We bought the bed based on Ziegler's modification recommendations. We bought the hardware needed ahead of time, while it was being shipped. The guy at the hardware store who was helping me find all the pieces said something on the order of If I had to do all these things, I would just buy a different bed. But it cost less than $15 for the parts and didn't take a whole lot extra time to do, and now the bed is super solid.
You don't need felt tape, just thick strips. The bed boards are the hardest part to get in.... You get half the boards in and then you bump into the frame and they all fall out, that sort of thing. It took (2) of us 3 hours or so to put everything, including mods, together. The instructions can be confusing, but once you get the hang of it, it's not a big deal. Make sure you keep all the little pieces together! And be careful if you're going to try to get slats to go under the drawers - I had them cut at the store and they are just enough too small to not work.
Also the drawers are not as big as I expected, so look carefully at the picture to see where the bottom of the drawers are. But they provide a decent amount of extra storage space for sweaters, bed sheets, and things. The bed gets 4 stars because it's an okay bed (3 stars) but becomes a great bed with mods (4 stars).
Great bed with some effort
We bought the bed based on Ziegler's modification recommendations. We bought the hardware needed ahead of time, while it was being shipped. The guy at the hardware store who was helping me find all the pieces said something on the order of If I had to do all these things, I would just buy a different bed. But it cost less than $15 for the parts and didn't take a whole lot extra time to do, and now the bed is super solid. You don't need felt tape, just thick strips. The bed boards are the hardest part to get in.... You get half the boards in and then you bump into the frame and they all fall out, that sort of thing. It took (2) of us 3 hours or so to put everything, including mods, together. The instructions can be confusing, but once you get the hang of it, it's not a big deal. Make sure you keep all the little pieces together! And be careful if you're going to try to get slats to go under the drawers - I had them cut at the store and they are just enough too small to not work. Also the drawers are not as big as I expected, so look carefully at the picture to see where the bottom of the drawers are. But they provide a decent amount of extra storage space for sweaters, bed sheets, and things. The bed gets 4 stars because it's an okay bed (3 stars) but becomes a great bed with mods (4 stars).