Help with window casing and loft bed build
Hey hope everyone is doing well. I have somewhat of a green building questions but most of it is general building advice. My kids want loft beds. I found a simple straight forward plan but wanted advice on how to tweak it. Basically the way the room is set up one wall is short before it blocks the entrance door. I have window casing that sticks out almost 2 inches. Would it be possible to rip it out and have it flush with wall? The second part is after ripping the casing out and making it flush this plan calls for 78in long bed frame. I have 76” to work with once I remove window casing. How would you tweak this plan to fit. Standard twin bed length is 75” https://www.ana-white.com/woodworking-projects/essential-loft-bed
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Sounds like fun.
To shorten the bed, the end rails don't hold any weight, they just provide some rigidity. They are 2x6's but they could be replaced by pieces of 1/2" plywood, which would save 1" on each end or 2" total. If the plywood is not rigid enough you can put a piece of 2x6 between the legs on the inside, below the mattress. If you're painting, glued and screwed MDF is very strong and paints more nicely than plywood.
I would slide all four legs in toward the center a couple of inches so the mattress box overhangs a bit. Walls normally have a baseboard and shoe molding so you can't put anything right up against the wall at floor level. If you move the legs in you can put the wall end of the bed up against the wall, and at the window end the leg won't interfere with the casing. Leave the casing on the window, the bed is going to sit the thickness of the baseboard, shoe molding and leg away from the wall anyway, it should clear the casing no problem.
If you don't like having the bed that far away from the wall because things can slip down, or if you want to screw the bed to the wall for sturdiness, just screw another piece of wood onto the back rail between the legs to make up the distance.
This is a good idea, I would stick with plywood, not mdf, maybe even get furniture grade birch. You could also make those pieces one single rail rather than 2 and increase shear. You could make it larger also and use it as headboard. I would use dowels and screws for assembly. Grk cabinet screws. For pieces that will come apart as unit (side rails, ladder) glue with wood glue as well. You could also notch for increased vertical load strength where 2x meet (or small plywood ledger underneath).
Edit, also at the end of your slats place a small block of wood to lock in end slats on rail. Use felt to make a snug fit. Last, you can cut a foam mattress fairly easily if you need to trim an inch.
Thank you this all makes sense. I’m going to use 1/2 mdf to close off the end facing away from the wall to save space. Instead of using a 2x6 underneath the mattress for rigidity could I turn a 2x4 horizontal and use that. On the window side it would block less of the window underneath. I’m also thinking about pushing the rails up against the window side and not using the mdf board. The mattress can sit against the window.
Don’t use mdf. I don’t really understand what 2x you are talking about. Maybe do a quick sketch in cross section to describe.
window should get retrofitted with safety glass and kid-fall protection.
even if your kids aren't wild, they have friends or maybe cousins who might not be so mild mannered.
This is a good idea. 3m makes a safety film that an installer can put in that will make it as safe as tempered.
Also do a google search for safety standards for bunkbeds.