Loft Beds and Bunk Beds for Youth Teen College Students & Adults

 

FAQ's

Frequently Asked Questions

 


If the bed is going to be tight between two walls, please remember to measure Baseboard-To-Baseboard and not Wall-To-Wall.



General Questions

They are the exact same bed except for the number of Safety Rails. The College Loft Bed comes with one Safety Rail for the front (long side) and an optional one on the Back. The Youth Loft Bed comes with Multiple Safety Rails (based on the thickness of the mattress) on all four sides and meets the Consumer Products Safety Commission Bunk Bed Guidelines. Mattress not included.

Youth Loft Bed with (2) Safety Rails on all four sides with the Vertical End Ladder.



College Loft Bed with (1) Safety Rail on the Front only with the Vertical End Ladder. An optional Safety Rail on the Back and a Pillow Stop for the head end are also available.

No. All product information is available on our website.

Yes. Our loft beds were specifically designed to be used with your existing dorm room bed frame. Most college dorm beds can be disassembled and the spring frame and mattress used on our loft. You remove the headboard and footboard from the existing dorm bed and place the frame and mattress on top of our bed slats. You can store the headboard and footboard behind the loft against the wall and out of the way.

Dorm room bed frames are all different, some have removable ends and some have non-removable short legs. Our loft beds are very flexible with moving around the bed slats to allow you to place your frame on top of the bed slats. If you are unsure about your specific dorm room bed frame then you should order the complete Mattress Foundation Bed Slats and just place the mattress on top of them.

Yes we can fit anything under the bed. Please contact us with your specifications we'll design it to make sure everything fits.

Both beds are very similar as they both provide a loft bed with a desk and multiple shelving. The biggest difference is weight capacity, specifications, sizes and warranty.

Weight Capacity: Our bed is designed for youth and adults and has a weight capacity of 1,000 lbs., the whole family can get into our bed for bedtime stories. Our beds are super sturdy and meets the Consumer Products Safety Commission Bunk Bed Guidelines. With our greater weight capacity and heavy duty construction our lofts will last your child from grade school through college and into their first apartment. The PB Teen bed was designed for young children and has a total weight capacity of 200 lbs. which includes the weight of the mattress plus the person. If you are the type of parent that likes to read to their child in bed, you are going to want the increased weight capacity our beds provide.

Specifications: We custom build each bed to your exact specifications so you can use any mattress thickness, any ceiling height and any space above and underneath. We also have taller leg options if you have ceilings greater than 8' you can get more space underneath. The PB Teen bed was designed for an 8' ceiling and the maximum mattress thickness allowed is 7". If your mattress is thicker than 7" then the safety rails will not be at the proper height above the top of the mattress and does not follow the Consumer Products Safety Commission Guidelines. With a very thin mattresses it may become uncomfortable as your child grows.

Sizes Available: Our beds are available in Twin, Full, Queen, King and custom sizes. We can make it any width and length you need. The PB Teen bed comes in full size only.

Warranty: Our beds come with a lifetime warranty and are Made in USA. The PB Teen bed doesn't mention a warranty and their beds are made in China.

Unfinished: Our beds are Ready-To-Assemble, unfinished, have been hand sanded and are ready for paint or stain by the custonmer and may be finished to match any decor. The PB-Teen bed comes finished.

We build and ship everything from our single location in Upstate NY. We don't have any other retail locations and only sell though this website or phone orders.

Please note that if you see our beds on another website it is either a used bed or a scam. We do not sell through: National Home Store, National Furnishing, ABC Home Store, Elite Decor, I-Dollar Store or U-Save More. Those websites are all operated by the same company and have illegally copied our pictures and text from our website and are selling a cheap imitation of our beds and have many complaints against them. We are not affiliated with them.

