A DIY Suspended Loft Bed

Beth
by Beth
9 Materials
$90
2 Days
Medium
My 9 year old really wanted a loft bed in his bedroom, and I decided to try my hand at building a suspended loft bed. It turned out to be exactly what he wanted, and it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be- although I can't emphasize enough that if you attempt this build, you must take extreme care. Use high quality materials and build into the wall studs.

This is an in-depth process-for full details, be sure to check out the blog post!

I should start off by saying, it would have been a lot easier to build the frame first, then attach it to the wall. But I was building this by myself and wouldn't be able to lift the frame myself, so I had to build the frame to the wall.
I started by attaching 2X6's to the walls with 5 inch lag bolts into the studs. I used 3 lag bolts on the longest 2X6 and 2 lag bolts on the shorter one.
Then I screwed the front 2X6 into the wall and the back 2X6. I had my son hold it in place while I screwed a screw hook into the end of this 2X6.
The screw hook on the end of the front 2X6 is for the chain suspension. Here, you can see that I originally used a metal cable, but I changed to a chain later. The chain is rated for 800 lbs.
We also hung a screw hook on the wall, of course, to suspend the chain. Determining where to hang the upper eye bolt was some trial and error (involving raising and lowering the chain with the level on the 2X6 until the 2X6 was perfectly level). Read the blog post for more detail on this!
The next few steps are so easy! I used 2X4's and joist hangers to build the base of the bed...
And cut a piece of plywood to fit for the top.
Then I sanded it down to prepare for painting...
And now my boy has a blue suspended loft bed! I added a side rail, although he doesn't really need it for sleeping- the mattress is a twin and I purposely made the bed bigger than he would need. The side rail is really there for when he is just hanging out up there.
The bed is super sturdy. It hasn't budged an inch since it was built.
We bought an old but sturdy wooden ladder online and secured it to the wall, and that's what we use for the loft bed ladder! You can check out that tutorial here. And you can see the completed room here!
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Beth
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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3 of 6 questions
  • Susan marino Susan marino on Sep 23, 2018

    Why the hook from ceiling why noy a post on right hand side

  • Ake Ake on Oct 05, 2018

    I would have a double bed,is this posible?


  • Lil33718186 Lil33718186 on Oct 12, 2018

    Please help I am desperate I don’t know how to fight the spider pandemic both inside & out side my front door they live & breed constantly inside the awful vinyl siding that is just inches from my front door (I live in an apartment and they won’t do anything because I hat ever they use regularly for the other insects works well but di s not kill spiders

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