So, you want a bunk bed, but you're worried the top bunk will fall and crush your first-born. Have no fear!!!
We bought this for our 4 and 5-yo for Christmas. Listen, they were SUPER jazzed. This bunk bed is awesome. The under-bed drawers are ok (eh), the side-shelves are cool, and the stairs are awesome! If you're concerned about a little one having to get up and go potty in the middle of the night, get a bedset like this.. with stairs. These stairs are big, and they include a strip of velcro on each stair to avoid slipping. The bed is AWESOME. My kids had their own rooms (humblebrag) and now they want to share so they can sleep in this.
CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
So this is why your here. How well-built is this? Well.. it's build GREAT. I do a smattering of amateur woodworking and have build a lot of the furniture in my house. I have NO concern about this bed.
Firstly, the hardware is HUGE. If you're put together pressboard furniture together in your past (and you likely have) it's normally these weak cam or barrel nuts... maybe some dowels. All of the major joints on this bed have like 6 metal fasteners. No hyperbole here... HUGE fasteners. Generally, there are two screws, one lagged directly into the other board, and the other threaded into a nut.
Now, I take my dowels seriously. In woodworking, dowel joinery is a legit method of joinery... if done right. Generally, on these pieces of furniture, dowels are kinda loose and used (seemingly) for alignment. Do yourself a favor and get some Titebond wood glue, and glue all your dowel joints. You'll be amazed at the difference (do it on your next Ikea bookshelf too).
With all my dowels glued, the assembly is study as a ROCK! While I am WAY over the recommended weight limit, I get climb up on and shake HARD back and forth. You'll want to do this too to feel good about it.
The bottom/top bed connection is a dowel joint... which made me wary at first. But... it's roughly a 1 dowel, and you send in two screws from each side. If you glue this joint also, it's rock-solid. I can't stress this enough, it's SOLID (with glue).
TIME
I take requires two people as a challenge. I was able to do this by myself in about 7-8 hours total. The beds took about 3 hours, the stairs took another 3 hours, and the drawers took maybe 2. When you buy this, you're going to get a s load of boxes. PAY ATTENTION to the descriptions. Don't open them all. Open the bed boxes first, then the stairs, and finally the drawers.
If you want to take on the solo-challenge, there are two tricky steps, both on the bed assembly. The first -- and probably the hardest -- is putting together the top bed. You're trying to bring together the head and footboard and THREE!! rails each on the sides (the bottom bed, while bigger, only has one rail on each side, so is WAY easier). To do this solo, basically install each rail as LOOSELY as you can from bottom to top. You should be able to get the top rail in while the bottom rail is just barely threaded.
The second tricky thing -- which may be obvious -- is setting the top bunk on the bottom. It can be done solo. Put the top bed on your back and drop the top bed on the sides of the bottom bed. Slide the legs of the top to the dowels inserted in the top. Then, CAREFULLY on each side slide the sides into dowels... there is enough play in the dowels plus width on the sides to let you do this.
Or... get a friend! I wanted to see if it could be done by an out-of-shape middle-aged man... and the answer is yes.
Lastly... like any piece of furniture that has some MDF, it's going to smell a bit. I recommend building it, and letting it air out for at least 2-3 days before sleeping.
TLDR; AWESOME!!!!!!!! STURDY!!!!
Best X-Mas Gift Ever! -- Sturdy AF
So, you want a bunk bed, but you're worried the top bunk will fall and crush your first-born. Have no fear!!! We bought this for our 4 and 5-yo for Christmas. Listen, they were SUPER jazzed. This bunk bed is awesome. The under-bed drawers are ok (eh), the side-shelves are cool, and the stairs are awesome! If you're concerned about a little one having to get up and go potty in the middle of the night, get a bedset like this.. with stairs. These stairs are big, and they include a strip of velcro on each stair to avoid slipping. The bed is AWESOME. My kids had their own rooms (humblebrag) and now they want to share so they can sleep in this. CONSTRUCTION DETAILS So this is why your here. How well-built is this? Well.. it's build GREAT. I do a smattering of amateur woodworking and have build a lot of the furniture in my house. I have NO concern about this bed. Firstly, the hardware is HUGE. If you're put together pressboard furniture together in your past (and you likely have) it's normally these weak cam or barrel nuts... maybe some dowels. All of the major joints on this bed have like 6 metal fasteners. No hyperbole here... HUGE fasteners. Generally, there are two screws, one lagged directly into the other board, and the other threaded into a nut. Now, I take my dowels seriously. In woodworking, dowel joinery is a legit method of joinery... if done right. Generally, on these pieces of furniture, dowels are kinda loose and used (seemingly) for alignment. Do yourself a favor and get some Titebond wood glue, and glue all your dowel joints. You'll be amazed at the difference (do it on your next Ikea bookshelf too). With all my dowels glued, the assembly is study as a ROCK! While I am WAY over the recommended weight limit, I get climb up on and shake HARD back and forth. You'll want to do this too to feel good about it. The bottom/top bed connection is a dowel joint... which made me wary at first. But... it's roughly a 1 dowel, and you send in two screws from each side. If you glue this joint also, it's rock-solid. I can't stress this enough, it's SOLID (with glue). TIME I take requires two people as a challenge. I was able to do this by myself in about 7-8 hours total. The beds took about 3 hours, the stairs took another 3 hours, and the drawers took maybe 2. When you buy this, you're going to get a s load of boxes. PAY ATTENTION to the descriptions. Don't open them all. Open the bed boxes first, then the stairs, and finally the drawers. If you want to take on the solo-challenge, there are two tricky steps, both on the bed assembly. The first -- and probably the hardest -- is putting together the top bed. You're trying to bring together the head and footboard and THREE!! rails each on the sides (the bottom bed, while bigger, only has one rail on each side, so is WAY easier). To do this solo, basically install each rail as LOOSELY as you can from bottom to top. You should be able to get the top rail in while the bottom rail is just barely threaded. The second tricky thing -- which may be obvious -- is setting the top bunk on the bottom. It can be done solo. Put the top bed on your back and drop the top bed on the sides of the bottom bed. Slide the legs of the top to the dowels inserted in the top. Then, CAREFULLY on each side slide the sides into dowels... there is enough play in the dowels plus width on the sides to let you do this. Or... get a friend! I wanted to see if it could be done by an out-of-shape middle-aged man... and the answer is yes. Lastly... like any piece of furniture that has some MDF, it's going to smell a bit. I recommend building it, and letting it air out for at least 2-3 days before sleeping. TLDR; AWESOME!!!!!!!! STURDY!!!!