Do you offer discounts?
Yes, we offer discounts when purchasing multiple lofts on the same order. For
college
students, we recommend you get together with your roommate and friends and place
one order with multiple lofts and receive a discount.
Buy 3-4 beds and receive
5% discount. Buy 5-10
beds and receive 10% discount. We also provide greater discounts for large quantity (11 or more) bed orders such as for
dorms, fraternity or sorority houses, firehouses, cabins and camps. Give
us a call and we can provide you a fixed price quote. We also provide
lofts for fundraising. If you are looking for a fundraiser for your
organization, give us a call.
Do you have an L-Shaped Loft Bed?
We don't have a specific L-Shaped Loft Bed, however you can place
two lofts in an L-Shape configuration. There will be a center leg between
them in the inside corner. If you don't want the center leg you could use
two Joist Hangers to attached the front and back rails of one loft to the front
rail of the other loft.
How do I get the discount?
If you place the order on our
website, during checkout, enter into the "Custom Specifications" box the
following "I am order x beds and request x% discount". Or, you can give us a call and place
the order over the phone. When calling, mention to Don that you will be
ordering 3 or more lofts and are requesting a quantity discount. For phone
orders call Don at 607-739-2331 or toll free at 866-739-2331
Mon - Fri 9:00 - 4:00 ET.
How do I
verify you are a legitimate business?
We have been in business since 2002
and sell
of beds every year. We sell to parents
for youth and teen lofts,
college students in dorms and apartments,
, book stores and
fraternities across the country. We are a year round business and we
provide a full warranty.
Better Business Bureau A+ Rating Accreditation
We are an Accredited Business with the Better Business Bureau and have the
highest reputation with an
. We have had no customer
complaints in the past 3 years. You can get a
report on us by clicking on the logo on the left or by calling the
BBB at
716-881-5222.
We recommend before you purchase a loft bed from any company that you run a
on them, you
will be surprised at what you will find.
We are also
Verified. Click
for more information.
Do
you sell through other furniture stores?
No. We are the
original (and only) manufacturer of the College Bed Loft™,
with our unique notched leg design. They
may
only be purchased through our
or by calling us at
866-729-2331.
We are not affiliated with or
sell our lofts through ABCHomeStore.com or EliteDecore.com. Click
for more information.
What is PayPal?
PayPal (an eBay company) is the
world's largest online payment network, serving over 100 million members. With
PayPal, you can pay anyone using your credit card or checking account.
With PayPal, your credit card and checking account information is never revealed
to the people you pay, ensuring your
privacy and giving you the peace of mind that comes
with knowing who has access to your financial information.
Easy and Fast: Send
money instantly and securely with your credit card or checking account.
Private and Secure:
Your financial information is not shared when you send
money.
Free: PayPal is completely free.
PayPal Customer
Service 888-221-1161
Can I enter my credit card without creating a PayPal account?
Yes. Signing up for a PayPal
account is optional. At the bottom of the payment screen you can directly
enter your credit card and shipping information without setting up a PayPal
account.
I've used PayPal in the past, but I don't remember the email address and
password?
Once you use PayPal, it
saves the email address and credit card number. For security purposes, the
credit card can not be used with another email account. If you don't
remember the password you can call PayPal Customer Service at
888-221-1161 and they can help you get the
password. College Bed Lofts does not have any access to your credit card
information and we can not get your password reset.
How will I know my order went through properly?
After you place your order, you will receive an
email from PayPal confirming
your order within an hour. You will then
receive an email from College Bed Lofts
confirming your order within 1 business day.
When the loft ships we will email you the Shipment Tracking Number.
Do you take orders over the phone
with a credit card or personal check?
Yes, we accept orders over the phone with the following credit cards or personal
check:
Sample Check
Payments made by check takes four to five days to clear.
Do you
rent lofts?
No. You purchase the loft, it
is yours to keep and customize it any way you want. When students
graduate, many sell their loft, they maintain their value very well.
Do I
need a Box Spring?
No. Each loft comes with a set
of slats.
