Making a double bed with your own hands

In this article I will share with you how I managed to make a double bed. I've finally finished renovating my bedroom and it's time for the main feature of this room - the bed. I started searching online for options for a bed that I would like to purchase. I came across an interesting bed design, but I couldn’t find any stores where I could buy such a bed. This was an exclusive option that is made to order. I didn’t even bother to find out how much it would cost to make such a bed, because I already know that it is expensive. If an ordinary bed with a primitive design costs from 15,000 - 20,000 rubles in a store. The option I wanted, if ordered, would have cost at least 30,000 rubles. Therefore, I had the idea to make a bed myself, which just fit into the dimensions of the room.

Future bed size

I had a 2 x 1.60 meter mattress. This is exactly what I started from when calculating the size of the bed. The width of the room is 2 meters. It turns out that if we subtract the width of the mattress of 1.60 meters from this, then I still had 40 cm left for the side shelves.Therefore, the shelves on both sides will be 20 cm wide.

Materials

After calculating all the dimensions of the bed and drawing it on paper, I calculated approximately how much material would be needed. I had to buy:

• 2 sheets of laminated chipboard;
  
• 2 bars 200x15x5 cm;
  
• 8 bars 200x5x3 cm;
  
• 1 sheet of fiberboard with white laminated side;
  
• A finished metal frame with slats, just the size of my mattress 2x1.60 m;
  
• Gas mechanism for opening the frame;
  
• Fittings for shelves: canopies with springs, mortise handles;
  
• Edge for chipboard;
  
• As well as self-tapping screws and conferments.

I spent 12,000 rubles on all this. In addition, since I do not have a special machine on which I could cut the chipboard sheets into the required sizes, I ordered this service from a hardware store. True, I had to wait one week. But all the corners were even, and the required dimensions were delivered to me, so I immediately began assembling the bed. This is why it is important to make an accurate drawing of the future bed in advance.

Making a double bed

So, to begin with, I took a beam 200x15x5 cm and cut two pieces 90 cm long from it.

This is exactly the height of the sides. These are the legs, of which there should be 4. Then, stepping back 30 cm from the floor, I made a groove on both legs for a wooden block 200x5x3 cm long, and fastened the legs with this block using self-tapping screws.

Then, on both sides, I attached sheets of laminated chipboard 200x90 cm to the legs with conferments. For confermats you need to have a special drill and bit.



A total of two such elements are needed. Since the width of the bar is 15 cm, and adding to this the width of the chipboard 1.5 cm on both sides, the width of the sides is 18 cm.
After this, you can begin making the back of the bed.It is necessary to assemble a frame to which a 165x90 cm chipboard sheet will be attached. I attached a 5x3 cm beam to the sides on both sides, and attached chipboard to it on conferments.



Since there will be a load on the back of the bed so that you can lean against it and the chipboard does not sag, I added two bars for rigidity and attached them vertically with self-tapping screws.

It is also necessary to attach a sheet of chipboard measuring 200x40 cm to the front of the bed.

After that I started working on the metal frame. As a rule, it should rest on wooden blocks, which should be across the entire plane of the bed so that the load is distributed evenly. Therefore, it is necessary to attach the beam at a height of 30 cm from the floor to the rear, front and side parts. On the sides, the beam should not be the entire length, but should have a place for attaching the mechanism of about 40 cm.


Next, I attached the metal frame to make sure the dimensions were accurate, and then began attaching the mechanism.

First you need to unscrew the gas tube with a wrench and attach the mechanism without it.



I placed a level on the wooden block to make sure that the frame would lie exactly on the blocks. Then I tightened the holders with self-tapping screws.





And so on both sides. I then reattached the gas tubes so that the filler was at the top rather than the bottom. The fact is that the mechanism will open in any way, but if it is not installed as shown in the illustration, it will quickly fail.


When the frame is attached to the mechanism, it will be constantly in a suspended state, and in order to lower it, a load is required on the entire plane. Therefore, do not be alarmed if it comes down with great difficulty.When a mattress is placed, which weighs approximately 15 kg and which puts a load on the entire plane, the mechanism will work perfectly.
I then made an internal partition, dividing the internal compartment into two parts. To do this, I used a sheet of chipboard measuring 200x30 cm, and attached a block to it on top with self-tapping screws. At the level of the side bars.


Thus, the frame lies evenly on both the side beams and the beam in the middle. In the inner part, where the bed linen will be folded, I placed fiberboard with a white laminated part on the floor. I cut it with a jigsaw exactly to the size of each compartment, and simply laid it on the floor.
Then I additionally secured some of the fasteners with metal angles. Especially in places where there will be load.


At this stage it was already possible to sleep on this bed. All that remains is to make the side shelves. This is the main feature of this design. First, I determined the depth of the shelves, attached bars to the sides and in the middle, on which I placed chipboard.

Next, I measured out the lids that will open. It took me a long time to select suitable fittings for this idea, and I settled on this option. These are canopies with springs, which are at the same time a limiter. These canopies are attached to a wooden beam 200x15x5 cm. Thus, 2 sets of canopies are needed for the left and right sides.





After that, I evenly measured marks on the opening lids in order to cut holes for the mortise handles. The handles are attached to the back of the lid with bolts that come in the kit.

The final stage of my work was gluing the edges to the visible sides of the chipboard. This service could be ordered where I ordered chipboard cutting.However, in this case I had to wait even longer, and I already wanted to quickly move to a new bedroom. In addition, this service seemed too expensive to me. Gluing the edge is easy. To do this, I bought the approximate amount of edge that I need to cover the visible areas. I cut the edge to size for the piece I needed and rubbed the heated iron over the edge several times. Then, using a construction knife, I cut through the excess from the edge, which extended beyond the thickness of the chipboard. I also bought special stickers to match the tone of the chipboard, which are designed to cover the heads of screws and fasteners so that they do not catch the eye.

This work seemed difficult to me at the beginning, but in fact, everything was very simple. It took me 3 days to make the bed. The bed came out very comfortable and spacious. I have found many uses for the opening compartments on the sides. Perhaps this bed option will inspire you to create a similar design, which will undoubtedly fit perfectly into the interior of any bedroom.