Hi guys. Looking for some advice as a paranoid father and pretty inexperienced woodworker on whether the bunk beds I've built will be strong enough, given that my younger daughter is lying underneath the top bunk.
I've put some photos below, but basically the sides of the bed are 1x6 planks, mortised into the 4x4 corner posts, so I'm happy they're not going anywhere. The 2x2 battens that support the (12 2x4) slats though are glued and screwed onto them, so I wanted some more experienced heads to tell me if that's going to be strong enough.
So, the details ... I applied a thin layer of glue to both sides of the joint; clamped it for 24 hours or so; and then also put in 8/9 screws from the outside (i.e. first 1/3 in the 1x6, last 2/3 in the 2x2 batten). Logic is saying that glued joints are often as strong as the wood itself and that the screws themselves might almost be enough to hold them on their own. I also "tested" them by carefully lifting my 150kg fat ass off the ground just using the rails, and they didn't even slightly shift or make a noise.
So, am I worrying needlessly? Difficult to be entirely logical about this when it comes to concerns about the safety of your kids, but I think my lack of experience is the biggest problem here. Would very much welcome your more experienced thoughts!
In-progress picture, showing general construction
In-progress picture, showing the rails more closely
Finished product (to assuage any curiosity)
I've put some photos below, but basically the sides of the bed are 1x6 planks, mortised into the 4x4 corner posts, so I'm happy they're not going anywhere. The 2x2 battens that support the (12 2x4) slats though are glued and screwed onto them, so I wanted some more experienced heads to tell me if that's going to be strong enough.
So, the details ... I applied a thin layer of glue to both sides of the joint; clamped it for 24 hours or so; and then also put in 8/9 screws from the outside (i.e. first 1/3 in the 1x6, last 2/3 in the 2x2 batten). Logic is saying that glued joints are often as strong as the wood itself and that the screws themselves might almost be enough to hold them on their own. I also "tested" them by carefully lifting my 150kg fat ass off the ground just using the rails, and they didn't even slightly shift or make a noise.
So, am I worrying needlessly? Difficult to be entirely logical about this when it comes to concerns about the safety of your kids, but I think my lack of experience is the biggest problem here. Would very much welcome your more experienced thoughts!
In-progress picture, showing general construction
In-progress picture, showing the rails more closely
Finished product (to assuage any curiosity)
