Bunk Beds - Cost of Building your own

Finding the right furniture is hard as it is, but finding the right furniture plan? It could be a little more difficult to find the right plan to build your own bunk bed but it sure can save you some money! This guide will help you budget out how much a standard twin over twin bunk bed will cost and compare it to manufacturer’s retail price.

First of all, what are the pro’s of building your own bunk bed? Well for one, it is cheaper. But there are various other reasons. You can be as creative as you want! Mind you, being creative also means still following safety standards but you can alter the shape and size of your bunk bed to however you want. I once saw a home built bunk bed that was in an L shape with a full dresser under both bunk beds. The beds were offset to give it a great look and its uniqueness was what was appealing to me. If you have the creativity in you, why not?

Now, down to the business aspect of this. How is building a bunk bed cheaper? For sake of comparison, lets estimate that a standard twin over twin bunk bed will be somewhere around $700. Yes you can find ones cheaper, but lets say we are building one that is comparably well designed and quality built. So generally, I’ve found that you can find 2x4’s for fairly cheap. An 18 feet long 2x4 will cost you roughly $5. Ballpark estimate, I would say after cutting and purchasing all pieces of wood required, you would end up under $50-$100 depending on the different wood sizes you purchase. Keep in mind that 2x4 prices are different from 2x6, 2x12, etc. So now you’re ready to build. A cheap drill only cost you roughly $30 and screws don’t cost much either. So far, you’re at about $180. So you begin to put all the pieces together and not and realize that you may need to sand some of the parts. No problem, which is another cost that won’t dent you. Do a quick paint or a finish on the wood, and you have yourself a bunk bed.

Of course the above paragraph made it sound rather easy. It is not as easy as it sounds and also is very time consuming, but once you put in the dedication and time into it, you’ve saved yourself a lot of money! Plus, now you got yourself a bunk bed that your kids will enjoy and you have the self satisfaction that you have just built something that your kids will enjoy for quite awhile!