Building Your Own Vs. Buying A Bunk Bed

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Building Your Own Vs. Buying A Bunk Bed

By: Patrick Oakley

There are a number of good reasons why you might decide to build a bunk bed or left bed rather then buying one. The most usual reason, of course, is cost. While there are plenty of very good bunk beds available on the market today, they tend to be extremely expensive. However, you can get a good sturdy bunk bed for under $150 is you buy second hand. I would really advise you not to buy one new for that price though, as you get what you pay for and the very cheap bunk beds are cheap because they are low quality. Second hand beds, on the other hand, can be an excellent investment.

On the other hand, if you would prefer not to buy a prebuilt bunk bed, it's not as hard as you might think it would be to build one for yourself. While you'll have trouble finding a cheap bunk bed new, it is easy to get hold of a bunk bed kit. Not only are they easy to find and cheap, but they are also easy to put together, and you can either buy the materials to make them yourself, or get a kit which comes with them.

In the first place, as I've already mentioned, kits are easy to put together. Not completely effortless, but you don't have to be an expert woodworker to do it. All you need is a bit of basic knowledge, and some standard tools that you'll almost certainly have lying about anyway, such as a hammer or screwdriver. If you've bought a full kit, then all you need to do is start assembling it, otherwise you'll have to pick up the lumber first. Just stop off at your local home hardware store, and they'll have what you need.

And of course, constructing it yourself is the best way to ensure it meets your requirements. With something you buy, especially something wooden, you can never be entirely sure of the quality. However if you construct it yourself, you can test each part as you assemble it.

The second most common reason for building a bunk or left bed is that building it is a fun activity. All the family, parents and children both, can contribute. This transforms it from a necessary item of furniture, into a fun family project. Additionally, if you don't want to involve the kids, then you can build one for your children (or grandchildren) as a gift. Something you've built yourself will, naturally, be of much more value to them then something just bought in a store. This way, when they have other children over to play and get asked about their nice new bunk bed, they can proudly say "my dad built it". Or even, "My granddad built it, and I helped!"

Another reason, which I've already said something about, is that only when you build something yourself can you be sure it works as you intend it to. Whatever you're looking for in a bed, you know that when you put it together yourself you can make it exactly what you want it to be. When you buy it, you have no such guarantee. Be careful not to change the designs too much, though, as you could end up reducing the structural stability. This is really not something you want to do, especially where your children's safety is potentially concerned. On the other hand, even keeping to the plans for construction exactly, there is a lot more opportunity to alter the designs with the use of pain, stencils, stickers, or whatever else you want to use. This is especially useful if you need to match some other furniture, or just not clash with your carpets. Think about it.

There are plenty of options when it comes to deciding exactly what plan you want for your bunk bed, so you should have no difficulty finding something suitable. The bed itself can follow a number of different basic designs, with a number of extra features available as well. For example, you could get a bunk bed with storage drawers underneath it, or a loft bed with a desk or closet under it. There's a lot of choice to pick from.

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.

As you've seen, building a bunk bed has a number of advantages that go beyond mere cost efficiency. Putting together a bed can be a fun activity for the whole family, and serve to forge a deeper connection between parents and children. You can change the design of the bed as much as you wish, altering the color and design, and select for a huge variety of kits and plans available to start with.

Article Source: http://www.find-investment-advice.com

Author Patrick Oakley is a professional carpenter who specializes in creating furniture that makes efficient use of space. He has recently begun selling bunk beds and loft beds online.

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