Full storage bed plans

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw and a straight edge (or have the store cut the sheets)
• Hammer
• Drill bit, 1″ (optional vent holes)
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part. Cut sheets with the good face down when using a circular saw: the blade splinters the top face.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Plan the build in the bedroom

   The bed is two drawer cases 75″ long and a center box between them, screwed together with a plywood top. Each piece is too big for most doorways once built, so build them in the bedroom.

   Clear a floor area about 91 3/8″ × 111″ and lay down a drop cloth or old blanket to work on.

   Have the store rip the plywood into the widths on the cut list; full sheets are hard to carry and harder to cut straight at home.

   ✓ The finished bed is 55 3/8″ wide, 75″ long and 18″ to the top of the platform.

4. 4Edge-band

   Iron edge banding onto every front edge that shows, and all four edges of each door and drawer front. Trim and sand.

   Set a household iron to "cotton" with the steam off. Cut each strip of banding about 1″ longer than the edge, lay it glue side down so it hangs a little past both faces, and slide the iron along it slowly, about 10 seconds per foot.

   While the glue is still hot, rub the banding down hard with a scrap block. Let it cool, then trim the ends with a sharp utility knife and the overhanging sides with an edge-banding trimmer or a sanding block held at a slight angle.

   • Tip Band the parts before assembly. Once the case is together the iron cannot reach the inside corners.

   ✓ Run a fingernail along every banded edge: nothing lifts and nothing overhangs. Re-iron any loose spot.

5. 5Mark the slide lines

   Draw a slide line at 5 7/16″ (bay 1), 5 7/16″ (bay 2), 5 7/16″ (bay 3), 5 7/16″ (bay 4) from the floor end, on both faces of each drawer bay.

   • Tip Lay the two sides next to each other, bottom ends lined up, and mark both at once with a square so the drawers sit level.

   ✓ Measure each line on both sides of every bay: they match within 1/32″.

6. 6Build the case

   Work on a flat floor with the front edges facing up. Stand the bottom between the sides first; clamp a square scrap block inside each corner to hold it at 90° while you drive the screws.

   Drill a pilot hole with a countersink bit for every screw, 3/8″ in from the edge so the screw lands in the middle of the plywood edge. Wipe glue squeeze-out with a damp rag before it dries.

   Glue and screw the bottom between the sides with its underside at 3″, and the top flush with the top ends. 1 5/8″ screws, 3 per joint.

   Fit the dividers between top and bottom at 18 9/16″, 37 1/8″, 55 3/4″ from the left side, outside faces.

   Screw the kick board under the bottom, 1/2″ back from the front.

   Square the case and nail on the back.

   Build the second drawer case the same way.

   • Tip To square the case before the back goes on, push on the long diagonal until both diagonals measure the same, then nail one corner of the back and work around it every 6″.
   • Tip Plywood edges split if a screw is closer than 3/8″ to a face. Keep the drill straight.

   ✓ Diagonals match within 1/16″.

7. 7Build and hang the drawers

   Glue and brad each box: fronts and backs between the sides, bottom nailed underneath. Screw the slides on (case half on the line, drawer half flush with the box front) and click the boxes in.

   • Tip Each slide comes apart in two: press the little release lever and pull. The wider half goes in the case, the narrow half on the drawer box.
   • Tip Cut a scrap spacer exactly as tall as the slide line. Rest the slide on it while you drive the screws and every slide ends up at the same height.

   ✓ Each box runs smoothly with no rubbing.

8. 8Attach the drawer fronts

   Start at the bottom. Tape each front on with 1/8″ spacers between and 1/16″ at the edges, then drive four 1″ screws from inside the box.

   • Tip Stick each front on with two strips of double-sided tape, open the drawer and drive the screws from inside. Tape lets you nudge it before it is fixed.

   ✓ Gaps are an even 1/8″.

9. 9Build the center box

   Lay the center box walls (K) on edge, 18″ apart outside.

   Fit an end piece (L) between them at each end and ribs at 18 9/16″, 37 1/8″, 55 3/4″ from the head end, all flush with the top and bottom edges.

   Glue every joint and drive three 1 5/8″ screws through the wall into each rib or end, predrilled and countersunk.

   • Tip Draw each rib's position on both walls with a square before any glue goes on, and mark which side of the line it sits on.

   ✓ The box is square (diagonals match within 1/8″) and every rib is flush with the top edges of the walls.

10. 10Join the boxes

    Stand the center box in place. Push each drawer case tight against it, back to the center box wall, drawer fronts facing out, ends flush at the head and foot.

    From inside the center box, drive 2 1/2″ screws through the wall and the case back into the edge of the case top and bottom, every 12″. Predrill so the screw lands in the middle of the plywood edge.

    • Tip No glue in these joints: the bed comes apart into its boxes for moving.

    ✓ The tops of the drawer cases and the center box walls are flush along the whole length: lay a long straightedge across them.

11. 11Add the platform top

    Set the platform top (M) on the center box. Line it up flush with the drawer case tops.

    Drive 1 5/8″ screws into every wall and rib, every 8″, without glue.

    Optional: for airflow, drill 1″ holes through the top on a 6″ grid, staying 2″ from the ribs and walls, and sand the edges.

    ✓ Walk your hand over the whole platform: no step at any seam, and no screw head above the surface.

    STOP. This is a bed platform for adults, 18″ high. Don't add rails, a ladder or a bunk on it.

12. 12Finish

    Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.

    Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.

    Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.

    Paint, stain or a clear coat (water-based polyurethane is the easiest). Apply thin coats with the grain, let each dry fully, and sand lightly with 220 grit between coats.

    Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.

    • Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.