There aren’t many woodworking plans for bunk beds with stairs available on the internet. Most of them are made either for regular beds or bunks with desks underneath.
I’ll be honest though… unless you are experienced in woodworking, I wouldn’t advise you to use a bunk bed plan as your first furniture build.
Making a safe bunk bed is one of the most important things, and if parents are not careful, someone might get hurt from poor design.
If you are looking for a solid bunk bed, check out my articles on the best bunk beds that your kids can enjoy sleeping on.
However, if you are adamant about building your own, we did find one good woodworking plan that is quite solid in terms of attention to detail.
First Woodworking Plan
Check out this one:
There are quite a lot of details in this one, coupled with a solid plan for the stairs. You could call it a ladder, but since I know how awful most of them are, this one is well thought out. No pressure on your legs and no horizontal builds.
If you don’t have any materials or tools, it might cost you over 200 dollars. It depends on what kind of wood you use, and what you already have at your disposal.
Second Woodworking Plan
Here is another one with just measurements:
If you already know how to connect all the wooden parts, just cut up the appropriate sizes and connect them.
I have actually tried building one with my cousin, and although it’s not as easy as it seems, it turned out to be stable for my critical taste.
The one pictured above is a great twin-on-full bunk bed plan. Yes, it’s not a typical bunk bed. But since the lower bunk is wider, it opens up many possibilities. First of all, a bigger person can sleep below, and the stairs are very comfortable to climb. They are not vertical, but diagonal, which is perfect for comfort.
It also looks very modern and all the parts blend in together nicely and tight. Just make sure that you don’t mess up the length and width measurements, otherwise, the mattress will not be hugged properly by the frame.
Should You Actually Build a Bunk Bed Yourself?
Absolutely, as long as the cost doesn’t exceed the regular price for the bunk bed in retail stores. Another reason to go with your own custom bunk bed is customization itself. Sometimes your room design limits your choices, other times you have something awesome in your head for your kids, but can’t find that specific bunk bed online.
If these are the reasons, be sure to have the following:
- Enough strong material for different bunk bed designs
- Skills in woodworking
- All the necessary tools
If we talk about the material, then it plays more importance than one might think. If you would build a cupboard, the material could be made of anything you wish since it doesn’t really move much, and neither does it have to carry much weight.
With bunk beds, however, there is a lot of kinetic movement that requires your bunk bed material to be top-notch. Even some bunk bed manufacturers are foolish enough to use awful wood quality, and in the end, the customers are the ones who suffer. It starts to squeak, break down, and get easily damaged…. too many problems for such an easy fix – buy better material.
Another useful attribute to have is having enough woodworking skills. That comes with time, and although it might seem like an easy job, attention to accuracy and detail has a huge role. If you are new to this, I’d advise you to check out this woodworking subreddit. They have some awesome posts ranging from all kinds of furniture. Oftentimes they even have post-by-post pictures that explain how they made their beds. Read more about the woodworking foundation here.
Other than that, sure you could build your own bunk bed. In terms of price, you do save some money, but with every route, you’ll have to spend a certain amount.
Good luck with woodworking bunk beds with stairs! If you have time, check out this awesome video about building bunk beds and how much effort it takes:
If you liked this article, feel free to like, comment, and share us on social media. It helps us A LOT!