Construct a Cozy Built-in-Bed
(Page 3 of 4)
December 2008/January 2009
By Steve Maxwell
Would you like a reading light in your built-in bed? Now’s the time to rough in the necessary wiring. Locating your bed near an existing outlet makes it easy to supply electricity for your new light. You also could feed wires through the floor frame if your bed is located above an unfinished basement. Another option is to use a wireless LED fixture to light up the alcove.
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Next, create the structure that will support the drawers. You’ll get best results if you hang them on the longest lengths of full-extension, mechanical drawer slides you can find. These will be about 28 inches long, and they define the maximum length of drawer you can accommodate underneath your bed. The plans show the simple framework to support these mechanical slides.
Step #3: Cover the Frame
You can cover the frame of your bed with beadboard, solid wood wainscoting or even drywall. As you clad the framework, don’t forget to leave an opening for any inset shelves. You’ll find the best way to cover the front wall is with a pre-assembled framework of 1 1⁄2-inch-thick solid wood. Use biscuits, dowels or pocket screws to join the stile and rail members together first, then tilt this frame into place and secure it to the 2-by-4 structure with wood glue and clamps. The top edge of the front wall frame should extend less than half way up the thickness of the mattress and be fully rounded to protect your legs as you get into and out of bed. Now’s the time to add valences, wall-mounted shelves and any inset shelves that fit within the 2-by-8 foot-board frames.
Wedged Walls
For this project, you’ll use wooden wedges to install and secure the walls that surround the bed. Just smear construction adhesive on the ends of both sides of a pair of wedges, then push them into the gap above your wall sections, one from each side, exactly where a ceiling joist is located. Drive 4-inch deck screws up through the top plate of the wall, through the wedges and into the joist. Repeat the operation wherever there’s a joist to anchor to, and your wall will be rock solid.
Inset Shelves
These begin as nothing more than boxes with great-looking inside surfaces, and you’ll find half-inch-thick birch-veneered plywood is an excellent material for this application. Cut the top, bottom and back so the completed assembly is 1 inch shorter and narrower than the rough opening you framed for your shelf. Drill holes in the inside face of the sides for adjustable shelf pins, then secure the shelf box within the 2-by-8 wall frame using glue, finishing nails and wooden wedges to fill the gaps and level the shelf box. Finish up by adding trim around the perimeter of the opening, just like you would around a door or window frame.
Simple and Effective Drawers
Making spacious, easy-sliding drawers for a built-in bed is a breeze when you understand three basics: the simplicity of butt-joined corners, the advantage of full-extension mechanical drawer slides, and a little-known trick for achieving proper side clearance between the drawers and their openings.
