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.

If it is the price putting you off, then you should seriously consider building your own. It's not nearly as difficult as you might expect to construct a bed, and bunk bed kits are surprisingly easy to get hold of. You can eve, if you wish, simply purchase the plans for the bed and supply the tools and materials yourself. Well, you'd have to supply the basic tools yourself anyway, but full kits include everything that goes into the final product. Now, lets think about why you might want to do this.

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.

The other reason for building, rather then buying, which has already been touched on slightly, is that only when you build it yourself can you be sure of getting what you want. Whatever you are looking for in a bed, when you put it together yourself you can make it how you want it to be. Obviously don't stray too far from the plans, unless you are very good, as you don't want to risk your children's safety. However, even within this limit there is a lot of room for imagination. For example, adding paints or stencils. This can be a significant factor if you need it to be a specific color, for example to match an existing piece of furniture (or just your walls) and is something to consider.

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.

However, building a bunk bed has a large number of advantages that go beyond just the money saved. Building a bunk or loft bed can be a fun family project, that serves to bring parents and children closer together. You can customize the bed as much as you wish, changing the color and design to fit whatever you wish it to, and there are a huge variety of kits and plans available for you to get started.

Article Source: http://www.christiannotepad.com

Author Patrick Oakley is a professional carpenter who specializes in designing furniture to make efficient use of space. To this end, has recently begun providing bunk beds and loft beds online.