How to Add a Footboard to a Bed Frame

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Things You'll Need

  • Drill

  • 1/8-inch drill bit

  • Phillips-head drill bit

  • 1-inch screws

  • Tape measure

  • Wrench

  • Hex wrench

Use a footboard bracket kit to attach a footboard to your current bed frame.

Many headboards have the option of a matching footboard, which come in a variety of sizes and designs. Your bed frame, however, may not be footboard-ready. Footboards, like headboards, are mounted to the frame with a bracket. Most metal bed frames already have this bracket attached, although wooden bed frames probably do not. Purchase a footboard bracket at your local retail or mattress store and mount a footboard to your bed frame.

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Step 1

Place the short adapters against the metal bed frame's side rails. Line up the adapter's screw holes with those in the side rail. For a wooden bed frame, place the short adapters against the wood frame. Position the adapter so two holes touch the wood frame and two holes extend past the wood frame. Mark the first two holes' locations on the wood frame with a pencil.

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Step 2

Drill out the marks on the wood frame with a 1/8-inch drill bit. Line up the adapter's holes with the pilot holes. Use a drill and Phillips-head drill bit to secure the adapter to the wood bed frame with 1-inch screws. For a metal bed frame, insert the two supplied bolts through the frame and adapter's screw holes. Hand-tighten the nuts on the bolts to secure the adapter in place.

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Step 3

Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the short adapter on the bed frame's other side rail. If you have a wooden bed frame, measure how far the installed adapter extends past the bed frame, and use this measurement for the second adapter so the footboard doesn't end up crooked.

Step 4

Line up the footboard bracket's holes with those in the short adapter. Place the supplied bolts through the holes and hand-tighten the nuts onto the bolts. Repeat with the second bracket on the other short adapter. Use a wrench to finish tightening all the nuts.

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Step 5

Line up the footboard's holes with the brackets' holes. Reach behind the footboard and hand-tighten the footboard's supplied bolts. Manufacturers often use hex-head bolts to secure the footboard to the bracket. Use the proper size hex wrench to tighten the bolts.

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