Welcome brothers workshop! I'm Dave, and today we're bringing you guys another
DIY tutorial! This time a custom platform bed. Tthis was done solely in my apartment
complex as a reference for you guys, and it was done over the course of a weekend.
So, you'll see that my outfit does change throughout the process.
But, what we really wanted to do is bring some light to this process, and we wanted
to show that you guys can actually build these projects. Iit doesn't matter what
your resources are, where you live, or if you have a woodshop at your disposal all of
this is definitely doable, and with that we'll jump right into the video. I Hhope you
enjoy it! We begin this project by identifying all the cuts we'll need to
make. To do so we measure out the exact lengths and mark the boards accordingly.
For your reference we built this bed for a full sized mattress which we purchased from
Tuft & Needle. We won't be supplying you with any of the measurements because we
built this to suit that specific mattress. Many beds are different, and we
suggest that you build your bed to match the mattress you choose for it. To find
the dimensions that we needed for the bed we measured the mattress length and
width, and then subtracted a half an inch from each side; an inch from the length
and an inch from the width. Therefore, guaranteeing us that when we set the bed up none of the slats would be visible
underneath the mattress. Since we're going to be building this project in our
apartment complex we went ahead and went up to the roof deck of the apartment
complexes parking garage, taking all the boards with us and making all of our
major cuts up there. We begin by cutting all the boards to length as we had
marked them out earlier in the day.
So, for our primary platform we chose to use cedar. This wood already came rough
cut from Home Depot, and it was the aesthetic that we wanted to achieve. We
wanted to have some kind of a mix between a modern and a rustic look.
You'll see here that we were cutting both ends of the boards. This was due to
splitting and cracking on most of the lumber that we had picked up. Because we
want to have a structural connection at the ends of the boards, we eliminated
this splitting and cracking, so as to reduce or eliminate any potential
problems with the structure of the bed.
Once all of the board's had been cut to length, except for the top and bottom pieces
of the primary platform. We mocked them up, and verified our measurements for the
top and bottom, so that we can double check and verify that our initial
measurements were correct. Once we had done this, we went ahead and made those
final cuts. Once all of the board's had been completely finished, and cut we
mocked it up once more to verify that all the measurements were correct.
At this point we used our one inch diameter paddle bit, and begin to
countersink holes for our lag bolts. It was about this time that our battery ran
out, so we went ahead and loaded the lumber back up to take back down into
the apartment. Like the good neighbors we are, we swept up and cleaned
up our workspace.
Once back inside the apartment we went ahead and continued to create the
countersink holes for our lag bolts. This time utilizing our corded power drill
to get a little more power, and make the process faster.
Once all the countersinks have been completed we switch to a regular drill
bit that was also long enough to penetrate through the board and small
enough in diameter that it is no larger than the inside of any of the threads on
the lag bolts we chose to use.
Once everything had been drilled out we went ahead and set our bolts in and
began to drive the two pieces together.
As you can see here, all we had to do was thread the bolts into the countersink,
and by utilizing a one-inch diameter paddle bit it allows us to use a
standard socket head with a deep well attachment to drive those two boards
together.
Once we achieved a strong connection for the primary platform we went ahead and
did the exact same thing for our secondary platform. Instead of utilizing
two lag bolts we decided to utilize one at each corner. Once the platform's have
been created and secured together we used wood glue. Running a bead around the
underside of the primary platform and then laying the secondary platform on
top of that. Once we get it down we wanted to make sure that we were squared
up before the glue started to set.
Initially countersinking all the holes so that the head of the screw sits below
the board, and then falling it up with the screw itself. Once we finish running
screws all the way around the frame connecting those two frames together it
was time to install the hairpin legs. Now these legs we chose from Rockler
Woodworking it's a national chain, and they sell a lot of different types of legs.
These just happen to be an aesthetic we were trying to achieve.
They had them, so we went with them. This is their largest style leg made for coffee
tables, end tables, and the like. They do make much smaller legs I think there's three
different lengths available in store.
Once we were ready to install the legs all we had to do was mark out where we
wanted them to sit on the piece, and use the included screws to fasten them in.
