Loft Bed with Ladder and Guardrail

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.