Where do I enter my custom specifications information?
During
you will get an option to enter a message
to us. Enter the custom specifications into the text box provided.
I am an AOL
user and can't access PayPal, why?
You must use your internet browser to
access our site and PayPal.
I entered the wrong shipping amount, how do I get it corrected?
We review each order and will check
the shipping amount you entered. If you entered an incorrect shipping
amount we will notify you. If you were overcharged we will issue you a credit to your
account. You need to log into PayPal to accept the credit. If you
were undercharged then College Bed Lofts will send you a PayPal money request
for the additional shipping amount. Do not call PayPal as they cannot
change orders already sent to us.
How do I get the Loft Bed Plans?
Within 10 - 15 minutes after placing your order an email will be sent to
the email address you provided. It will contain the instructions on how
to print your plans from our web site. If you don't get the email within
one hour check your bulk and spam mail folders. If you didn't receive the
email please
.
Please Note: An email address
is required in order to receive the instructions on how to print the plans from
our web site. Please double check to make sure you enter your correct
and current email address. If you use multiple email addresses please
remember which one you used. Also, many email systems will block new mail
or place new mail into a BULK or
SPAM mail folders.
Do you offer Metric Plans?
Sorry, no we don't. It is very easy to convert. Click
for a Metric Conversion Table.
How does the $10 Loft Bed Plans
Credit work?
We understand that sometimes people don't have all the right tools, enough space
or just not enough time to build the loft bed themselves.
So, if for any reason after purchasing our
Loft Bed Plans you decide you would like to purchase our complete Loft Bed
instead, the $10 payment may be credited
toward purchasing any of our Loft Beds Kits.
To get the $10 refund credit when ordering our Loft Bed Kit on-line, enter the
following during the checkout process:
"I request a $10 refund for
the Loft Bed Plans I purchased on xx/xx/xx".
If you forget to ask for the $10 credit, just send us an email requesting the
credit and the date you purchased the plans.
If you are making the purchase over the phone
tell
you are requesting the credit.
How much headroom will I get above
and below the loft?
It depends on your ceiling height,
the mattress thickness and how many safety rails you are using. We
customize each loft (at no charge) to your exact requirements. During
order entry you will enter the ceiling height and mattress thickness into the
order form. You
can see exactly what you are going to get by using our
Loft Height Calculator. There, you may
enter your specifications and see the results instantly.
You recommend 30" minimum headroom above, can I go
closer to the ceiling to get more space underneath?
Most colleges recommend a minimum of
30" of space from the top of the mattress to the ceiling. If this is for
home use you can go closer to the ceiling. We recommend you try it out
first to make sure you feel comfortable being that close to the ceiling.
We recommend you lay down face up and place a sheet of cardboard 30" above your
mattress. Then move it down to 29", 28" and so on until you get the right
amount of space based on your needs. We don't recommend going closer than
27" though.
Shipping
How far in advance do I need to order and how
long will it take to arrive?
See our .
Should I have it delivered to
my home or directly to my college or apartment?
We recommend (if possible) having it
shipped to your home early during the summer, and you take it to college with
you. Move in day for most students is a stressful experience for both the
student and family. With the traffic jams, waiting for elevators, hundreds
of students all moving in at the same time, getting everything organized, etc.,
the last thing you want to do is to wait for a FedEx delivery to arrive on time.
It would be very helpful if you can get the loft partially assembled at home before you
arrive on campus. Setting it up at home first will allow you to see how
everything fits together and when you get to school setting it back up will be
quick and easy. While it's home you may want to paint or customize it to
fit your personality. We know this is not always possible, so if you want
it delivered directly to your college, first check with your college's receiving
department to verify whether they will accept packages for you before you arrive
on campus. Please note, many college receiving departments do not work on
Saturdays.
I live
in a college dorm room, will you deliver it directly to my dorm room?
Most colleges have a central
receiving location where they accept all packages and they do not allow
deliveries directly to the individual dorm rooms. For security purposes,
they don't want delivery trucks driving around campus and they will not allow
delivery drivers to enter dorm facilities. Once it is delivered to a
central receiving location, they will contact you to have you pick it up.
