If your kids have bunk beds....which one do you have?

[ChristusG]

We recently moved our girls into a bunk bed. I'd been eyeing the Ikea Kura every time we went into Ikea and I happened to find one in great condition for a really good price on craigslist. They've been sleeping in it for nearly two weeks....and honestly, it freaks me out a little. When DD 8 climbs on the top bunk, the slats seem to bow downwards. I'm afraid that DD5 is going to get crushed or something. Does anyone else have this bed? If so, do you feel it is safe? If not, what bed do you have? And how old are the kids that sleep on it?

[SKL]

I have a fairly expensive one - can't remember offhand the name of the company, but it isn't Ikea. The slats bow slightly, but they don't threaten to break when the kids are both up there hopping around. They don't sleep in the top bunk as yet, but I've slept up there myself, and nothing broke.

 

When my brothers were kids, they had a cheap bunkbed and my parents put a thin mattress-shaped piece of wood under the top mattress, to help spread out the weight across the slats.

[Outdoorsy Type]

I have that bed, I bought it 6 years ago. I *love* it. For a long time my oldest two shared it, but they outgrew it at about 8yrs old. My 5 yo currently uses it as a loft. It's great for one child or two if they are younger.

[Allearia]

We have this one from WalMart:

 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Elise-Bunk-Bed-Mahogany/10575814?findingMethod=rr

 

It is $200, and I believe the only thing I have ever bought at Walmart. I buy a lot of things at ikea but a twin bed I had bought there was very flimsy so I took a chance on this one.

 

It is very sturdy, the slats are about a half inch thick. My 11 yo who weighs 100 pounds sleeps in the top and there has never been a hint of bowing, etc. I was amazed at the quality for the price. A couple or more have gone up there at once and there was no problem.

 

When putting it together, some of the holes were slightly wrong, but I fixed that myself and I am hardly a handy person. I figure for the price it was worth it. Two years later it still looks and feels new.

[Outdoorsy Type]

Oh I should add that we bought a different set off Craigslist when older two started to ougrow the bed. I don't know the brand, but it's a twin bed with a desk on one side bookshelf on the other. The top bunk rests on the desk/bookshelf as support. It provides a lot of storage and frees up space.

[Clarkd]

http://www.google.com/search?q=house+bunk+bed&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#biv=i|1;d|gGregaEBEl7stM:

We have this purple and green one. It is very sturdy. I have been in the top with no issue. It has a bunky board for support. We liked the enclosed top for increased safety.

[Stayseeliz]

We have a solid wooden bunk bed. I wanted something tough.

[PentecostalMom]

We have a solid wood bunk bed set with a staircase instead of a ladder. There are drawers built into the stairs which greatly help with clothing storage space. My two younger dd's share these. We bought them off of craigslist for a steal of a deal. I love them because the staircase (IMO) is safer than a ladder, especially for my little ones.

 

They are very similar to these.

 

ETA: We bought this one from IKEA when we lived in Germany. Got rid of it quickly. Did the same thing your is doing. That was when the older two were early teens. Ds wanted something for when his friends came over. I don't recall his height/weight then, but now he is 20 and weighs about 140. So he wasn't big.

 

We purposefully searched for one with a staircase. We even went to furniture stores, but a $400 bunk bed with a staircase felt very unstable sitting in the store. I waited and hunted on CL and got the one above. My dh (6'2", 275lbs) can climb to the top and lie down to read with both dd's with no issues. Very sturdy and safe.

[beaners]

We have that same bunkbed. We just set it up last week, so I can't say how it will last. My mother nannies for a pair of *active* boys who had these beds for many years without incident. We love it for now. It is replacing a set of Linon bunkbeds that we bought from Aldis. That set broke into pieces, to the point where the entire frame separated on one of the long sides of the bottom.

 

I know some people get "bunky boards" to keep the mattress a little firmer in bunkbeds with those slat frames. It's also best to have some sort of frame and support system under the mattress on the bottom of the Kura beds for air circulation. Ours is a slatted frame nailed to 2x4s. I have a 5 year old on top, 3 year old the bottom. I was surprised that I didn't notice a weight limit on these beds. I haven't climbed onto the top bunk yet for ours, but I have allowed both of my daughters to. Their weight totals 70 lbs.

[Mabeline]

We bought ours from walmart too. It's great. The slats are very thick and screw into the wood edge. It is very sturdy and even I feel safe climbing up there. I remember it costing $200 too.

[Crimson Wife]

We have a Tradewins Mission solid oak bunkbed.

[staceyobu]

We have this one from walmart: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Storkcraft-Long-Horn-Bunk-Bed-Cherry/20440618?findingMethod=rr

 

It seems really sturdy.

[meggie]

We have one that DH made. The Walmart and IKEA ones seemed too junky. DH has a habit of overkill on his construction, but for $150 in wood and tools, he built a super sturdy one that even both of us could get on.