At that point the frame of the bed had been completed, so we went back up to the
roof deck after having measured the width of the frame, and began to cut our
slats out of two by fours. Once we finished cutting the slats we went back
down into the apartment. Sanding with 80 grit sandpaper the frame of the bed.
We want to have that rustic look but we want to make sure we're pulling off any
burrs or splinters. Once we finish that we went ahead and countersunk on each
end of the slats. Because we're going to be screwing those slats, and we want to
make sure the head of the screw is below the slat. Once that was done we sanded
down all the bed slats as well, so as to prevent any extra burrs or splinters
that may come from them as well.
At this point we relocated the bed into the bedroom, and began laying out the
slats. Utilizing 2 inch screws we secured the slats to the bed frame. In doing
so creating a little extra structure, and made the bed much more rigid than it
had been before. We went ahead and grabbed our top Tuft & Needle mattress. Threw it on, and
gave the bed a test. As you can see here we definitely achieved our floating
platform look. It's high, that was what we were trying to achieve, and it
holds the weight of a person! Once we verified that it can hold some weight we
moved on to building the headboard for the bed. To create this headboard we use
the same cedar that we had used for the rest of the bed to pull that aesthetic
across. In creating the connections between the horizontal and vertical
members we pre-drilled, and countersunk for more lag bolts 2 on either side. Not
so much needed structurally, but definitely created aesthetically so as
to match the rest of the piece.
As we did this we fit our two foot-by-four piece of plywood that centers our
headboard, so as to make sure that all of our edges lined up properly.
Once we fit our lag bolts in, and our piece was fairly secured. We lined up the
centerpiece of the headboard about an inch off the face of the cedar board so
that it gives us some relief, and a little bit more character.
To secure the plywood to the cedar we utilized screws, countersinking each of
them, and verified that we were screwing into the center of the plywood, so as to
not create a penetration of the screw in either the front or the back of the
headboard. We wanted to achieve a clean aesthetic.
Once the headboard had been completely constructed, and secured it was time to
attach it to the rest of the frame of the bed.
To attach the headboard to the platform of our bed we again pre-drilled for
three fasteners. One lag bolt on either side going from the platform into the
vertical members of our headboard, and two 3-inch screws that are really going
to help pull everything together. Once we had our headboard and our platform
assembled we move the bed to where we wanted it in the room. After we got the
bed exactly where we wanted it in the room
we used the boxspring cover that came with the bedspread set that we purchased
for this bed, and covered all the slats to give our mattress another layer
of protection from any possible burrs or splinters that may cause damage to
the mattress itself. With that, we went ahead and put the mattress back on
the bed, and we were done!
There you have it! An easy project to do, and super simple.
I hope you guys really enjoyed this video. It's definitely an easy project.
I hope you guys now realize, you know some of you that are out there, and think,
"I don't have a workshop, a wood shop, open space to work in."
I hope you guys realize that anything is possible you just got to be a little
more creative about how you go about the process. Know with that being said, I hope this
gives you guys some insight to what the process is like. I hope it open some
minds of the people that are out there thinking, "I can't do this." And what we really
wanted to give you guys is that, that boost! You know, you can do whatever you want!
You put your mind to it, and get a little more creative about it. I was up on a
parking garage a roof deck cutting those boards. It's definitely, you know,
something you can do! Just be a little, little cautious. You know, you want to be
courteous to your neighbors. You want to do all that loud stuff outside, but that
being said the rest of the project like I said earlier it's quiet on the inside.
It's no louder that putting together any other piece of furniture might order from
Ikea, or running your blender or mixer making baked goods. With all
that being said if you guys like what you saw hit the thumbs up! Leave comments
in the comment section. We definitely appreciate any kind of feedback! We want
to hear what you guys have to say about what we're doing, if you want to see
different types of projects, or if you have questions about this project. We're
back in that comment section too helping out our viewers. If you guys like what
you saw: definitely subscribe, hit that bell notification, and you'll get more of
our content as we come out with it! With that keep building and we'll catch you in the next video!