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Hi Guys,
I am a total newbie in wood work and need your help. I am trying to build a queen size bed which is strong and has some clearance under it for storage (planning to put slider drawers, but that is project for some other time). I am targeting my bed to be 2.1m x 1.7m. My plan is to create two identical rectangular frames, of 1.7m x 1.05m (to increase portability) and join them to complete the bed. I will be putting a thick center wood and slats using thinner wood for additional support. I have attached a very bad drawing of my plan showing the outer rectangle, with center support and slats in one of the rectangle. I am hoping to have a ground clearance of 300mm to 500mm, if that is possible to do (the more the better). I want the bed to be super strong and can have a load bearing capacity of up to 300kgs (not sure if this is even normal for a wooden bed). Since I mentioned I don't have any wood working experience, I am more inclined towards using screws and nuts for joining the bed (this also make it easy to disassemble in future, as compared to glue) rather than creating complicated wood joints (but I am open to suggestions).
I need suggestions about what size and type of wood I can user for the whole structure so that the bed is solid and also does not go crazy on budget. I also need suggestion about the legs, should I create legs out of thick wood (if so how thick does it need to be)? Can I use something like prebuild furniture legs (any recommendations)?
I have no idea around what material to use for what purpose, I would greatly appreciate guidance from you guys.
Thanks a lot.
Hello @akhilsingh
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about building a queen size bed.
I suggest having a look at this discussion - Where is everyone sourcing untreated timber for furniture? by @dragonfly. You'll see that there are some excellent suggestions on materials and a drawing on a possible way to construct the bed.
It's great that you've drawn up a plan for the bed construction. I recommend using 90 x 45mm Framing MGP10 Untreated Pine 2.4m. It's best to use untreated timber so that you won't be exposed to any toxic fumes. Because you want the frame to hold a great deal of weight, I propose building the whole thing out of the 90 x 45's.
I propose taking your plans one step further and drawing it to the exact dimensions based on the material you'll be using. In this manner you'll be able to calculate the amount of timber and number of screws you'll be needing. One other thing I would like to suggest is thinking about adding a headboard in your design.
If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.
Eric
Hi @akhilsingh
It's good to hear that that the discussions have given you a better idea of how to build your queen-sized bed frame. Please make sure to share your plans with the community and if you have any questions about its construction, don't hesitate to ask. We'll be more than happy to provide advice and information.
Eric
