The story of how I was forced to build a DIY bunk bed for grandchildren.
My daughter has two boys. They all complained that the room was too small for them to play. There is always little space to play, which is normal.
And the idea arose to build a bunk bed out of wood. Good idea, but how do you do it? No experience. I used to build a couple of birdhouses and a sandbox for kids out of wood. There were several wood tools, probably like most people at home.
And how to build DIY a bunk bed for grandchildren?
At the time, I was not very clear about it. There was a desire, and it was impossible to disgrace ourselves with my grandchildren. The promise has been made and must be fulfilled.
What else would they think of me?
I started drawing versions of the bunk bed, trying to imagine its overall design. I didn’t have a bunk bed plan, and that’s a problem. In the past, I had little experience in designing metal products. But not wooden beds. I quickly realized that I needed a different experience here.
What I was most concerned about was the stability of this 3D design. And when I imagined that the boys would start doing things on the bed, I was a little scared. I’ve already heard them arguing enthusiastically about the games they’ll be able to play.
Most of all, I didn’t like the idea of having a multi-deck (not double-deck!) spaceship to fight against someone.
I was horrified to learn that I couldn’t fix the bed to the wall. It should divide the room into two zones, a bedroom, and a playroom. I began to doubt that I would be able to make the right DIY bunk bed plan.
What to do?
The thing is that I didn’t have very good experience in creating my project anymore.
Based on my drawings, I built a wooden patio swing. They served for a couple of years. The family exploited them quite intensively.
But I kept listening to complaints about their shortcomings. They swing sideways, the back is uncomfortable, they creak, the screws scratch the legs, there is no protection from the rain, they are unreliable, and so on. I confess that some of the claims were justified.
As a result, the swing fell apart.
So it was very important for me to find a project with detailed step-by-step drawings. And for a beginner who does not have enough experience, this is especially important.
Aren’t you tired of reading my chatter?
If you’re tired of it.
Then yes, you can immediately find out what helped me build the bunk bed.
But I would recommend finding out some details of my experience.
What helped me build a DIY bunk bed?
I confess that I could not make a bed plan on my own.
Of course, I’ve drawn several options. But my friends fully criticized them. This group of critics was just as fond of making something with their own hands. The word amateur was the defining word for my failure.
I was a novice who presumptuously thought he would be able to do the job. I was wrong. It’s not a birdhouse or a sandbox to build.
The design of such a bed is quite complicated and requires detailed, competent drawings. I understand this today.
I scoured the Internet and found an insane amount of bed deals for all tastes. It never occurred to me that there is such a variety of them in the world.
Honestly, I was a little confused. A new problem has appeared — how to choose?
For myself, I have defined the following selection conditions:
- the site must be aged but relevant,
- it should contain a variety of wood products for self-construction,
- and most importantly, contain drawings that are understandable to a beginner.
Drawings must be sufficiently detailed. They must have a specification of elements, materials, and a list of tools for work.
But when I searched the Internet, I realized that one of the problems was projects with insufficient or simply incomplete plans. Either there are not enough interim drawings, then there are no instructions or specifications.
You need to think about something yourself, draw, or look for suitable materials.
What about those who don’t have experience?
I’ve spent a lot of time looking for a suitable project. But in the end, I still found a site that met my selection criteria.
And I got the answer to the question: How to build a bunk bed with your own hands?
When I first visited this site, I was amazed at the number of options — 16,000 woodworking plans and projects.
Is it really designed for teaching woodworking?
So many plan options made me mistrustful. I found it hard to believe that you could put together many different DIY construction plans in one place. And it is very important to have high-quality plans!
I was very interested in this set of plans.
And to understand it in detail, I purchased it on the site. I bought it at a substantial discount, more than 50%. It is clear that this is part of the marketing plan, but still pleasant. I don’t know if it’s time-limited or not.
The price was reasonable and offered a 60-day money-back guarantee. Of course, I didn’t know how this guarantee worked, but I thought the risk was minimal.
Below I will tell you more about the price and some of the options that further motivated me to buy it.
I got more than I expected from this set of woodworking plans.
The projects are organized into categories, it is not difficult to find the right one. I started to figure it out and gradually realized that this bundle of 16,000 plans was suitable for different levels.
I liked the clarity and conciseness of the woodworking plans. The plans gave an idea of the product from all sides.
In fact, you can even see what it should look like before construction.
What particularly fascinated me was the very detailed diagrams.
The dimensions and designations are clearly marked. In the future, this helped me understand the manufacturing process itself.
The drawings were made in a step-by-step version with a clear description. At that time, I did not know how to fit together structural elements — I was always crooked.
In these woodworking plans, all complex parts and joints are shown in detail. I did not have to figure out how to make this or that unit.
I remember my patio swing that had fallen apart. How I suffered at the time because of the docking units.
What else these plans helped me with was the lists of materials and cuts.