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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

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.
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 unless you change it through PayPal first. If you don't remember the email or password you can call PayPal Customer Service at 888-221-1161 and they can help you get it resolved. College Bed Lofts does not have any access to your credit card information and we can not get your password reset. If you have problems using your credit card please give us a call and we can take your order over the phone.
In most cases you have used PayPal in the past using a different email address. 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 unless you change it through PayPal first. If you don't remember the email or password you can call PayPal Customer Service at 888-221-1161 and they can help you get it resolved. College Bed Lofts does not have any access to your credit card information and we can not get your password reset. If you have problems using your credit card please give us a call and we can take your order over the phone.
Yes. After checkout you will get an option for Credit.
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 FedEx Tracking Number.
Yes, we accept orders over the phone with all major credit cards or personal checks. Payments made by check takes four to five days to clear.
No. You purchase the loft, it is yours to keep and customize it to meet your needs. The purchase price of our bed is typically close to the cost of a yearly rental from most rental companies. Students after graduation often continue to use them in their first apartment until they can afford to get into a larger place. At the end of your usage you can easily sell your bed on Craig's List, they typically sell fast.
On the last page just before check-out you can change the shipping address. After placing the order you will get a webpage where you can enter additional custom specifications. We will also sennd you a few emails that you can reply to with your custom specifications.
It depends on your ceiling height and mattress thickness you are using. We customize each loft 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.
Yes. If you are confined to a tight space, we can customize it to your exact requirements. There is a small customization charge 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 Room Planner & Design Guide to plan out your room. Contact Us with your requirements or questions.
We don't need the large diagonal corner braces due to our larger 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 notched, glued and screwed into the legs, it makes our lofts one of the sturdiest on the market with 1,000 lbs. of weight capacity.

Sorry, we don't make stackable bunk beds. 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 a solid one piece leg. The stackable beds sold by most manufacturers are designed for very young children and have a minimal weight capacity. Our beds are designed for youth, teen, college and adults with 1,000 lbs. of weight capacity per level.

One thing you can do with our bunk beds is to remove the bottom bunk and turn it into a loft bed.

Yes and yes. We have a Loft Conversion Kit that will allow you to remove the bottom bunk and use it to make it into a separate loft bed and we have a Bunk Bed Kit available which will add a bottom bunk to your loft bed. Order them from our Accessories page.

Sorry we don’t build them. They are difficult for customers to assemble as they typically need to be glued with large clamps to keep everything square and in line. Dressers are typically shipped completely assembled on a pallet, which is very expensive to ship.

We have worked with customers who purchased unfinished or finished dressers locally and we designed the bed around their unit. Below is an example of a dresser under a mid-height loft bed. We also built them a bookcase at the end of the bed. The customer did an excellent job finishing the bed to match their existing dresser.

Customer's Comments: "Just wanted to send you a picture of the finished product! The kids love it! It turned out amazing. I added some cork board strips and a dry erase boards and attached those to the bed so the kids stop taping stuff to the walls. We also painted the bed to match the dresser." Thank you! Jenn


low loft bed with desk

No, we don’t build beds with built-in drawers. They are a little difficult for customers to assemble since they need to be very precise and the sliders can easily get out of alignment. With adults using the beds the shifting weight can cause drawers to stick.

We do have Floor Storage Drawers that are separate from the bed and are stored underneath the bed and slide on the floor. They either have a felt slider for hard floors or a hard slider for carpeted floors. An example is shown below. The drawers may be ordered on our Accessories page.


low loft bed with desk

More Info

Steps & Shelves

No. Our stairs have cubbies underneath for storage with access from both sides, but not pull-out drawers. Our stairs are designed with a large riser to handle the weight of an adult.

The units sold by our competitors with drawers are designed for very young children with minimal weight capacity. Their units without any riser support may bend or break when an adult steps on it.



Mattress Questions

You can use any type innerspring or foam mattress on our beds. Google "mattress in a box" and you will find a good number of foam mattresses manufacturers. Customers have mentioned good results with Zinus, Nectar, Casper and Purple mattresses. You can also see recommendations at the Sleep Foundation website. This will open in a separate window.

If you are using your bed in an Airbnb, vacation rental or short term rental place you might want to consider the weight of the mattress. Foam mattresses are typically lighter than innerspring mattresses and are much easier for your cleaner to flip the mattress when cleaning.

If you are using your bed in a cabin or home that might have mice, consider using a foam mattress. Mice will eat and nest in traditional innerspring cloth cotton mattresses, but not in foam mattresses.

If you are going to use a foam mattress, please see the next FAQ - Do I need to use a Box Spring or Bunkie Board?

A good article comparing Foam vs. Spring Mattress is available at the Sleep Foundation website. This will open in a separate window.

