Build a Loft Bed

DEAR TIM: I have a daughter going off to college and she wants a loft bed constructed in her dorm room. Her room dimensions are 10 feet by 16 feet with windows on the 16 foot wall side. The loft cannot be in front of the windows and there must be a minimum of 3 feet of space from the mattress to the ceiling. Help! There are only 4 weeks until classes begin. Nancy B., Uniontown, OH

DEAR NANCY: Let's see, from the time you wrote your note until the time this column was written we have lost 10 days. You now have just two and one half weeks to plan and build this loft. Relax, it's a piece of cake! If you take your time, your daughter just might have the coolest loft bed in the dorm. Not only that, her room should be spacious because her desk is going to tuck under the loft for a cozy study area. You need to pre-cut and assemble the loft now so that when you take it to the dorm, it will assemble in about 10 minutes.

This is a traditional bunk bed in my son's room. But we removed the lower bed to create a cubby for his desk. You can do the same thing with regular lumber and make a simplistic bed for a dorm room or even a starter apartment. Unless you have special woodworking equipment, your bed will not have the fancy end boards you see in this photo. PHOTO BY: Tim Carter

The plan I use is based upon a person sleeping on a standard twin sized mattress. These generally measure 38 inches wide by 76 inches long and are about 8 inches thick. Many colleges provide mattresses for dorm rooms. Make sure you determine the dimensions before you start this project.

The materials required to construct the loft consist of: 1 piece of 4 by 8 by 3/4 inch thick A/C plywood, four 4 x 4 by 8 feet long construction heart redwood or treated lumber posts, three regular lumber 2 x 6 x 8's, three 1 inch thick by 3.5 inch wide by 8 foot long finished lumber boards and some assorted lag bolts and screws. The bolts and screws allow for easy assembly and disassembly. Nails should not be used to connect any of the pieces of lumber.

The loft portion of the bed is going to consist of a simple rectangle box made from the 2 x 6 lumber. This box is then covered with the custom cut piece of plywood. I prefer to make the loft platform so that there is just one inch of extra space around each side of the mattress. Check to make sure the mattress you are going to use measures 38 x 76 inches. If so, then you should cut two of the 2 x 6's to a length of 78 inches.

Cut the remaining 2 x 6 into two pieces that measure 37 inches long. The long pieces overlap the short pieces at each corner so that you end up with a box that measures 40 inches by 78 inches and is five and one half inches tall. Use three 3 inch long drywall screws to connect the 2 x 6's to one another at each corner. Cut the piece of plywood to fit the box and use 1 and 5/8 inch drywall screws spaced at 2 foot intervals to connect the plywood to the 2 x 6 rectangular box.

Check to make sure that all of the 4 x 4 posts are the same length. Lay them on the ground side by side and measure down from one end 44 inches. Use a square across the group of posts and draw a line. This line on each post represents the point where the top of the loft platform must stop so that you maintain the 3 foot ceiling clearance.

Position two posts so that the outer edges are parallel and spaced 78 inches apart. Have your daughter help you tilt the platform up onto the posts so that the top surface of the plywood is just touching the line on each post. Drill two one quarter inch diameter holes through each 2 x 6 and half way into the center of the 4 x 4 posts. Attach the platform to the posts using 4 inch long 3/8 inch diameter lag bolts. Do the exact same thing with the other two posts and your loft bed is now complete.

To get up and down from the loft area, you will need to construct a ladder. Use the one inch thick lumber to make a ladder similar to those found on a ship or a fire escape. These have level treads spaced at 10 to 12 inch intervals and are often set at a fairly steep 60 degree angle. Once the ladder is built, attach it to the loft platform with screws so that it will not fall away as your daughter moves up and down from the loft. Be sure to take all of your tools with you in case minor adjustments have to be made at the dorm.