Need advice on a woodworking project- I might be over thinking it.

[ironraven]

But, my bed spring is on it's last legs. This is the second one in 12 years, admittedly they were all second hand. I also need storage space, so a bed with 20" clearance would be excellent so I can get totes under it. And not so low my butt is below my knees when I first stand up in the morning, which can be a problem when you have the knee of a 70 year old in an early 40s body. I also plan on moving within the next 18 months at the extreme outside, and would rather move before next winter, so one that breaks down easily is a huge plus.

So I want to make a bed platform. I'll just put my mattress on it. Before anyone groans, I like a FIRM mattress and after the first one gave up I just dropped my mattress on a quick pallet on the floor, so that there wouldn't be condensation due to living in a basement apartment. I've got it drawn up, but I"m not sure if I'm over engineering it.

It's a pencil and paper drawing because my drafting experience predates CAD being common, sorry. But it's just going to be a deck of plywood with a 2x4 supporting frame. For legs, it will just sawhorse legs. I can get a tote in and out between the legs. I"m not too worried about the saw horses, I"ll brace them. But I'm thinking about using joist hangers for all the joins of the 2x4s, but I"ve never worked with. Using them to give strength to the joins and to make assembly a little easier makes sense in my head, even using screws rather than nails.

Am I over doing it? I want to have some way of reinforcing the ties. I"ve made tables and work benches using this basic pattern, but never a bed, and I"ve not uses the joist hangers. But none of the projects I"ve made before had anything as squirmy as I am on them for any length of time. I toss. I turn. I keep pillows at each end because I'll sit up and swap head for feet at least once most nights. And I am.... a full figured gentleman. I know why low cost welded steel frames aren't holding up under me.

[ezdog]

If you build it just like a Deck or Floor Joist construction with hangers and blocking between the joists you should be fine......depending on just how "Full Figured" you might be of course?

I would use bigger boards for the outside edges that hang the hangers probably and then 2 x 4 stringers inside.

But really 2 x 4s and blocking should give you a crazy solid deck and I would just use 4 x 4s for legs bolted through the rim joists and in the middle too if you feel crazy,and it sounds like you do!

[Sea Monster]

I don't understand all those fancy words, but most of my life is built from 3/4" ply, bed frame included.

Rectangle for the outside,
3 x left-to-right bits for strength/support
1x big flat bit for the mattress (this bit is not 3/4", because it didn't seem to need to be. It's recessed, but from memory I think it is only 1/4".

This will not meet your requirement of being able to store things underneath it, however.

Depending on what height you want, you could potentially make the "frame" out of pine rather than ply.

No CAD or drafting from me today, here's paint.


EDIT: if you swap Top and Front view, it doubles as plans for a bookshelf!

[nate j]

I think it's probably overkill, and probably more complicated than it needs to be.  I have a couple of old-style beds set up without box springs, though I did not build them.  Essentially the set up is as follows:

• Headboard is one piece.  Could be 4x4s for legs with a couple 4x4s horizontally between them.  Should and can be bolted together solidly, as it will not need to be broken down further to move.
• Foot board same as headboard.
• Side rails essentially 4x4s with perhaps 2x2s attached to the lower inside half running the almost the whole length, so the cross-section looks a bit L-shaped.  The 2x2s should and can be screwed solidly to the 4x4s, as they will not need to be broken down further to move.
• Joints joining side rails to headboard and foot board need to be able to be disassembled to move.  One of the beds I have uses mortise & tenon joints, but I don't think this is the best option.  Another bed uses dowel joints, which I think is a better option.  A couple of large dowels and at least one long threaded rod are permanently mounted into both ends of each side rail.  These then fit into holes in the legs, with the threaded rods being long enough to protrude through the far side of the legs.  Then put a washer and a nut on the end of each threaded rod, and the frame is assembled.
• Cut about five or six lengths of 2x4 to serve as cross members.  These do not need to be actually attached to anything; they can simply be laid inside (roughly evenly spaced along the length of the bed) from side rail to side rail across the 2x2s, but inside the 4x4s.  Tight clearance between the 4x4s and the ends of the 2x4s is desirable, but the 2x4s should not need to be pounded in or anything like that.
• Get a properly-sized piece of 1/2" plywood to serve as platform.  This will rest on the 2x4s.  The headboard, foot board, and 4x4 portion of the side rails will keep it in position, so it does not need to be attached to anything.

FWIW, one of the beds I'm referring to is a full size bed I share with my wife.  While I won't divulge her weight, I don't mind sharing that I weigh about 320 pounds by myself, so I think something like this would be probably be plenty solid for your needs, assuming it is constructed and assembled in a workmanlike manner.

If you're interested, I can try to take some pictures and or upload some simple sketches.

[Sea Monster]

^^^^^^ is more or less how my purchased bed frame works, less the 1/2" ply sheet, my mattress sits directly on the cross members (which are probably closer to 1x2 than 2x4, if we're talking inches)

depending on overall design, you may want a central row of supports (either variation of central) to reduce sag/flex in the frame or mattress.

[MadPlumbarian]

We used to have a frame with drawers, was kinda great but we bumped up from a full to queen and we needed a new frame, I spotted this one, cause it was high enough to allow totes to just slide under, the Mrs liked it cause it was heavy duty, so just use the pic and make it a blueprint for using like 2x4’s..
JR

[ironraven]

SM, what you've got there is basically what I have in mind, less things like wire guides for the lamp and my phone charger and other greebley bits. I guess my main concern is framework separating over time. Maybe I'll just use plywood scrap on the underside at the corners.

For the legs, the saw horses would fold and clamp onto two of the cross pieces. Then when it's time to move, flip it, fold the legs, strap them to the deck, and two people can carry it without difficulty.

OK, this just kept this project under a  hundred $100. No joist hangers.