Custom Loft Bed

No, you do not need a Box Spring.

All beds include Bed Slats (with a 3” gap between them) to support the mattress. We also have a Solid Platform Bunkie Board available that attaches to the top of the bed slats.

If you are using a traditional innerspring mattress you may place your mattress directly on top of the bed slats without a Box Spring, Solid Platform or Bunkie Board.

The Solid Platform Bunkie Board may be needed if you are using a foam mattress, thin mattress, older uncomfortable mattress, futon mattress, air mattress, a mattress that requires a solid base or you just want a solid platform underneath the mattress to get a firmer mattress feel. This may also be used if you don't want to see the bottom of the upper mattress when sitting or sleeping underneath or if you want a solid separator between the top and bottom mattresses.

It is also much easier making the bed with the Solid Platform as the bed sheets will not fall in-between the bed slats.

Check with your mattress manufacturer to see if they require you to have a box spring, bunkie board or a totally flat Solid Platform surface to keep the mattress warranty active.

The Solid Platforms are multiple pieces of 1/8" MDF Sheets that covers the entire mattress area.

Yes our MDF meets the California Air Resources Board (CARB) requirements on formaldehyde emissions, click here to view the certificate.

Which parts of the bed use MDF? Is most of the bed made with solid wood?
The entire bed frame and all accessories are made from solid wood (Spruce). There are no chemicals injected into the wood and there is no finish. The only MDF is the optional 1/8" MDF Solid Platform Bunkie Board that goes on top of the bed slats. If you are using a standard innerspring mattress you do not need the Solid Platform. More information is on our Accessories page.

Is the glue used water based/low voc?

Yes. We use Titebond II wood glue water based and low VOC.

From Lowes The Mattress Solid Platform is very smooth and if you have the Low Platform Bed without corner posts to hold the mattress in, the mattress may slide around. One suggestion is to use a shelf liner that has a grip on both sides. Lowes has an EasyLiner that works nicely.
We make Loft Beds for Twin, Twin-XL, Full, Queen and King size mattresses. We also make custom sizes to make the loft bed narrower or wider or shorter or longer as needed. Contact us if you need a custom size. Mattress not included.
Yes. Tempurpedic mattresses require a solid platform and we offer this on our order form.


Assembly Questions

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 2 hours for the basic loft bed.
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 1,000 lbs. of Weight Capacity.

You can slowly remove the screws and remove the rung from the notch. Then recoat the notch with glue and reapply the rung.

Slowly drive the screw half-way into the leg, then unscrew it so it is just comes out of the leg, then drive it all the way back in. The screw should recess about 1/8” into the rung to make a nice tight fit.

If you are having a hard time driving screws into the wood you may want to add soap to the screws. Soap acts as a lubricant and makes driving them into the wood easier. If you hit a knot, screw or a carriage bolt you can drive the screw at a slight angle to miss it.

If you strip a screw into the wood, a trick to make the hole smaller is to fill the hole with wood glue and hammer in a few toothpicks into the hole. Once the glue dries cut off the excess toothpicks and you can re-insert the screw into the hole.

Also 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.

No. For assembly, many major cities 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: "Furniture Assembly New York City" and you will find a good number of companies. Also try craigslist.com.

We do not have any recommendations for local furniture assemblers.



Painting & Staining Questions

We recommend finishing (painting or staining) the bed after assembly.

For the ladders at each end of the bed, vertical front ladder and the Long, L-Shaped and U-Shaped desks, we recommend you assemble them first before finishing them. The rungs of the ladders sometimes are a tight fit and the finish may get marked up during assembly. Also, wood glue adheres better to unfinished wood.

For the rest of the bed, you can either do it before or after assembly. If you paint the individual pieces first you need to do one side, then lay it down somewhere to dry (where it will not mark up the piece) and then do the other side. It is much easier to paint it when it is set up and off the floor.

When finishing the bed make sure you open all windows and run fans to exhaust the fumes from the room.

If you finish the individual pieces before assembly, if there are any labels / instructions attached to the piece, you must make sure you re-attach the label / instructions to the same piece in the same up / down orientation.

Sorry, we do not offer painting services. Our beds are unassembled, unfinished, hand sanded and ready for painting or staining or may be left unfinished. We don't have the facilities for painting which require extensive EPA equipment in dealing with fumes and exhaust. You can usually find a local painter to do it at a reasonable cost and they may also offer assembly services. Many customers leave them natural and unfinished.

