Is it cheaper to build a loft bed, or just buy one?

[j.griff]

I'm thinking about our move. Right now, 13yod has a full size bed. She wants a twin size bed, so she'll have more room , and she'd prefer a loft bed (so would I). So, we'll try to sell her current bed before we move, or maybe just freecycle it. (it wasn't expensive)
6yos has a full size bed also, and his own room
4yod and 2yod are sleeping on crib mattresses and they share a room.

I'm thinking it's going to be much easier to find a 3 bedroom home than a 4 bedroom home we can afford, when we move. So I'm thinking of just getting bunk beds for one of the bedrooms and putting 6yo, 4yo, and 2yo in one room. 13yod definitely needs her own space.

Should we wait until we get there, and build/buy the loft and bunks? Or should we go to Ikea while we have one, and buy them here?
I'm kinda just working this out on paper, please point out any pros and/or cons for either plan.
If we just go ahead and buy them here, then that's one less thing to deal with when we move into a new home. That's a good thing.
If we wait and dh builds a loft bed, then we'll have to invest extra time in the purchasing of materials, and the building of the bed. That may make me crazy.
IF we buy the beds here, that will be extra furniture to have moved (the navy is paying for our move, the movers will pack the furniture and move it for us, but we do have a weight limit and dh has lots of tools and a few heavy car parts that will have to be moved for us).

I have no idea what sort of home we're going to find when we get there.
Ugh, I'm spinning myself in circles. :confused:
Okay, if you've read this far, thanks for hanging in there. I've got to stop now or my head my 'splode. :D (there's just WAY too much stuff in my head right now).

[GothicGyrl]

Depends on quality you want. We bought a metal framed loft bed from Big Lots for $199 and it is ok decent quality. If you want all wood, google "loft beds" and you will find some places that send you all the wood/supplies for roughly the same price or more, depending on what you want with your bed.

With moving, DH would tell me to wait until we got there, the less he has to move the better. So it depends on that as well.

Just google loft beds and see what comes up. You can at least price shop that way.

[Heather in the Kootenays]

Dh made a loft bed for dd. It was more expensive than a store bought one but probably better quality wood etc. If you added his time, it was way more expensive but he was able to build it to fit and put a desk under it.

[Robin Hood]

Either way, you're still going to have to build it. Ours came in pieces. It is nice having it precut. If you use Ikea, could you keep it in the boxes until you get where you are going, then build it?

[j.griff]

Either way, you're still going to have to build it. Ours came in pieces. It is nice having it precut. If you use Ikea, could you keep it in the boxes until you get where you are going, then build it?

Well, IMO there's a big difference in assembling something and creating something from scratch :D
It would definitely be easier to get one ready to assemble. OTOH, it would be nice to be able to custom fit it to dd's room, in which case we'd just wait untill we get there. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[j.griff]

I just want it to be sturdy. I don't want a "cheap" flimsy one, kwim? It doesn't matter if it's wood or metal, but if we build it it will be wood.
We probably will wait until we get there.

[Laura K (NC)]

http://familyfun.go.com/decorating-ideas/building/feature/famf0502_proj_loftbed/

That didn't include the mattress. I never installed the side bookshelves either... I should put them in.

It's extremely sturdy and I hope he'll be able to take it to college with him. It's bolted together so it will be fairly easy to take apart if we ever move.

[Ferdie]

I would go to Ikea and check out the bunk beds. My dh is a big Ikea fan but he was not impressed with the Ikea bunk bed that our neighbor gave us. He never finished assembling it and gave it away to a family in need.

We later purchased a solid pine loft bed from Overstock.com for $800 which my dh assembled in a weekend. He said that unit was a much better piece of furniture.

[Just Me]

When our three kids had to share a room, I ordered the plans and hardware for a triple bunkbed from a site that I found in a Google search. Then, my dad bought the wood, and build the bed. It was about half the cost of buying the bed from the company, and is a great bed, that we plan on keeping through the grandkids!! :D

[Just Me]

I think this is the site we used - http://bunkbedsunlimited.com/

Good Luck!

[kdeno]

but I do think the quality is better. Does your husband enjoy these projects and does he have time?

Kari

[AFwife Claire]

Would that be an option for you? It was in really good condition, and a lot cheaper than we would have been able to find anywhere new. There are always a lot of loft beds for sale in the D.C. craigslist it seems!

[j.griff]

Thanks for that link, and for the "real" price estimate :)

[j.griff]

Thanks for that link, and triple bunks are a great idea if they have to share a room. My dad will be in the next state, and will definitely help dh build whatever we need to build IF we build any beds. :)

[j.griff]

We'll definitely check Craigslist in the area when we get there. We will probably just wait till after the move to see what kind of room we have, and to see what kind of beds we need. :)

[Tap, tap, tap]

We have a homeschool room full of Ikea and while I haven't had a lot of trouble with the quality, I have had about 3 things I had to return because they came damaged. The boxes weren't damaged on the inside but the wood was broken on the inside of the package. We have also had pieces that were missing drill holes. You could redrill them yourself if you have exactly the right tools, but if not your out of luck. If you get a damaged piece what would you do? IKEA would ship you one I am sure, but their shipping is extremely expensive!

Loft beds are so common now, I would definitely wait and purchase once you are there. Check out Craigslist now for the area and just get and idea of what prices are like.

Just as a side note. The IKEA lofts are very high! If you get there and find a house that has lower ceilings, the IKEA beds may not work. Especially in an older house, where the bedrooms upstairs are sometimes a few inches shorter than the rest of the house.


Best of luck on your move,
Tap

[j.griff]

Thank you for posting this, I hadn't even considered the possibility of needing to make a return.

[Jann in TX]

Yes, I said QUEEN size!

DD loves having so much free floor space in her room. She currently has a full size mattress 'lounge' under the loft...

DH purchased the pre-cut wood and plans off of the internet. He and dd painted (every piece a different NEON color) and assembled it in a weekend.

[j.griff]

Is it very sturdy? Did it have pre-drilled holes? I wonder about the pre-drilled holes, several times we've bought things that were pre-drilled and had problems with the holes not being straight, not lining up where they should, etc. Thanks!

[Excelsior! Academy]

Definately cheaper to build your own. Here's the link to a picture of ours. It was around $200-$400 to build. It uses 3/4 inch MDF which is easy to cut, yet very sturdy!

http://members.cox.net/excelsior_academy/

I'll find more pictures to post so you'll get a better view.

[j.griff]

That bed is so cool!

[eve]

We used bunk beds unlimited as well to make a loft bed and painted it white for my daughter. I got the extra tall one thinking it could work for the future in college or you can add two bunks under it depending on how many kids we end up with.

But.... I should have measured how tall our ceilings were. It fits, but barely (she's way up there). Live and learn.

[K-FL]

College Loft Beds (http://www.collegebedlofts.com/)

We got 2 twin lofts for our dd(s) room w/the book shelf. The love them & did all the work themselves. We got the unfinished ones so they varnished them. They're very sturdy (solid wood) since they're designed for college students. At $250/ea, we couldn't have bought the lumber much less the aggravation of design, cutting, getting fasteners, etc.

[theodwyn]

My dh just finished building 2 loft beds this summer. Very sturdy with bookshelves underneath. Probably cost $250-$300 each not counting mattresses. He modified plans to come up with what he wanted.

[frogpond1]

If you buy a used loft bed on Craigslist- you can get a deal... we did!!