How to Make a Box Platform Bed Base
It's amazing how much furniture stores want to charge for a bed base, but you can use these instructions to put one together on your own for a fraction of what the stores think they're worth. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Lumber
- Plywood sheet
- 20 1-1/2" Wood screws
- 10 1" Wood screws
- Drill with regular and screwdriver bits
- Circular saw
- Sandpaper
- Thin nail
Instructions
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Prepare Your Wood
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1
Use a circular saw to cut two 1" x 12" planks to match the length of your mattress. Cut five 1" x 12" planks to match the width of your mattress.
Cut the plywood to match the dimensions of your bed.
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2
Sand down the wood using sandpaper or a power sander.
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3
If you want to paint or finish the wood, do so at this stage.
Drill the Planks
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4
Using a drill bit slightly smaller than the diameter of the 1 1/2" wood screws, drill two holes into one of the longer (y) planks. Place them 1/2" from the short end of the plank and 2" from the long edges.
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5
Repeat step 1 for the other end of the long plank.
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6
Drill two more holes 2" from the long edges at the center of the long plank.
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7
Drill two more holes 2" from the long edges halfway between the center holes and the holes at one end of the long plank. Repeat for the other end of the plank.
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8
Stack the two long planks so the edges line up evenly, with the drilled plank on top.
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9
Slide the thin nail into each drilled hole, pressing hard enough to mark the plank beneath.
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10
Use the drill bit to drill holes in the other long plank at each point marked by the nail.
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11
Using a drill bit slightly smaller than the diameter of the 1 1/2" wood screws, drill two holes in the tip of each of the shorter planks. Place them at the center of the plank, each 2" from either edge of the tip.
Assemble the Bed
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12
Use the screwdriver bit and the 1 1/2" wood screws to attach the short planks to the long planks. The end result should look a lot like a bookcase.
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13
Using a drill bit slightly smaller than the diameter of the 1" wood screws, drill a hole in each corner of the plywood sheet, approximately 3/4" in from the corner.
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14
Drill one hole at the center of each short end of the plywood sheet, 1/2" from the edge.
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15
Drill two evenly spaced holes in each long end of the plywood sheet, 1/2" from the edge.
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16
Lay the plywood sheet on top of the frame so that the edges line up evenly.
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17
Slide the thin nail into each drilled hole, pressing hard enough to mark the plank beneath.
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18
Remove the plywood sheet.
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19
Using a drill bit slightly smaller than the diameter of the 1" wood screws, drill holes in the frame at the points marked by the nail.
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20
Lay the plywood sheet on top of the frame so that the edges line up evenly.
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21
Use the screwdriver bit and 1" wood screws to attach the plywood sheet to the frame, driving the screws through the holes you've drilled.
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1
Tips & Warnings
For a higher platform, build two frames. Attach a 1/2" x 24" x (y) plywood sheet to each long end and a 1/2" x 24" x (z) plywood sheet to each short end.