Yes. The beds are hand sanded and ready to be painted or stained or may be left unfinished. Unfinished wood will dry out and tiny surface cracks may appear over time, however that will not affect the stability of the bed.

If you purchased the desk, we do recommend painting or clear coating it to preserve the writing surface and to prevent surface cracks. The desktop is made from softwood and a fine tip pen could slightly dent the surface. Protecting it with paint or a clear coat will give you a harder writing surface.

Yes. We do recommend painting or clear coating the desk to preserve the writing surface and to prevent surface cracks. The desktop is made from softwood and a fine tip pen could slightly dent the surface. Protecting it with paint or a clear coat will give you a harder writing surface.

The wood has been hand sanded and is ready for finishing. 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 finish it. If it is going to be used in a home and painted, the amount of sanding is minimal, typically going over the wood filler used to cover the screw holes. The bed slats are not sanded.

 

CollegeBedLofts Stained Loft Bed

Click on the image to see a short video on how to stain wood. This will open in a new window.

A satin sheen works best. We recommend you visit a good paint store and use their recommendations for finishing the bed. Below are some of the major brands that are available at most home improvement stores.

 

CollegeBedLofts Stained Loft Bed

For primer and paint we recommend using Latex (water based) low VOC paint. If you paint it, we recommend you apply a primer coat and one or two finish coats of a durable latex enamel paint. A primer we recommend is KILZ.

If you paint it with a light color, sometimes knots may bleed through to the surface. After priming, if you see a knot bleeding through we recommend using Minwax Polycrylic (see information below) to cover the knots to prevent the bleed through. Apply a very thin coat with a soft brush or foam brush. You may then paint over it.

 

CollegeBedLofts Stained Loft Bed

If staining the bed we recommend using a pre-stain first. From the Minwax page: Minwax® Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner prepares bare wood for staining. It penetrates the grain of the wood to promote uniform acceptance of stains. Treating the surface with Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner helps prevent streaks and blotches by evening out the absorption of stains. It can be applied over any wood but is especially necessary when working with soft or porous woods like Pine and Spruce.

 

CollegeBedLofts Stained Loft Bed

For staining the bed, we recommend using Minwax Water-Based Stain, it does a real nice job on all the pieces.

 

CollegeBedLofts Stained Loft Bed

After staining you need to clear coat the bed. We recommend using Minwax Polycrylic. From their website: Minwax Polycrylic Protective Finish is a crystal clear, ultra fast-drying protective topcoat. Protects and adds beauty to interior wood surfaces including woodwork, furniture, doors and cabinets. Crystal clear finish is ideal for use over light woods like pine and spruce as well as over Minwax Water Based Wood Stains. Dries quickly. Cleans up easily with warm water.

 

CollegeBedLofts Stained Loft Bed

Click on the image to see a short video on how to stain wood. This will open in a new window.

Stained Loft Bed

The bed looks good either painted or stained. We recommend using Latex (water based) Low VOC paint or stain.

The bed 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 takes about three to four hours to complete and paint dries fast. Painting is much easier and can easily be re-painted.

Staining is a two to three day project as it is a slow drying process and produces a lot of fumes. If you stain it and you want it to be very smooth you will need to sand between applying clear coats.

Paint: 1 quart primer, 2 quarts latex enamel. Roll it on using a 4" wide High Density Foam Roller and a brush.

Stain: 1 quart Pre-Stain, 1 quart of Stain. 1 quart Clear-Coat. Apply with a good quality natural bristle brush.

 

CollegeBedLofts Stained Loft Bed

Click on the image to see a short video on how to stain wood. This will open in a new window.

Stained Loft Bed

You don't need to but you do get a nicer and smoother finish if you fill them in with wood filler.

We recommend using Elmer's 2-oz Probond Wood Filler-Stainable (Lowes Item #188961 Model #P9030 around $3.00).

After drying for a few hours you can then sand the wood filler smooth with 80 grit sandpaper.

We recommend using a Low VOC paint, it has less fumes and dries faster.

Perform a Google search for "How to Get Rid of Paint Odors Quickly".

