This was one of the first projects I've ever built, so I would put it at a beginner level. It's a great, sturdy bed, very simple. The drawers are huge, which is surprising, since you don't realize how much space you gain when you add the drawers until you see how much they store. Thought I'd fill in details that worked for me that I had to figure out. As the plan says, the drawers are on caster wheels and slide directly on the floor, so make sure you have an area rug down if it's going to be on bare wood (especially pine, like this one is on). As another reviewer said, use 2" caster wheels, 12 total. This gives it the right height on a wood floor. You can get those in bulk at a home improvement store. I would recommend a slat system and not just a piece of plywood for under the mattress, as I was warned bacteria and mold can grow when the mattress is not given a way to vent. You can see in the picture, I had a bunch of 2x4 scraps and simply made a slat system out of that. I pocket holed the slats into the front of the bed, so no screws would be showing. I only finished the sides that would ever show, so the entire back of the drawers and bed itself are unfinished. I like the look of the drawers without handles, and they are just as easy to pull out without them. The drawers can get off track easily when being pulled in and out, so be careful when you use them. Otherwise, no problems with the drawers. I used wood glue and cheap drywall screws to attach the drawer bottoms (plywood) to the drawers. If you want to put anything of any serious weight in these drawers, really consider supporting the middle of the drawers on the bottom with some 1x2s or 1x3s, as it is a bit weak in the middle of the drawers. One more thing: I noticed standard dimensions vary slightly between finishing wood (1x12s, 1x2s, etc) and structural wood (2x4 studs), so keep that into account. Things were not flush because the finish wood was scaled larger than the structural wood. This bed is all about the storage underneath, which is great.
Comments
Juanita_r
Thu, 11/22/2012 - 13:05
how cool are you... i want to be a kid again!
This is an awesome build. love the colours too, could you share them with us, including the roof colour. Thanku
Dawnybb
Thu, 11/22/2012 - 15:34
Paint colors :)
Thanks! Glad you like it!
The paint was from Dunn Edwards: Roof was "Louisiana Mud", playhouse walls were "Drifting" and then the white was a snow white from Lowe's.
The slide and accessories were also from Lowe's.
m7hennen
Tue, 04/15/2014 - 09:35
Love this!
I LOVE this! This is exactly what I'd like to build. Do you have plans you can share with us? I think I'd also like to add a couple of swings on one of the sides too. Thanks so much!
In reply to Love this! by m7hennen
Dawnybb
Sun, 04/27/2014 - 08:39
Plans for Playhouse
I know I messed with the dimensions a bit but I don't remember exactly. I made the playhouse larger (deeper and taller than original plans) . I also cut the roof line on the deck side for more room. I put aluminum over the wood on the roof and then painted. The Ball Wall was made out of plastic gutter pieces that I painted and we used practice rubber golf balls to throw into them. I hope that helps! We sold that house, so I can't go out and measure it :)
In reply to Plans for Playhouse by Dawnybb
eegad1973
Thu, 05/28/2020 - 15:32
Advice on sturdiness
You may not get this as this is an old post. Did you dig post holes? I have older kids and I am thinking about building a plan like this but at a 6ft height. Wondered how much it moves around when there are a bunch of kids on there. The house I will build is also 6 ft heigh.