I realized that this is a direct saving of money and a minimum of mistakes in product construction.
The step-by-step instructions were easy to write. And as a beginner, I understood how to consistently produce part by part and put it all together.
There is a list of necessary tools for working with wood. I can’t say whether it’s sufficient or not.
The recommendations include some tips and techniques from professionals. It also helps to learn and reduce construction time.
In general, all this together helps to avoid the situation of an eternal builder of his first project. And I was very afraid of this.
A short lyrical digression. It can be useful.
I had been studying these woodworking plans for about a week and bragging at dinner that I now understood everything. And now I can easily do something useful for our household.
And that’s when I got caught.
The wife exclaimed that she urgently needed vertical garden beds made of wood for flowers. Three would be enough for her.
I got caught, but I couldn’t cite my employment with a big project.
The wife laughing in her voice: “You say that everything is clear now. Some garden beds! It’s that simple. You can do it in two days.”
It seems not a complicated design, but questions arose right away. How to connect, how to join, and so on.
That’s when I was able to assess the usefulness of the woodworking plans I bought. It didn’t work out in a couple of days. It took four full days.
But most importantly, I passed the test — my wife was satisfied.
In fact, this plan bundle has more useful options than I’ve described above. It’s hard to put everything into one story.
If necessary, you can review these woodworking plans and projects yourself.
I should note that not all projects had the options I listed above. I think this is due to their complexity. The simple ones had fewer. But all these plans were made taking into account newcomers to woodworking.
It took me a lot of time to figure it all out.
I enthusiastically started creating my own bunk bed plan.
How did I organize the process of building the bed?
- I downloaded pictures of bunk beds from the Internet that I liked. It turned out quite a lot. Then I filtered them twice, leaving about 25.
- Then, using the 16,000 woodworking plans I bought, I tried to understand their designs. What elements can they consist of? Which nodes, joints will have to be used, and so on.
- I selected three bunk beds and sketched my bed design. I decided on the overall dimensions and materials.
- Next, I drew a set of drawings of the future bunk bed using the TedsWoodworking plan set. They included drawings of the general assembly of the bed, structural elements, materials, and their cutting.
The design phase has been completed. So I started making bed elements.
Of course, I had to tinker, not everything worked out the first time.
But as I made it, I became more confident that I would be able to complete the project.
I mentioned above that I purchased these 16,000 woodworking plans and don’t regret it at all.
I bought them at a discount more than 50%. I’m not going to mention here the price I bought it. It is probably right for you to see your price on the site for yourself.
To my mind, its magnitude has something to do with visiting the site. But this is my guess. I can’t know for sure.
Additional motivation for purchasing these plans has been posted on the site.
I’ve already mentioned the 60-day money-back guarantee. They promise that if you’re unhappy with something. Get your money back.
I could not verify their statement. I had no complaints at that time.
Also, for the same money, in addition to the set of plans, it was proposed:
- The Woodworking carpentry manual. Of course, it is impossible to evaluate 200 pages of advice and advice right away. But I am sure that not only a beginner will find a lot of things for themselves.
- 150 instructional videos on woodworking. Step by step video guide. Some of them helped me a lot.
- Free program for viewing CAD drawings and plans. It is a good and useful idea. Allows you to professionally create your own woodworking plans.
Read for yourself what free add-ons are offered to these plans and projects.
Your opinion is always better than someone else’s.
I think that after the purchase, you will be able to evaluate the benefits for yourself.
You can move by touch, with a series of mistakes, or you can gain the knowledge you need and move on.
The right choice you have to make yourself.
I chose the latter and don't regret it.
I realized that woodworking would now become my hobby.
I’ve acquired an interesting and useful hobby.
Nothing out of the ordinary. I’ve always wanted to work with wood.
I came up with many wood projects that were necessary for our household. For example, we have long needed a good shed. But I put it off, not knowing where to start.
I think I know now.
After all, I was able to build a bunk bed with my own hands.
I took a project that I could do as a basis.
Using TedsWoodworking as a knowledge base, I made plans, cutouts of materials, and diagrams of individual assemblies.
Slowly, step by step, I built the bed in about four weeks.
My daughter was against me posting a photo of the children’s room with the bed.
I’m showing a sketch of a bed design drawn in a service.
The project is simple enough and similar to many on the web.
I confess that I copied and adapted some of the ideas to myself.
It was my first project, and I couldn’t take any chances with a complicated design.
The important thing is that I built it!
I am convinced that without TedsWoodworking, I would not be able to create a complete bed design and build its quality in a reasonable time.
Proud I was.
But also, I was just pleased that my grandchildren liked it very much!
And what a struggle has unfolded between the brothers for the right to sleep on the upper bed.
It was a very exciting battle, full of childish intelligence and childish benign cunning.
It’s a story about something else, maybe I’ll write about it later.
Great post