Check with your college to see what their package receiving policy is.
I am moving in on a Saturday, do you
deliver on Saturdays?
Yes, we offer
as well as
options for an additional fee. For Date Certain Delivery, the delivery
time is not guaranteed, it can arrive anytime between 8:00 am and 9:00 pm.
For Appointment Delivery, once FedEx has received the packages at the local
terminal, they will call you to set up a specific date and time (2 hour window)
for delivery. Please note, most college deliveries go to a central
receiving dock and trying to have it arrive on a Saturday with hundreds of
students all trying to move in at the same time will be very difficult for the
delivery truck to get in on a set schedule. Also,
many college receiving departments do not work on Saturdays, or if they do work
on Saturday, they may not allow commercial deliveries while students and parents
and trying to move in. If you are moving in on a Saturday we
recommend you have it shipped to you home first and bring it with you to
college. See above question.
I
entered the wrong shipping address, how do I get it corrected?
To protect us from fraudulent
purchases, our credit card processor requires that we receive all address
changes in writing. If the order has already shipped, please see the next
question. If the order hasn't shipped yet, please send us an email from the same email address
that the original order was placed under. If you call it in we will ask
you to immediately follow-up with an email and we will hold your order until we
receive your email. We will reply to your email to confirm we received the
address change.
The loft has shipped and I haven't received it yet, can I change the
destination?
It depends. If it is already on
the local delivery truck, we may not be able to re-route it. If it hasn't
reached the final FedEx terminal, we can notify FedEx to hold it when it arrives
and have it shipped to the new destination. There are additional shipping
and handling charges based on the new destination which will be billed to you
after the shipment arrives. If we need to change an address after the order has shipped,
there is an additional $11 per package FedEx address change fee that will
be billed to you. With a typical order being 4-6 packages, an address change
may cost you $66 or more depending on the number of packages. There may be
additional charges if the address change requires the packages to be sent to a
different FedEx terminal.
I received
the boxes, but they appear to be damaged, should I accept the shipment?
Yes, please accept the shipment.
The boxes are very large and heavy, sometimes they do get torn during shipping,
however in most cases, the wood inside is fine. If there are any damaged
pieces we will get them replaced at no charge to you.
Do I have to be here to sign for
it?
We deliver by FedEx. A
signature for the delivery is at the discretion of the driver. If the FedEx
driver has delivered to your address before it is likely they will leave the
packages without a signature. If the driver feels the area is not safe and secure they will leave a
door tag with information on how to set up a new delivery date. We will
email you the shipping tracking number when the loft ships. You can also
place a note on your door the day of delivery telling the FedEx driver he can
leave the packages without signature.
For customer that have elected to
have their package delivered by appointment, once your package has reached the
local FedEx Home Delivery terminal they will contact you by the phone number on
your order to set up a delivery time. Keep in mind FedEx will request a 2 hour
window to make the delivery in.
I live on the 3rd floor without an elevator, will FedEx bring
it to my apartment?
It depends. Each apartment
complex is different and with different rules for visitors and delivery
personnel. Typically FedEx will deliver it to a location selected by the
apartment manager.
Will FedEx carry my packages inside my house or apartment?
No. Due to security and
liability concerns, FedEx will not enter your house, apartment, cabin or dorm
complex.
What
is the size of the shipped package?
For the basic twin loft, we typically
ship three boxes per loft, the first is 8" high x 12" wide x 84" long and weighs
70 pounds. The second and third boxes are 8" high x 12" wide x 46" long
and weighs 60 pounds each. All three boxes will
easily fit into the back of most station wagons, mini-vans and SUV's.
Other options such as bookshelves and desks are in separate boxes.
FedEx transit times are in Business Days, what is a Business Day?
For Ground (standard delivery)
shipments they work Monday - Friday, packages don't move on Saturday, Sunday or
holidays. For Home Delivery (date certain and appointment delivery)
shipments they work Tuesday - Saturday, packages don't move on Sunday, Monday or
holidays.
