Pressure treated lumber is wood that is treated with a preservative to prevent degradation from moisture.  These preservatives can be dangerous and can contain arsenic or other preservatives that can be harmful to humans.  Recently there have been strives within the industry to move away from these preservatives, but we still recommend you use untreated lumber.  Another factor to consider is that pressure treated lumber is weaker than non-treated lumber.  This is due to the fact that the preservatives are sometimes injected into the lumber.  Plus, if you are buying lumber, the pressure treated wood is more expensive and when exactly were you planning on the bed being wet?  So it is just a good idea to stay away from it.

Generally speaking Southern Pine will be softer than most other building lumber that is available throughout the US.  In the west you might find Spruce-Fir instead of Southern Pine. This is no issue, as the Spruce-Fir has a greater bending capacity and axial compressive strength than the Southern Pine (translation: it is stronger). So the lumber that is generally available to you as building material should mostly be adequate. If you have any questions please write us at: projects@campusloftbeds.com

• Anything that is smaller than 73″ long: loveseat, a full size futon, a twin futon
• An entertainment center
• A mini jam space for your band (yes, Im serious, I have actually done this)
• A video game center
• A desk
• A computer workstation

Really the sky is the limit.  Feel free to experiment with the space.  While 23 ft² sounds like it might not be all that much, consider that many dorm rooms are no bigger than about 100 ft².  If you put two loft beds in a room, you will be increasing your usable floor space by 50%.  Not too shabby!

• mitre saw - This can be used to cut boards to proper length
• jig saw or a table saw with a dado blade or a circluar saw - Any one of these can be used to cut notches in the ladder
• a good small square - This is used in lots of different ways to transfer measurements to the peices of wood you will be cutting.  One customer also has recommended the Universal Square, which can be bought at Home Depot.
• A handheld drill - Used for cutting the myriad of holes on the project.  If you can find a jig to drill holes absolutely plum that can be helpfull, but not an absolute must.
• a large square - Used to make sure your bed is built plum
• A folding ruler or measuring tape - This seems obvious, but if you are at the harware store, you dont want to forget this!

You really could do this whole project with just a drill, a square, and a jig saw.  There really are not that many cuts or holes to drill.  The above tools are the easiest way to build your bed, though.  Most customers tell us that they are able to complete the project in less than a day.  Feel free to write us with your tips and tools at: projects@campusloftbeds.com.

The first thing to realize is that your loft bed can be made perfectly safe by using any number of fire retarders that you can pick up online or at your local hardware store.  Most of these retarders can be purchased as a clear coat to apply to your bed or as a paint.  So it can be applied and not really impact the look of your bed if you would like.

One product we like is made by FireTect.  It is a non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, latex based paint that is completely safe for use indoors.  I have played with this product a little and it definitely works.  The second product we recommend is made by Flametard.  They make a clear coat that can be placed directly over the wood for an invisible finish.  You can find other products at the hardware store, these are just the two that we have tried an like.

If you find a product that you like, leave us a comment or drop us a line at projects@campusloftbeds.com

” I bought two things that proved invaluable to my ultimate success. One
was something from Home Depot called the Universal Square…

http://universalsquare.com/

I love this thing.

The other was a set of three quality clamps called Duo Klamp, by BESSY:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=179667-1073-DUO30-8

These things are awesome.

My technique for cutting the four notches was as follows…

1. stand all four 2×6 boards on end and use two clamps, at either end,
to clamp firmly to a solid structure (I used the workbench)

2. mark all four boards, where the notches begin and end

3. line up the circular saw with the first line, and clamp on the
Universal Square to guide the circular saw

4. cut through all four boards, with the saw blade set at 1.5″ deep

5. slightly slide the Universal Square to the right, return to step 4,
until the 3.5″ wide notch has been completed

The notches turn out near perfect — and definitely good enough. The
first loft is VERY sturdy and again, our daughter LOVES it.”

Thanks for sharing the tips! If you have tips, feel free to share them with us: projects@campusloftbeds.com

• Cut the notches on a table saw with a dado blade. This is the preferred method.
• Use a jig saw to carefully cut the notches. Use the thickest blade you can find, so it does not bend. This is probably the most used method
• Use a circular saw to put multiple saw cuts in the notches at the appropriate depth. Then use a chisel to remove the excess.
• Use a coping saw to remove the material in the notch. This is probably the most time consuming method and least recommended.

So there you have it. Any one of these solutions should work pretty well. If anyone else has any suggestions, we would love to hear them!

Now all you have to do is head to the local hardware store to buy all your parts. As a test, I wanted to see how much it would cost to buy all of the materials needed to build a loft bed. I see loft bed kits offered online for $100’s, surely it cannot cost that much. For my experiment I used the twin loft bed plans and headed to a local Lowe’s hardware to do a little research.

The parts list found on the first page of the loft plans made shopping a breeze. I found all of the parts in probably less than 20 minutes. So how much did everything cost?

So for just under $100 you can build your own loft. The price above also includes the cost of a sheet of plywood. Most of the loft bed kits that are available online do not include this cost.

Thanks Bill, it looks GREAT!