Bunk beds, no box springs?

[LeslieG]

We've been looking at a new bed for DS with a double bed on the bottom and a twin bunk on top. Does anyone have any experience with having just a mattress, not box springs? I'm particularly concerned about the bottom double, because it maybe wouldn't matter so much for a child, but when relatives visit, they usually get my son's room, and I'd like it to be comfortable. The salesman is telling me it won't matter, but I don't know if I believe him. He says we could opt not to get the drawers that are underneath and lower the rails to put a box springs in if we wanted.

 

[snomofinn]

Yes, we have bunk beds at our vacation home in Michigan in my DDs room. The top is a twin and the bottom is a full size, it's a white metal one. They come with boards that you lay on the bottom of each bed and put the mattress on top. We purchased thick mattresses and it works great. We've had the bunk beds for 9 years so far and no problems. I've slept on the bottom and so has my mom and there's no complaints from either of us.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

You can buy a bunkie board. Just like a box spring only much thinner. We've been using them for years.

 

[drivencrazy]

We had a blue metal set a few years back, it had the metal slats all the way across the bottem and so we just put a matterss on there. It was the most confie bed in the house!! We bought a med. priced matterss and everyone that ever sletp on it really liked it.

My son now has a metal loft bed and even though it has the slats we do have a bunkie board on there... the matterss is just a cheap one and I think you would feel the bars w/out the bunkie board on there.

You could make your own bunkie board by cutting a peice of wood to the size you need and then cover it with something so no body gets splinters!

 

[allyphoe]

We've got 3 beds in our house, and none of them have box springs. (MIL's is on a bunkie-board equivalent over a futon frame, ours is on a plywood-based platform, DD's is on the bottom bunk with a solid base.) They do vary in comfort level, but it's determined by the mattress, not the foundation. DD's mattress is an extra firm by Brand A, and ours is an extra firm by Brand B, and hers is *really* hard, even with a mattress pad over a foam topper. MIL's is too squishy for me. And my bed is just right.

 

[It's A Happy Day]

DS's bed is a twin over full and both have just the mattress and we have never had a problem.

 

[cats mom]

We have 3 twin size beds and don't use box springs with any of them. 2 are captain type pedestal beds with drawers underneath, so the mattress sits right on the wood frame, we use a bunkie board with the other one.
I've slept on all of them at one time or another and agree that comfort level is all about the quality of the mattress.

 

[TinkerValkyrie]

We don't have any box springs in out house. All of our beds use slats. We have a king from IKEA that is a firm foam mattress on slats. I adore it because I hate beds with springs that poke into your hip. We have the upgraded slats that give a bit, but they are still slats. DS 4 has a mini loft bed from IKEA(It's about chest high on an adult) and it's a foam mattress on slats. DS1 has a toddler bed with a foam mattress on slats. He had a crib mattress with springs on the slats, but he HATED it and would sleep on the floor until we got him a foam mattress.


The real comfort of the bed depends on the quality of the mattress, not the box springs.

 

[sunlover13]

We just bought bunk beds on Friday. We bought 2 bunkie boards with them, they were only $35 each. I was told it was a safety thing from the salesperson. Maybe they just wanted to increase the sale though????

 

[allyphoe]

A bunkie board is safer on the top bunk than a box spring is, because the top of the safety rail is higher above the top of the mattress. Using a mattress on slats (without a bunkie board or box spring) may void your mattress warranty. I'd guess that's what the sales guy was thinking of.

If you have the kind of kid who would take the mattress off the top bunk, then fall through the slats, a bunkie board might improve safety in the sense of "one more thing to toss overboard before you can fall through." OTOH, it may just add to the quantity of heavy objects going airborne.

 

[I'mNoPrince]

DDs is a twin over a Futon and all she has ever had was just the futon mattress.

She use to have just the twin up top with no problems as DW use to sleep in the bottom some nights.We have since then removed the top and turned it into a Train Garden.

 

[homedad]

was in hospital for 6 months and when got home then 3 yr old wouldn't let me out of his sight, I sleep in his double bunk for almost a year(no box just wooden slats) it was great

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

My kids both have captains beds one with a bunkie board, one without. They are both very comfy.

 

[KAPTink]

My son has wood bunks, twin over full. The full size bed came with three slats across for mattress support. Needless to say, three wasn't enough. At bedtime, I would fall through the slats while reading bedtime stories! lol My husband went to the hardware store and bought pices of wood the same length/width, and added them. It's super comfy, and I don't fall through. Cost maybe $15.

 

[CEDmom]

My DD7 has a twin bed without a box spring. She has a bunky board (it's basically a plywood board covered with fabric). I've accidently fallen asleep on her bed and it's very comfortable. With a good mattress you won't be able to tell there isn't a box spring.

We chose not do get a box spring because it would have made it very difficult for her to get up on the bed when she much younger.

 

[dbarker]

We have the old fashioned "Half Wheel" bunk beds. We use bunkie boards. The people I got the beds from had box springs and mattresses...it was too much for the bunk beds. The bottom bunk had very little clearance from the bottom of the top bunk, and the top bunk was too tall. I have slept on the beds w/ the bunkie boards and they are confortable.

 

[Not so Dumbo]

my kids have bunk beds with wooden slots instead of boxsprings. They are very comfy, but a couple of the slots have broke due to them jumping on the bed. I thought about putting a sheet of plywood over them to even out the weight, but haven't gotten to it yet.

 

[LIFERBABE]

We use bunkie boards also on the boys bunk beds. MOF, just replaced the top mattress y-day after about 7 years. We bought a new mattress at IKEA for oldest Dh top bunk and kept the same bunkie board.

He's 10 now and wanted a softer bed (all those DVC trips ) this mattress should take him to college.

 

[Dancemom03]

We've always had existing mattress sets when we've bought new beds so I've made bunkie boards by taking the children's old box springs apart. I don't have room to store an extra box spring and for me recycling/modifying one we already have to suit the task beats throwing it out just because we're remodeling again.

Underneath the fabric on the sides there weren't really any springs at all. Instead there were spacer boards which held the top and bottom sections apart.
The top was all fully framed independantly so I just flipped it over and peeled back the fabric on the sides, removing the smaller side boards and the bottom part that gave it the thickness.
Then I stapled the fabric cover back on and viola - a bunkie board that matches their existing mattress set's fabric pattern without costing me a dime.