[Cinder]

We have 2 bunk sets. The older one is solid pine that we got at an unfinished furniture place ages ago. The boards are over an inch thick. Dh cut slats out of plywood and screwed them into the frame to give extra support for the top mattress. I can't remember how many came with it originally but there are 5 now.

 

Our other set is metal; it's from a local furniture store. It's a bit shorter than they typical bunk bed. We had an Ikea loft set first but ds wouldn't sleep on it (even though he had insisted that was the one he wanted :glare: ) so we ended up getting this shorter one.

 

ETA: I think our wood set does have a bunky board but dh wanted the extra slats too.

[MFA323]

My two oldest sleep on the Cargo bunk beds that I grew up using. They're fantastic. They seem very solid even after 3 decades of heavy use and several moves. The company isn't in business anymore, but you might try ebay or craigslist. We love our Cargo kids' furniture.

[NotSoObvious]

We have the Norddal

 

We've had it for 7 years! We love it. It's been taken apart and put back together at least 5 times. They can be twin beds, too, which we did for a few years.

[Laura Corin]

My boys have that exact bed - one each. My 16yo is still in it - I've had no concerns. I would just check that it has been properly constructed. They have been using them for four years.

 

Laura

[Forget-Me-Not]

We have two Kura beds. My 9yo son sleeps in one and my 2 girls use the other like a bunk bed. The one my girls use is 7 years old and we don't have any bowing or sagging. Both beds are very solid and sturdy. I wonder if you could get replacement slats from IKEA.

[Kathryn]

They use my thirty year old This End Up bunk beds. Those things will be around after me! They're expensive new, but I see them fairly frequently on Craigslist for pretty cheap.

http://www.thisendup.com/product/48/ClassicSolidEndConvertibleBunkBed.htm

[*Jen*]

I liked the design of the Kura bed but wasn't happy when I saw how much the one at Ikea rocked/creaked when a couple of kids climbed up on top. We ended up using plans from ana white.com to build our own version of the beds. They are rock solid and cost about $20 more than buying them from IKEA. (We used metal pieces to support the wood slats so that increased the price some) I've climbed up on top with my 7 year old and it doesn't even sag.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

We have a solid wood twin over full bunk bed. If your upper bunk is sagging you can get a bunky board to put under the mattress on top of the slats. It should hold it up fine.

[6packofun]

We also have classic This End Up bunk beds, but the ladder end rather than the solid end. We've had them since we had our 2nd child, almost 18 years. They've long been used as 2 twin beds, but were used for several years as a bunk bed, too.

[LittleIzumi]

We've had our Kura bed for years. Now I have a 7-year-old on top and a 5-year-old on the bottom and they treat it like a jungle gym. No problems with it whatsoever.

[tearose]

I have a Kura, too. My kids climb and jump, and the slats don't bow.

[stripe]

My kids have had the Ikea Mydal bunk for 4 years. I assembled it with help from my husband. It wasn't too bad. I have switched the side the ladder is on, but otherwise not disassembled it. I have had no problems with it being wobbly. There are lots of slats and they are attached, not floating.

 

But, if you buy it, check all your hardware before leaving the parking lot. Mine had a bent screw and it was a NIGHTMARE to deal with Ikea about it. The manager was a total turkey, and the customer service rep at the headquarters really didn't care. It took weeks to get a new one. It was mailed from Sweden. Seriously, the pathetic customer service was truly memorable.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

As another poster did...we got our bunk beds years ago from This End Up. The furniture with a wooden crate look. Anyway, this thing is SOLID. It is over 18yrs old. The top bunk has a sturdy rail, you can lean against it and it does not bow, not even a smidge.You can break the bunk down to 2 twin beds if you want. Dd now has the beds (painted pink)and they are still in top shape.

[abacus2]

We have that exact bed with no problems. I would be concerned that your craigslist one is incorrectly constructed.

[SquirrellyMama]

We have one that DH made. The Walmart and IKEA ones seemed too junky. DH has a habit of overkill on his construction, but for $150 in wood and tools, he built a super sturdy one that even both of us could get on.

 

 

This sounds like the one my dh made. My mil said we could put some wheels on it and haul corn :) I think it would be the perfect spot in case of a tornado.

 

Kelly

[tuckabella]

We also have classic This End Up bunk beds, but the ladder end rather than the solid end.

 

We got these off of craigslist for $100. A steal in my opinion! They are solid! DS weighs around 70lbs and DH even gets up there with him to read a story once in a while. We did add a bunke board sort of thing made out of mdf to sit between the mattress and the 2x4 slats. Very solid. Ours came with the side rails fr the top bunk. LOVE this set! Would do t again and even pay more if I had to! BTW these are the same sets that college had!