to do this again (and I don’t plan to unless Nicole Curtis from The Rehab Addict comes calling—for her, I’d do it), I’d put in only one screw per connection.

Here’s the video that demonstrates Steps 7-10:

12. Sand the edges and top of the bed.

13. Finish with a clear satin polyurethane.

14. Sand edges of the boards that will be attached later, and apply clear coat of polyurethane to them. It helps at this point to number with pencil the ends (or bottoms) of each slat as well as their coordinating point on the frame so that you’ll know which goes where when it comes time to put the remaining top boards on.

*Here is the video showing how to complete steps 12-14

15. Get ready to hang the beds (a.k.a. Not The Most Fun Time You’ve Ever Had, But Totally Worth It)

PART 2: HANGING THE BEDS

I enlisted the help of my friend (and favorite Carpenter in Crime) Rob in this adventure. He was thrilled. Especially after he realized I’d attached all of the top boards prior to installation.

Rob is one of the most amazing carpenters I’ve ever known, and he had some great insights as to how to hang these things easily and securely.

It may be more helpful to watch the videos detailing how we installed these than reading through the instructions, so I’ll put those two videos here first:

So, basically, what you’re going to do is:

1. Determine placement of the beds. We decided to have 30″ between each bed.

2. Using a level, draw a light line on the wall where the “resting board” will be installed. This resting board provides a great place for the end of the bed to…wait for it…rest while you’re installing it, and it also provides a way to attach the bed at both its head and side using the corner of the room (which we had to do), providing for greater stability than if you were to secure it on its side alone.

3. Cut three sections of 2×4 that are 42″ each.

4. Place the 42″ pieces against the wall, and mark the location of the center of the stud on each. You should have 2 studs into which to secure the board.

*To find the exact center of a stud, use a stud finder that shows you where the edge of a stud is and mark it. Then come from the other direction, and mark the other edge of the stud. Use your eye to estimate the center point between those two points. That’s the center of your stud.

5. With the 1 3/8″ bore bit, drill into the 42″ board precisely at the marks that correspond with the location of the center of the studs. Drill just far enough that the head of the lag bolt will fit inside and be flush with the surface of the board (you’ll understand why in a few steps).

6. Using a 9/16″ bore bit, drill a hole all the way through the center of the hole you just drilled with the larger bore bit.

7. Place the 42″ board up against the wall, place a 5″ x 1/2″ lag bolt in the hole, ensure it’s parallel to the floor, and hit it once or twice with a hammer to create a nice pilot hole for the wall.

8. Take down the board and, using a drill bit appropriate for the size of your lag bolt, drill straight in to create a pilot hole for the bolt.

9. Using a socket wrench, tighten the lag bolt down.

10. Repeat for other hole.

11. Find a helper.

12. Somehow, get the head of the bed to rest on the “resting bar.” While your partner in crime holds up the foot of the bed, drill two 3″ deck screws into the head of the frame to secure it to the resting bar. DO NOT LET GO OF THE FOOT OF THE BED AT THIS POINT. THESE SCREWS ONLY KEEP THE HEAD FROM SLIPPING OFF THE BAR. THEY DO NOT PROVIDE ANY MORE SUPPORT THAN THAT!

13. While your helper is still holding the foot of the bed aloft (and likely swearing at you by now), quickly work to mark the center of the studs along the length of the bed.

14. Using the 9/16″ bore bit, drill directly through the wood and into the wall. (Countersinking these bolts isn’t necessary.) Grab your lag bolt, stick it straight into the hole, give it two hard whacks with a hammer to create a pilot hole, and then use your wrench to screw the lag bolt into place.

15. Repeat in the 2 or 3 other studs you found along the length of the bed.

16. Once you have 2 lag bolts securely in studs, your partner can probably let go. The word “probably” is key.

17. Once the length of the bed is secured to the wall, return to the head of the frame, and screw in another 8 or so 3″ deck screws to securely connect the frame to the resting bar. Screw some up high and some down low.

18. Now it’s time to attach your rope. Drill a pilot hole into the outside of the foot of the bed. *Remember, there is already a screw in place in the frame. If you hit it when you drill your pilot hole, simply start again a bit lower down. Screw in a 4″ long, 3/8″ diameter eye bolt. You’ll need to insert a screwdriver or other long metal stick into the hole of the eye bolt to help you turn it once it gets about halfway in. I screwed mine in until the hole was basically flush against the bedframe.

19. Measure the distance from the wall to the outer edge of the bed. It’s likely around 46″. Now measure that same distance up from the top of the bed against the wall. Determine where your stud is (it may not be in that exact spot; if not, move inward toward the head of the bed until you find it. Drill a pilot hole diagonally downward for this eye bolt and screw it into place.

20. Using about 7 feet over rope, insert the ends through both holes, and then tie in whatever fashion you’d like. Again, I thought of this rope as decorative. Even though the bolts were secure, I didn’t want to worry about the knots coming loose at any point, as the outer corner of the bed is the weakest point.

At this point, if you’d like you can build ladders and/or bed rails. I think the bed rails are a good idea no matter the age of the child—especially for the 2 highest bunks. You simply never know when someone will roll the wrong way at 3:30am! The final video explains how I made the bed rails and the ladders. They were the easiest parts!

That’s it – happy building!

*Disclaimer: We live in a litigious society, so I find it necessary to remark that I’m not a licensed contractor. No warranty regarding these instructions is expressed or implied. If you choose to build these beds, or anything else described through this site, you are doing so at your own risk. Elizabeth Lyons Designs is not responsible for any damages that may occur to your walls, your person, or your checking account due to the undertaking of this or any other project presented.