Bed With Storage

[Dave Richards]

This was a quick sketch this morning for a guy whose wife wants him to build a bed similar to one she saw in a catalog but with storage. He wants to build the bed so it breaks down into manageable sections. I have some ideas about how to assemble it but I thought i'd ask around. FWIW, this is a queen size bed.

 

[cpw]

I guess it all depends upon his definition of "manageable." If I were doing that design I would want to be able to remove the HB & FB and then separate the platform/drawer frame in half down the length. on a queen, that would give you two pieces that are ~80" long x ~30" wide x whatever the depth is. The drawers would also be removable, so you should end up with four large, but manageable pieces.

Given the minimal nature of the side rails you should also think about a pedestal support or a series of adjustable legs to help carry the weight and prevent sag.

Pedestals are more difficult when you have a frame with legs because they have to be sized precisely so the legs still touch the floor, but allow the pedestal to carry its share of the weight. Carpet is somewhat forgiving of this, but solid floors can make it a bear to get right.

Legs could be designed to attach to the underside of the drawer frame at each divider. A leg can just be single square post with a leveling screw on the bottom. If you want to get fancy you could design them to screw into the frame as well to make the easy to remove when it's time to tear the bed down to move. I'd set them back about 4-5" from the outer rail for a toe-kick space. I would also have them in the center where the two halves of the platform meet, for a total of 6 extra legs. That may sound like overkill, but if you'd seen what I have you wouldn't hesitate. Most mattress manufacturers require a frame with center support anway, otherwise it voids the warranty.

My 2¢
Charles

 

[JimD]

I don't see how you can get the necessary stiffness without a more substantial rail under the platform. Maybe if you use rectangular steel tubing. The height of the rail influences the stiffness raised to the 4th power while making it thicker or wider is a linear influence. So it is really hard to make a short rail stiff.

I suggest you make a more conventional platform bed with a rail at least 5 inches or so wide. It won't look identical but will work a lot better. I've tried several setups for platform beds including a whole rigid structure, narrow cross pieces around 3 inches wide and 12 inch wide cross pieces. The latter are my favorite. I put dowels in the rails to keep them from shifting and space them an inch or so apart. They flex a little but not a lot.

For storage I like rolling boxes. I put wooden wheels on the bottom of a drawer that fits under the bed. They work well.

The two differences of the way I would do this are appearance and function. I don't think the picture you posted will work well at all. The platform will flex down enough to affect drawer function. My way works. The bed will be comfortable and the drawers will work.

 

[Gotcha6]

I built a basic version of this when I first got married. Didn't use a box spring and the frame went all the way to the floor. Made it in halves with 3/4 fir plywood for the top and fir frame. I suppose you could add concealed stub legs to the centers and outside corners to achieve the same results. I had full extension slides and there were only 2 drawers per side. My first house didn't have much closet space so it served as off season storage.

 

[Dave Richards]

Thank you Charles and Dennis. I figured a leg or two on the center line of the bed would be required.

Jim, I appreciate your comments but I'm not sure how you managed to infer all that from one sketch. I don't think you're correct.

The "platform" is designed as two cases that would bolt together back to back. The long rails--four for each case are 3" thick. The outside edges are rabbeted for the drawer fronts so they don't look so heavy. There's a plywood panel glued in between the rails at the rear of the case. I expect the cases will be plenty stiff.

 

[Jeff]

So it's a trundle bed with drawers instead of a mattress?

http://www.franceshunt.co.uk/news/2011/06/what-is-a-trundle-bed/

This is a pretty crappy video but has some joinery details at about the 11 minute mark. Break it down into manageable pieces.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKfGBS7Mt-4

Trundle drawers on each side of the bed. I chose a beautiful mattress for this display. It just needs a sturdy frame.

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