Do you
ship to Canada?
We do not ship directly to Canada, however we do ship to locations on the US
side of the border that will hold shipments for local pickup. According to
website, there is no
for Canadian residents
importing bedroom furniture. This may vary by province so you should
contact your local office to determine what is applicable to you.
Typically we ship to a local duty free shop or a shipping/post office box store
such as
.
More information and shipping/pickup locations is available at
and
.
We have shipped to the following locations listed below. If you are aware
of other similar stores in your area please contact us and we will update this
list.
Minnesota:
, 9301 Ryden Rd., Grand
Portage, MN 55605 218-475-2330
Montana:
, 408 Oak St., Sweetgrass, MT
59484 406-335-4040
New York:
, 25 Locust Street,
Champlain, NY 12919 518-208-3028
, 1801 Ford Street,
Ogdensburg, NY 13669 315-393-4770
, 2981 Ford Street Extension
Ogdensburg, NY 13669 315-393-1188
, 1623 Military Rd, Niagara Falls,
NY 14304 716-298-4461
Do
you ship to outside the contiguous US?
Yes we do, but it is very very very
expensive. Due to the high shipping costs (typically three to four time
the cost of the loft itself), it is not cost effective to ship lofts to APO/FPO,
Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico. For example, shipping to Alaska or Hawaii is roughly $1200.
A better option would be to purchase our
and have
someone build it locally for you.
Specifications and Set up
What tools
do I need to set this up?
All wood comes pre-cut and
pre-drilled. You will need a cordless drill/screwdriver with a phillips #2
medium head bit, an adjustable (or 9/16") wrench and a hammer. Set up takes
roughly 1-1/2 hours. Click to view the
.
Do you
offer an angled ladder or steps?
Yes, we offer angled ladders. The angled ladder has flat
steps which makes it easier on the feet when climbing up. The angled
ladder may be installed either at the footboard end or on the front (long) side.
We do not offer stairs. They are not an
easy-to-assemble type project and are too large to be shipped by FedEx fully
assembled. Also they require some sort of handrail to be installed which
needs to be custom for each installation.
Why
is the quality of the bed slats not the same as the rungs?
The bed slats are underneath the
mattress and typically can't been seen. Though there may be some
imperfections, stamps, marks and knots in the wood, it is basically used to
provide the strength to support the mattress. Surface cracks and knots
will not affect the strength of the wood.
Also, the
pilot holes at the ends of the slats are very close to the edge and if it is
split it is ok as the screw is only used to prevent the slat from moving around.
The screw itself doesn't add any support or stability to the loft. Our bed
slat system provides 1000 lbs. of support. Depending on how your existing
spring frame or box spring is set up, you may not need to use all of them.
For each slat removed, it reduces the total weight capacity by 50 lbs.
Click on the pictures below to see a sample.
Do you offer assembly or painting services?
Sorry, we do not offer assembly
or painting services. For assembly, many major cities and college towns have Furniture Assembly companies.
For example, if you do a Google search for "Furniture Assembly (city state)" and
you put in your city and state, you will find local furniture assembly
businesses. For example try: ""
and you will find a good number of
companies. Also try craigslist.com.
Sorry,
we do not offer painting services. We don't have the facilities for
painting, which require extensive EPA regulations in dealing with the fumes and
exhaust. You can usually find a local painter to do it at a reasonable cost.
Does the wood frame have a surface finish?
No, our lofts are made from
unfinished softwood 2x4, 2x6. The shelves, desktop and safety rails are made from MDF (see next question). For staining the loft, we
recommend using
PolyShades all-in-one stain and
polyurethane
finish, it does a real nice job on all
the boards including the MDF pieces. If
you are looking for more environmental friendly products, consider using
from
.
You are free to customize the loft any way you prefer. Click for more information about
your loft.
Why are the
shelves and desktop made from MDF? What is MDF?
