Building Your Own Vs. Buying A Bunk Bed

There's a lot of reasons that might convince you to build a bunk bed, rather then buying one. The obvious one, of course, being that it is simply cheaper to build one yourself then to buy one new. However, if you get the bed second hand, you could find one for as little as $150. Actually, you might well be able to get one new for that price, but I wouldn't recommend it. As I'm sure you're aware, if something is cheap there's probably a good reason for the low price tag, and it's worth spending the extra money to get a better bed.

Alternatively, if you don't want to buy a bunk bed, you can always build one yourself. While it can be difficult to get a good bunk bed new at a low cost, bunk bed kits are much more readily available and you can usually put them together without much effort. You can even just buy the plans for a bed, and get the materials yourself. So let's have a look at some of the reasons you might want to build your own bunk or loft bed.

First of all, as I've said, kits are not difficult to put together. Not completely without effort, of course, but you really don't need any woodworking experience, or even particular skill with tools. If you've bought a kit complete with materials, then you can just start putting it together, otherwise you'll need to go about and get some wood as well. Still, that shouldn't cause you any difficulty, as you can just use off the shelf lumber. Plus, the plans are always simple to follow.

Obviously, if you want something slightly unusual, then constructing it yourself is the only way to ensure that your specifications are met. As the old saying goes, if you want it done right, do it yourself. You can never be completely certain of the quality of something that you buy, but you can if you make it on your own.

After the cost, the next most often cited reason for building rather then buying is for pleasure. I'm sure you've noticed that building something can be fun, a lot more so then simply ordering it. More then that, you can expand it to a full family project and get your kids involved as well. If you don't want to have your kids involved in building the bed itself (maybe their too young, or just not very good with hammers), you could do it as a surprise gift. Children will love that you put so much effort into building something for you, and will be proud to announce to their friends that their parents built their nice new bunk bed for them.

As I've already mentioned, the only way to guarantee that you are getting exactly what you wanted is to put it together yourself. Whatever it is that you want in a bed, you may or may not be able to find for sale, but there's a good chance that whatever it is will not be perfect for you as it has to appeal to many different possibly customers. Of course, you need to be careful not to stray too far from the designs you've got, as a mistake made in constructing your bunk bed could result in a dangerous instability. So unless you really know what you're doing, it's best to choose a plan that is close to what you want and then alter it only slightly. Nevertheless, there is still plenty of room for imagination. When you build it yourself, you can color it how you like, using paints or stencils, and give it an appropriate pattern. Or even allow your kids to design how they want it to look, adding yet more fun to the construction.

The number of plans available, as well, is extremely large, so you can easily find something that closely matches what you want and then adapt it to your specific designs. You can not only choose different shapes for the bed itself, but also find whatever extra features you want. For example, you might want a bunk bed with storage lockers or drawers underneath it. Or a loft bed with something larger, perhaps a desk, or closet, under it. any of these (and more) are available.

There are some cases where a low cost bunk bed could be the right solution. If you only need the bed for a short time, and aren't worried about long lasting quality, then this might be fore you. Likewise, if you need a bed in a hurry, although I might suggest not getting a bunk bed in that situation. As with anything else, you can have it cheap or fast or good, but never all three.

As you've seen, building a bunk bed has a number of advantages that go beyond mere cost efficiency. Putting together a bed can be a fun activity for the whole family, and serve to forge a deeper connection between parents and children. You can change the design of the bed as much as you wish, altering the color and design, and select for a huge variety of kits and plans available to start with.

Author Patrick Oakley is a professional carpenter with expertise in designing furniture to make efficient use of space. He has recently begun providing bunk beds and loft beds over the internet.

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