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The defining feature here isn't the loft itself — it's that the whole bed comes apart again. A handful of boards (the front and back rail boards, the back-top piece, and the guardrail) are deliberately never glued, only screwed, so the frame can be broken back down into narrow-door-friendly pieces and reassembled without cutting into a doorway or a finish. Building this without glue in exactly those spots, while gluing everything else solidly, is the one detail worth tracking carefully as you go — it's easy to reach for the glue bottle out of habit.
The ladder's angled cuts are the other place to slow down: cut the 15°-off-square top angle first, then trim the sharp point off square, and only then measure down the leg for the bottom angle. Doing the bottom cut before the top is set up means measuring from a reference edge that hasn't been established yet.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| Pine, 1x3, 8 ft | 15 each |
| Pine, 1x8, 10 ft | 3 each |
| Pine, 1x8, 4 ft | 1 each |
| Pine, 1x4, 8 ft | 3 each |
| Pine, 2x2, 8 ft | 1 each |
| Pine, 1x2, 8 ft | 11 each |
| Self-tapping wood screws, 1-1/4" | 1 box |
| Self-tapping wood screws, 2" | 1 box |
| Wood glue | 4 oz |
| Sandpaper, assorted grit | 4 sheet |
Overall cost: $$$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| Legs (inner and outer)Pine 1x3 | 8 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 71" |
| Large planks, endsPine 1x8 | 4 | 3/4" × 7 1/4" × 37 1/2" |
| Top planksPine 1x4 | 2 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 37 1/2" |
| Front and back railsPine 1x8Not glued — removable for disassembly. | 3 | 3/4" × 7 1/4" × 80" |
| Top back railPine 1x4Not glued — removable for disassembly. | 1 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 80" |
| Back filler pieces, longPine 1x3 | 2 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 46 1/2" |
| Back filler pieces, shortPine 1x3 | 6 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 2" |
| Front filler pieces, longPine 1x3 | 2 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 56" |
| Front filler pieces, shortPine 1x3 | 2 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 7 1/2" |
| Back, top piecePine 1x2Not glued — removable for disassembly. | 1 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 80" |
| End, top piecesPine 1x3 | 2 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 40 1/2" |
| CleatsPine 1x2 | 2 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 75" |
| Center supportPine 2x2 | 1 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 76 3/4" |
| SlatsPine 1x2 | 14 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 39" |
| GuardrailPine 1x4Not glued — removable. | 1 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 61" |
| Guardrail topPine 1x2Not glued — removable. | 1 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 61" |
| Guardrail uprightsPine 1x4 | 3 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 15" |
| Guardrail filler piecesPine 1x4 | 6 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 2" |
| Ladder sidesPine 1x3Bottom end cut at 15° off square, top at 75° off square. | 2 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 65 3/4" |
| Ladder rung spacersPine 1x3Ends cut parallel at 15° off square. | 10 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 10 3/8" |
| Ladder treadsPine 1x3 | 5 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 12 1/2" |
| Ladder top spacerPine 1x3Cut to match the top sides. | 2 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 10" |
Buy 34 boards at 8 ft.
1 board
5 boards
If your doorway is narrow, plan to assemble the bed in the room, or skip glue in the joints marked as removable so the bed can be disassembled again. Build the ends by screwing (2" screws and glue) the large planks to the inside legs, centered with 7/8" showing on either side.
Instead of fastening the front and back rails permanently, mark their positions on the ends and temporarily fasten with one or two screws each.
Measure and cut the back filler pieces to fit. Glue and clamp in place — the outer leg you add next will secure them with screws. These filler pieces hold the (unglued) back rail board in place.
Remove the temporarily screwed rail boards. Using 2" screws and glue, predrill and countersink as you fasten the outer leg boards to the inner leg boards — do not fasten across the gaps left for the rail boards. Test-fit the rail boards to confirm they still fit in the opening.
Using 2" screws (no glue), fasten the back-top piece flush to the outside of the legs — this board is removed to move the bed through a doorway. Using 2" screws and glue, fasten the end-top pieces to the tops of the ends.
On assembly, fasten the side cleats to the side rails, flush with the bottom edge, using 1-1/4" screws. Fasten the center support to the end planks, flush with the bottom of the plank, using 2" screws and no glue, centered on the plank.
Position the slats with about a 4" gap between them — two 1x2 scraps cut to 4" make a handy spacer. Screw the slats down with 1-1/4" screws. For extra support, screw a few center slats into the rail boards from the outside with 2" screws.
Build the guardrail with 1-1/4" fasteners, attaching from the inside to hide holes. Add the top piece, keeping all outside edges flush.
Attach the guardrail to the bed from the inside with 1-1/4" screws — no glue, so it can be removed later.
Cut the top of each ladder side at 15° off square, then trim the sharp point off square about 2-1/4" down from the tip. Measure down the leg 65-3/4" and cut the 15° angle at the bottom. Use the finished top as a pattern for the top spacer pieces. Assemble the ladder with 1-1/4" screws for the filler pieces and 2" screws for the treads, with glue throughout.
Slide the rail boards back into their notches and use 2" screws through the outside of the legs into the rail boards. Screw the back-top piece into place the same way.
Sand every surface and finish.
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3 boards
14 boards
11 boards
Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →