My wife's two brothers and two sisters and their spouses wanted to visit with us all at the same time, flying in from two different states. We have enough rooms in our home except for one without a bed (it's the home office/library). Fortunately, I had enough lead time to build an extra bed (a king size one that is a joined two twin beds. Two separate twin beds are easier to carry and maneuver individually when there is only one person - namely me - to do it. I've built beds, several of them actually, in the past, from the time we had our first home. That was when I started my woodworking hobby. It meant that we - my wife and two sons - had to sleep on the carpet on mattresses which we purchased when we moved in while I started learning and finally started building the bed frames. That was forty three three years ago. Since then I've made several versions as my skills improved overtime, along with an accumulation of tools that improved my techniques and efficiency. In other words, this latest one was going to be a piece of cake, right? You, the reader, will be the judge.
I started with good quality (kiln dried and smooth-finished) 3 X 3/4 pine lumber. Using short connecting pieces in between two long boards produced 7- 1/2 wide boards like so in the photo below. Weight is obviously less than had I opted to join three boards all the way.
I used pocket hole joinery and only one-size (1-1/4) pocket screws all throughout.
Below shows the completed four long sides of the two twin beds
Later the four short end pieces - two per bed - and middle rails with feet attached to the long sides completed the parts for assembly (below).
Assembly is done with the same pocket screws
Note below the short support bar attached below each rail to help with load bearing at the joint. Notice the pocket holes
This design has all the pieces oriented vertically (perpendicular to the floor when laid out flat) for maximum load carrying capacity. The parts will resist bending stresses because they are "on edge" relative to the floor.
1/4 inch peg boards provide the flat platform for the mattress to rest on.
I ordered two memory foam mattresses from Siena.
Once released from its binding the bed will slowly expand until it reaches its full dimension. The manufacturer recommends a full 24 hours before use.
Earlier, a while back, I knew this was a good mattress from an earlier bed for one of the grand kids to sleep on in one of the bedrooms.
The two twin beds join to make a king size bed.
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Within the day after our guests left I dis-assembled the two twin beds and packed the parts together. They will be re-assembled next year when the same guests plan to come back for another visit. It was fun having them as this was the first time we all got together since my wife was first diagnosed with Parkinson's. They want this visit to be a yearly event.
Once packed, the whole package is neatly stored in one of the closets in one of the bedrooms (see below). This is ideally the place to store them as opposed to the garage where frequent and irregular changes in temperature and humidity can adversely affect the joined pieces, not the least to be expected is warping of the wood from changes in the weather.