Medium Density Fiberboard, or MDF,
is a composite wood product. It is a
, made out of wood waste
fibers glued together with resin, heat, and pressure. MDF is appropriate for
many applications, from cabinetry to furniture, because it is very smooth, uniform,
and won’t warp. This means that paint or
polyurethane
(see previous question) take well, leaving an attractive, finished surface.
MDF does not have a grain and will stain darker than the rest of the bed.
The reason we use it for the shelves and desktop is because it is very smooth
and won't warp over time. All of our
shelves are made from MDF. The reason we don't offer pine shelves is pine
shelves that wide will warp and cup over time. We do offer the desk in
pine and we attach a sturdy frame underneath to keep it from warping.
The MDF
(Material Safety Data Sheet) is available
. Since it is a
, the color will vary based on
the amount of recycled material. Shown below are a sample of the colors
and the second picture below shows the difference between MDF and Pine wood.
Does your MDF comply with the CARB rules on limited Formaldehyde?
Yes, our MDF, manufacturer meets the California Air Resources Board (CARB)
requirements on formaldehyde emissions, click
here to view the certificate.
More information about
is available
.
Can I
leave the loft unfinished?
We do recommend finishing the loft as
unfinished softwood will absorb moisture and surface cracks will appear over
time. Surface cracks do not affect the stability of the loft. Our
experience is most college students don't paint them, most home users do paint
them. If you purchased the desktop, we do recommend at least finishing it
to preserve the writing surface.
Are the beds likely to need sanding to remove rough edges
and splinters?
We try to find smooth wood and
we do a light sanding. The amount of
further sanding that needs to be done is a matter of personal preference and how it is
going to be used and finished. For college students that will be setting it up
and taking it down a few times, they typically don't sand it at all. If it is
going to be used in a home and painted, the amount of sanding is minimal. If it
is going to be stained, then it depends on the preference of the customer.
The bed slats are not sanded.
Do you recommend painting or staining the loft?
How much paint or stain will I need?
The loft looks good either
painted or stained, so we don't have a specific recommendation. You may
want to match the existing furniture in the room. The loft is a very large
piece of furniture, if this is your first time doing a staining project, it may
be a little overwhelming and I would recommend painting it. Painting is
very easy and if you mess it up, it can easily be re-painted.
Paint: 1 quart primer, we recommend applying 2 coats, 1 quart
good quality latex enamel,
we recommend 1 or 2 coats
depending on the color difference between the primer.
Stain: 1 quart pre-stain, 1 quart stain,
1 quart
polyurethane
clear coat finish (or a combination
stain and
polyurethane, see Minwax Polyshades note
below).
If I decide to paint or stain it, should I do so before
or after assembly?
We recommend painting or
staining after assembly. The rungs of the ladders sometimes are a tight
fit and the finish may get marked up during assembly. Also, the wood glue
used in the notched legs adheres better to unfinished wood. It is also much
easier to paint or stain it when it is set up as opposed to all the individual
pieces on the floor. If you paint it, we recommend you apply two primer
coats, and one or two finish coats of a durable enamel paint. For primer
and paint, we recommend using Latex (water) based low VOC paint. A primer we
recommend is
, which can be purchased at most home
improvement stores. For staining the loft, we recommend using
PolyShades all-in-one stain and
polyurethane
finish, it does a real nice job on all
the boards including the MDF pieces. If you plan on staining it, we recommend you
use a
first.
If you are looking for more environmental friendly products, consider using
from
.
The loft
rocks a little when I climb up, how can I correct this?
After completing installation, let the loft sit as the wood glue will take about 2 hours to
dry. Do not use or put any pressure on the ladder rungs or loft while the
glue is drying.
After the wood glue has dried,
the loft should be tight and not rock in any direction more than 1/2". If
it does rock, try the following. Did you use a cordless drill/screwdriver?
Make sure your drive the screws nice and tight, but do not strip the wood. With
the 1-1/2" thick softwood, the screws should be recessed about 1/8" to make a
tight fit. Try un-screwing them very slowly one at a time and re-tighten slowly.
