How Do You Build a Loft Bed?

Building a loft bed means constructing four uprights, joining them with horizontal rails at the chosen sleeping height, fitting a slatted platform, then adding a fixed ladder and guard rails. Because a loft bed carries live load at height, the joints and post sizing matter far more than the finish. This guide works through the planning first: ceiling height, the clear height needed for a desk or hanging rail below, and the mattress size the frame is built around. It then covers timber sizing for posts, rails and slats, housed joints versus bracket fixings, wall fixing into masonry or studs, guard rail height relative to mattress depth and ladder angle. It closes with load testing and the safety checks to run before the first night....