King Size Bed

Ted Calver

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My wife has been after me for a long time (measured in years) to build a bed for our king sized Tempurpedic mattress. After she threatened to go out and buy one, I finally sprang into action and ordered some wood (curly maple). Other than sheer procrastination, and being intimidated watching Allen build a bed in what seems like less than an hour, the thing that has bothered me about building a bed is that she suffers from gastrointestinal reflux disease GIRD and our current cheapo metal frame sits up on blocks about 3" so the head board slants away from the wall at a screwy looking angle. Sleeping at that angle usually results in me waking up half off the bed, so I want my side flat. I didn't want to build a bed and then have to put it up on blocks and make it look funny and subject it to racking forces. I also didn't want to have to have a support leg in the middle of the bed to keep the whole thing from sagging. Using steel tubing for the mattress base should eliminate the need for a middle leg. I checked some deflection tables and 1 1/2"x 2 1/2" deflects less than two tenths under a 500# load...even less if it's secured at the ends. I will have a fab shop cut the tubing and make the brackets for me (or I can use the project as an excuse to buy a welder and dry cut metal saw) :D I'm concerned there isn't enough room for bedding (1" top and bottom and 1/2" each side) and the post tops are a bit much. The bed as my first Sketchup woodworking project, so it's a bit ragged, but here is the result for your comments and suggestions...if anyone can tell me how to reduce the .skp file I'll post it too:

BED-1A (Large).jpgBED-6 (Large).jpgBED-10 (Medium).jpgBED-11 (Medium).jpg
 
:lurk:

I like the steel tubing idea. I have some umm... pieces of wood (that look astonishingly similar to yours) we got a umm.. while ago for similar project so will be watching this closely.

I was planning on using T shaped angle iron (center part up) for the middle and L angle iron shaped on the sides to support the slat assembly. For the sides I was thinking just drill and countersink the L iron and screw it to the side.. but your idea of making it load bearing independent of the rail assembly is definitely interesting.

One other thing to consider is that Ikea has pre-sprung slats of laminated birch you could use for the slats (the "king" is two singles) http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60160217/#/50160213 I like the idea of the sprung slats better than flat boards and am to lazy to make my own. Actually looking closer I think we ended up with the fancy one http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20125971/#/00125972 (loml was paying so... whee, now i just have to deal with the pointed remarks about not having done anything with it for over a year).
 
I like the design Ted, will be interested in how it works out with one side being higher. My wife has the reflux issues as well and have our bed up on blocks as well, know how you feel about sliding off the end. :lurk:
 
Hi Ted. that looks pretty nice. Not bad for a first model. I'm glad I read the text because I was going to ask you about the rails that looked like they were angled. They are. ;) My only advice is to increase the spacing around the mattress for the bedding. You'll need more.

I like Ryan's thing about the T-shaped rails and the sprung slats. It gives the slats somewhere to sit and you don't want to be drilling holes in the rails to attach the slats--that'll reduce the strength.
 
well, since you dragged an allen name into the thread,dave is right. Leave enough room for bedding because if you only leave a 1/2 inch on the sides, someone is going to be busting their knuckles trying to change the bedding.
 
Whoa!! Let's not have any loose talk about actually building something!! Thanks for the suggestions all, but this 'design phase' should be good for another three or four years at least:D:D Allen and Dave, I would be the one busting knuckles making the bed, so I will open it up a little wider. Does one inch all the way around sound about right? The danger in too much space is hitting the rails with your tush getting in and out of bed. Ryan, thanks for the thought on T-shaped iron, I'll check it out. I know the L shaped stuff in our current frame flexes a lot so something beefier than that is in order. The Ikea slats look cool, but this is a foam mattress and a solid base is better. The drawings don't show it, but I plan to space the slats about a foot and a half apart and cover them with 3/4" plywood, perhaps even glue/screw them to the plywood as stiffeners between the metal rails rather than on top of them. The other thing I am seriously thinking about is adding great lakes casters to the posts so the bed can be moved easily. I end up moving our present bed at least three times a year (keyed to the number of available walls:rolleyes:) when the wife rearranges the room and it's a pain. Casters will give it a little industrial look and the ones on my tools work great, so why not :D
 
On the bed I built for my middle son a few years back the only thing 'we' don't like is that I didn't leave enough clearance around the mattress & box spring. Add at least another inch overall or 1/2" on each side for bedding, more if your decor has extra loft.
 
Ryan, thanks for the thought on T-shaped iron, I'll check it out. I know the L shaped stuff in our current frame flexes a lot so something beefier than that is in order. The Ikea slats look cool, but this is a foam mattress and a solid base is better. The drawings don't show it, but I plan to space the slats about a foot and a half apart and cover them with 3/4" plywood.

Ryan, thanks for the thought on T-shaped iron, I'll check it out. I know the L shaped stuff in our current frame flexes a lot so something beefier than that is in order.

Our mattress is latex and the slats were recommended (by 3 out of 4 bed salesmen.. :rofl:) over a solid base or box "springs" (why is a wooden box called springs anyway!!?). The theory being that the small gaps allow the mattress to breath. I think its more important with Latex than foam but that breathing helps keep it from rotting. The trick is that the slats can't be to far apart (less than 2" or so) so you don't get UUUUU bumps in the bottom of the bed. Personally I'd go with more slats closer and skip the plywood (that stuff is heavy and you know as soon as you get it all situated.. it needs to move :rolleyes: :doh: :rofl:)...

On the Angle Iron, yeah a box beam like you drew is definitely going to be stiffer pound for pound than L or T angle iron (which is why I was going to fasten the L to the bed rail..). I think in the middle (with your disparate angles) having something to keep the slats/support on the high side from moving towards the low side would be nice though. Hmm.. I wonder if there is a box beam with a riser []- (flipped on its side) you can get easily.

One more thought: perhaps ditch the King mattress and instead use two singles? That would allow the different heights to be a non issue. Makes changing the bottom sheets a bit more of a pain though...
 
Since you already have the Tempurpedic mattress, why not just get the 'ergo' foundation for it from them? It'll raise and lower the bed - head & foot - to whatever angle suits. If yours is the "split" King, you could adjust them separately. We have the ergo base under ours, and like it a lot.
 
holding slats in place on the square tubing could be done by welding a spacer on top of the tubing that was say 3/8" high every 8" or so to keep the slats in place. i like the tubing being independant of the bed rails as well, but if you want it to stay square you should factor in something that wil hold it that way, like your ply would do.
 
No build help/thoughts from this here location, but I will say that I like the post caps! :thumb: & the overall look as well ;)
Personally I would have a hard time committing to something like this, I'd barely get to use it... what with all of the time I spend sleeping in the dog house :doh::D
 
....One more thought: perhaps ditch the King mattress and instead use two singles? That would allow the different heights to be a non issue. Makes changing the bottom sheets a bit more of a pain though...
Ryan, with nearly 4K invested in this mattress, ditching it for two twins is not an option, two twenty year old's... maybe:), but then I'd be out in the dog house with Ken:rofl::rofl:

Since you already have the Tempurpedic mattress, why not just get the 'ergo' foundation for it from them? It'll raise and lower the bed - head & foot - to whatever angle suits. If yours is the "split" King, you could adjust them separately. We have the ergo base under ours, and like it a lot.
We looked at that option Jim, but it's a bit pricey at 2.8K and we just need the basic slight elevation on one side of our mattress.
 
Just a random thought on the slats for the sloped side. You could drill each end and add a 1/2" or so dowel pointing down slope at what ever space you want between the slats. That way the dowel could work as a spacer to keep the slats form walking down slope.
 
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