Much bang for the buck, IF you pay attention to the reviews here
The good: Quite attractive; better looking than the photos suggest. Good price for this type of bed. Takes longer to assemble than the instructions state but still reasonably quick, maybe three hours start to finish. Biggest problem we had with assembly was that the threaded inserts holding the frame bolts are somewhat tricky to line up. As with all particleboard, care is needed to avoid stripping screws. Sturdy _with some added hardware_; see below.
The bad: If youre expecting Sauder quality, look elsewhere. (Why Sauder doesnt make beds of this type, I dont know.) Finish peels or scratches with little effort; be careful of dragging pieces on the floor. Frame is OK (but again, see below,) but the drawers look and feel flimsy. Cam locks holding the front pieces are weak; would much rather have had decorative screws. Several screw and cam holes were a bit misaligned, requiring some manipulation and a few hammer-taps to get right. To Prepacs credit, the drawer bottoms look as though they wont pop out easily; a problem with most flat-pack drawers. And, once properly assembled, all drawers went into the frame flush and smoothly.
The ugly: Know that this bed is not as tall as the photos make it appear. The mattress platform is all of 12 off the floor. Were using a 14 mattress with it so the overall height is good, but someone using a standard mattress might find it low. Would probably be perfect for a kids room. Your mileage may vary; just something to keep in mind when purchasing. Oh, also, if you use nightstands, the two drawers nearest the headboard will be all but unusable. Were using them for seasonal clothing so they need be opened only a couple of times per year.
The Key: By far the most common complaint in these reviews is that the finished bed is not particularly sturdy, and theyre right. I wouldnt want to have to move it frequently, and Im sure that there would be much creaking and many misaligned drawers over time. Fortunately, several reviews here, particularly one posted by Heywood J. (yeah, its what you think ) last year describe a solution, which I implemented during assembly. I very carefully squared up the frame with a carpenters square and measurement on the diagonals, then reinforced each corner with a 4 corner brace fastened with 10 5/8 wood screws (use a center punch or awl to get them started), plus braces at each end of the two internal gables. 8 braces and 32 screws total; about $15 at the hardware store. When installing the slats forming the mattress platform, I folded a small square of non-skid foam rubber shelf liner over the end of each slat as it went into the U-shaped metal channel at each end of the bed. I then took a pair of pliers and bent the lower arm of the U channel up just a little between each slat. They now dont move under any persuasion short of a serious hammer blow. Finally, I drilled four holes in the head gable and bolted it to the bookcase headboard from our old bed.
The result: Our modded bed went from somewhat shaky to quite solid. The drawers fit perfectly, and I have yet to hear a creak out of it. We havent done much, uh, dynamic stress testing on it yet, but the early results are promising. Four stars; five for appearance and ease of assembly, minus two for the engineering shortcomings, plus one because it appears those shortcomings can be overcome at reasonable cost/effort.
Much bang for the buck, IF you pay attention to the reviews here
The good: Quite attractive; better looking than the photos suggest. Good price for this type of bed. Takes longer to assemble than the instructions state but still reasonably quick, maybe three hours start to finish. Biggest problem we had with assembly was that the threaded inserts holding the frame bolts are somewhat tricky to line up. As with all particleboard, care is needed to avoid stripping screws. Sturdy _with some added hardware_; see below. The bad: If youre expecting Sauder quality, look elsewhere. (Why Sauder doesnt make beds of this type, I dont know.) Finish peels or scratches with little effort; be careful of dragging pieces on the floor. Frame is OK (but again, see below,) but the drawers look and feel flimsy. Cam locks holding the front pieces are weak; would much rather have had decorative screws. Several screw and cam holes were a bit misaligned, requiring some manipulation and a few hammer-taps to get right. To Prepacs credit, the drawer bottoms look as though they wont pop out easily; a problem with most flat-pack drawers. And, once properly assembled, all drawers went into the frame flush and smoothly. The ugly: Know that this bed is not as tall as the photos make it appear. The mattress platform is all of 12 off the floor. Were using a 14 mattress with it so the overall height is good, but someone using a standard mattress might find it low. Would probably be perfect for a kids room. Your mileage may vary; just something to keep in mind when purchasing. Oh, also, if you use nightstands, the two drawers nearest the headboard will be all but unusable. Were using them for seasonal clothing so they need be opened only a couple of times per year. The Key: By far the most common complaint in these reviews is that the finished bed is not particularly sturdy, and theyre right. I wouldnt want to have to move it frequently, and Im sure that there would be much creaking and many misaligned drawers over time. Fortunately, several reviews here, particularly one posted by Heywood J. (yeah, its what you think ) last year describe a solution, which I implemented during assembly. I very carefully squared up the frame with a carpenters square and measurement on the diagonals, then reinforced each corner with a 4 corner brace fastened with 10 5/8 wood screws (use a center punch or awl to get them started), plus braces at each end of the two internal gables. 8 braces and 32 screws total; about $15 at the hardware store. When installing the slats forming the mattress platform, I folded a small square of non-skid foam rubber shelf liner over the end of each slat as it went into the U-shaped metal channel at each end of the bed. I then took a pair of pliers and bent the lower arm of the U channel up just a little between each slat. They now dont move under any persuasion short of a serious hammer blow. Finally, I drilled four holes in the head gable and bolted it to the bookcase headboard from our old bed. The result: Our modded bed went from somewhat shaky to quite solid. The drawers fit perfectly, and I have yet to hear a creak out of it. We havent done much, uh, dynamic stress testing on it yet, but the early results are promising. Four stars; five for appearance and ease of assembly, minus two for the engineering shortcomings, plus one because it appears those shortcomings can be overcome at reasonable cost/effort.