If you use a regular electric drill, make sure it has an adjustable chuck to
adjust the tension on the screws, without an adjustable chuck, a regular drill
will strip the screws into the wood. If you do strip the wood, you can
fill the hole with toothpicks and a little wood glue and give it time to dry,
then reinstall the screws.
If the loft rocks more than
1/2", what direction does it move? When standing at the front rail (the long
side) does it move
front to back or
left to right (head to foot)?
If it moves front to back then the rungs are moving inside
the notched legs. Did you coat the inside of the notches with the wood
glue we provided? Remember,
the wood glue will take about 2 hours to
dry. Do not use or put any pressure on the ladder rungs while the glue is
drying. Once the glue sets, the rungs and legs will become basically
one piece and there should be no movement between them. Try adding a third
screw to the rungs in-between the two existing screws, drive it into the wood
slowly at an alternating up and down angle. If you have a small drill bit,
use it to drill a pilot hole first to prevent the wood from splitting.
If it moves left to right (head to foot) then the screws in the front and
back rails should be checked. You may add additional screws to the front and
back rails, spacing them roughly 3" apart. Also, drive the new screws at
an alternating left and right angle, angled screws provides better support.
The carriage bolt should be tight and the rounded end should be recessed about
1/16" into the wood. The carriage bolt is primarily used to support the
weight and the screws provide the stability. More information is available
by viewing our .
Example of the rail with more screws to further stabilize the left to right movement.
What is the best way to disassemble the loft?
We recommend you remove the front & back rails,
safety rail and bed slats as one unit. Remove the carriage bolts and
screws (as shown above) and slide it off the top of the unit. Since the end ladders are glued, we recommend
you leave the end
ladders intact. This will give you a
package that is roughly 7" high x 45" wide x 75" long for the twin
size.
Can I change the height on my own?
Yes. Using a 3/8" drill bit you can
re-drill holes for the front and back rail at any height you need. You can
fill the old hole with a 3/8" wood dowel rod and sand it smooth. To
get the height you need you can use our to determine the amount
of headroom you will get underneath the bed slats. See
instructions below.
Can you customize the loft to make it a little smaller?
Yes. If you are confined to a tight
space, we can customize it to your exact requirements. There is a
Customization Charge of $20 to make the loft a little narrower or reduce the
length. When measuring your room, measure the distance from wall to wall
from the corner and go out about 4' and take another measurement, use the
smaller measurement. The reason for this is many corners are not perfectly
square and the wall may move in or out a little. Also when measuring take
into account any baseboard or molding that may stick out. Use our
to plan out your room.
with your requirements
or questions.
Why don’t you need diagonal braces in the corners?
We don't need the
large diagonal corner braces due to our 2x6 rails and 2x6 legs gives us a wider
surface area for fastening the legs and rails. When you
combine this with our ladder rungs that are
,
glued and screwed into the legs, it makes our lofts one of the sturdiest on the
market.
For young children, can I
start off with the high rise bed and later on convert it to a tall loft bed?
Yes. We have a
. Click
for more information.
Can your bunk bed be separated into two separate low beds?
Yes and no. Our bunk bed legs (corner posts) are made from
one piece solid wood that supports both levels. This is what makes our beds very
sturdy. The stackable bunk beds sold by most manufacturers just don't have the
stability of solid one piece leg. So yes, you can take our bunk bed and
cut it to make it into two individual beds, but you can't make it back into a
bunk bed.
I already have one
of your bunk beds, can I make it into two separate loft beds?
Yes.
We have a that will allow you to
remove the bottom bunk and use it to make it into a separate loft bed.
Click to order.
I already have one
of your loft beds, can I convert it to a bunk bed?
Yes, we have a
available which will add a bottom bunk to your loft bed.
Click to order.
Do you sell dressers or low under bed storage drawers?
Sorry we don't sell
them. Listed below are a few websites that do sell them and they match our
wood nicely see:
or
.
The loft shown below has a 6" mattress and there is 55" of headroom
underneath the front rail, the student is 5' 9" tall.
From the top of the mattress there is 32" of space to the 8'
ceiling above.
sample of existing dorm bed
