Classic Bunk Beds

Assemble each end: rails between leg pairs, pocket screws from the inside faces (or countersunk 2" screws from outside). Screws, not nails, at every rail — the source is blunt about why: bunk beds take years of motion and nailed structure works itself apart.

Square each end by diagonals before setting it aside.

Mark the rail positions on two 63" legs, then glue and screw the long rails to the legs with 1-1/4" screws. Now the drill-sergeant moment the source insists on: measure BOTH diagonals, and if they disagree, push the long corners together until they match. Four square sections bolt into a square bed; anything else bolts into a lean.

Cut the 1x3 filler pieces to their ACTUAL openings between rails — don't pre-cut from the list; the fit is the look — and attach with 1-1/4" brads and glue. Trim is the one place nails are welcome here.

Glue and screw the 2x2 slat supports to the inside of the back rails, bottom edges flush, with 2" screws and — capital letters in the source — WOOD GLUE. For heavy kids or enthusiastic ones (all of them), substitute metal slat braces screwed to the rails.

Mark the front legs and the ladder side, then glue and screw the top-bunk rails, short lower rails, and ladder rungs — 1-1/4" screws. The ladder is built INTO the front wall, which is why it never wobbles the way strap-on ladders do.

Trim the front's openings to fit, same as the back.

Finish all four sections flat (fill, sand, paint or stain — flat panels finish in a quarter of the time), carry them to the bedroom, and bolt the corners: four 3" bolts with washers and nuts per leg. Snug them hard; re-snug after the first month of use.

Check the top rail height against your actual mattress — rails should stand 5" or more above the mattress top. Too-thick mattress? Thinner mattress, not shorter rails.

Cut and lay the 1x3 slats per your mattress manufacturer's spacing and screw every slat to the supports with 1-1/4" screws. Loose-laid slats shift; on a top bunk a shifted slat is a trapdoor. Screw them all.

Mattresses on, kids in, negotiations over who gets the top bunk begin immediately and never end.