Over the years we have received a few suggestions from our customers on how to remove the sticker residue from the wood. Use a warm wash cloth and rub it off. Place gel hand sanitizer on it for a few minutes and scrape it off with a credit card, putty knife or razor blade. Use Goo Gone (this will open in a new window). Nail polish remover on a cotton ball. Slightly sand it off.

To prevent the paint from rubbing off on your mattress you should not paint the surface that is touching the mattress.


Desks: We do recommend painting or clear coating the desk to preserve the writing surface and to prevent surface cracks. The desktop is made from softwood and a fine tip pen could slightly dent the surface. Protecting it with paint or a clear coat will give you a harder writing surface.

 

CollegeBedLofts Stained Loft Bed

Click on the image to see a short video on how to stain wood. This will open in a new window.

 

Examples of Customer's Unfinished, Painted & Stained Beds

All our beds come unfinished, they have been hand sanded and ready for painting or staining or may be left unfinished. The finished beds shown below were finished by the customer.


Vacation home bunk bed FAQ:1 - Unfinished Bed

This shows an example of an unfinished bed after two years of use.

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Vacation home bunk bed FAQ:2 - Whitewash Finish

What is a Whitewash finish? Whitewash is a semi-opaque finish applied to bare wood with the goal of allowing the wood grain to show through. This is a very popular finish and easy to apply.

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Desk & Bookcase

FAQ:3 - Custom Loft Bed with a Desk and Bookcase

From the customer: Hello College Bed Lofts. We love the bed, it's perfect! I had promised you pictures of the bed once done, and I am happy to share them with you now! The stain color is a "dusty rose" (pink) from Sherwin Williams catalog of colored stains. My daughter's pick. It is finished with lacquer.

PS: The bed is probably my daughter's favorite thing in the house. It is also a hit with all her friends when they come to visit. Thanks!

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Desk & Bookcase

FAQ:4 - Stained Bed

From the customer: We used Varathane Golden Oak stain over a pre-stain coat with a satin polyurethane finish coat. Everything went together easily with the thorough instructions.

More Info

 

Painted Loft Bed

FAQ:5 - This bed was primed with Kilz Primer and finished with a white enamel paint.

What is paint? Paint is applied and dried as a solid coating that does not allow the wood grain to show through.

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low loft bed with desk

FAQ:6 - This bed was primed with Kilz Primer and finished with a red enamel paint.

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low loft bed with desk

FAQ:7 - This customer ordered multiple Twin over Full bunk beds with a trundle and trundle panel for a Short Term Rental unit on the Gulf Coast. He did a fantastic job finishing the bed, it looks great.

Comments from the customer: “First off I’m not a handy man by any stretch. I can follow directions like any dad that has to assemble toys on Christmas, but beyond that I’m not particularly skilled at wood working. I want to be clear what level I’m on.

Ordering was easy, follow-up was great, lead time was perfect and everything worked out. You guys have taken a highly customizable product and made one size fits all directions. I’m impressed with that and I think you pulled it off nicely. Even the boxes came in handy during the painting phase to cover the floor. We did one coat primer, 2 coats white, followed by a hand wipe off glaze. The ladder rungs and safety rails were stained and lacquered separately a different shade. With the help of my wife at times, we were able to easily assemble the beds. Your beds are absolutely sturdy. They don’t even creak when climbing up onto the top bunk. Absolutely solid. We couldn’t be more pleased with the results and I’m sure they will last quite a while in our short term rental. Looking forward to needing another. Thanks for making a solid product. Regards, Patrick."

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Multi-Colored Beds

Kids love bright colors. Our beds are easy to paint and may be re-painted as needed as they get older.


Twin over Full Bunk Bed

FAQ:8

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What does a Pre-Stain do?

It is a matter of personal taste as to whether you should use a Pre-Stain or not. The pictures below shows an example of a bed with and without a pre-stain.


Twin over Full Bunk Bed

FAQ:10 A Pre-Stain evens out the grain eliminating the highs and lows. This picture shows a bed using a Pre-Stain. The color is uniform and there are no extreme high or lows.

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Twin over Full Bunk Bed

FAQ:11 This picture shows a bed that didn't use a Pre-Stain and it shows multiple grain highs and lows and the ends of the boards soak in more stain and are much darker.

More Info

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