Need some bunk bed feedback

[Therese's Mommy]

We are looking to buy a bunk bed for our older girls. My mom likes this one from Walmart, but some of the reviews say it is wobbly and I am just so leery of Walmart stuff. I was just looking around on Ikea and saw this one that is the same price. Just looking at the two of them the Ikea one looks a little safer; the rail seems taller on the top bunk and she wouldn't have to step over the rail to get into the top bunk.

Does anyone have either of these? Any pros/cons? Anyone have a twin over full bunk bed that isn't one of these but is ~$200?? Thanks!!

Beth

[zebra15]

My son had one similiar to this
http://www.simplybunkbeds.com/twin-o...ullbunkbed.cfm

I dont remember exactly how much I paid but it was way more than $200 but the thing was solid and sturdy. No way would I get either the IKEA or Walmart beds. For bunks IMO they need to be solid and strudy. DS was solid wood.

[UberMama]

What about a used wooden set? We bought a used bunk bed from Craigslist for $300 (it included mattresses, otherwise I would NOT have paid $300). But I saw a few every so often on there for around $200.

I personally do not like the metal ones. My kids aren't ROUGH on furniture, but they aren't always super gentle either. I was afraid the metal ones wouldn't stand up to their use enough vs. the wood.

I do know you can find some nice used metal ones similar to the links you posted on Craigslist (at least in my area) for $100ish (without mattresses).

Our set also detaches to make two twin beds, which I like. We were/are lacking on room, so we went with a twin/twin set. I think the beds will last our boys until they are 13/14 and we'll probably upgrade them then to queen beds (that's around the age I went into a queen, as I am tall and my feet hung off of the twin I was in!).

[Llyra]

We have a metal one one very similar to the Ikea one you linked to. I've seen that one in person, at the Ikea in Philadelphia, so I know it's almost identical to what we have. I got ours secondhand via an ad in the newspaper, and I don't know for sure where it was purchased. But it's solid and sturdy and I'm satisfied that it's safe.

[HappyMommy2]

I would buy used over Walmart, for sure!

[mylilmonkeys]

Are you and your husband at all handy? We built our girls a bunk bed using these plans online: http://www.diylife.com/2008/01/14/bu...andard-lumber/
There were a few things that weren't explained as throughly as we would have liked, but it went alright. The bed is soooo sturdy, they are not going anywhere! Lumber and hardware came to around $100, I believe. Instead of doing the plywood under the mattresses, we chose to use 6 or 8 1x2 slats, which saved some $$.

Here is another set of plans that might be a bit more complete. They cost $10 or so.
http://www.bunkbedsunlimited.com/Twi...-Bed-Plans.htm

[Thyme Mama]

i thought www.bunkbedking.com had good prices and quality. no pressboard or plywood.

[3 little birds]

We have two Kura bunk beds from ikea and one Mydal set. All three are incredibly sturdy (3 rowdy boys and 2 tomboy girls). We have had other (more expensive) bunkbeds in the past from regular furniture stores that did not hold up so well.
The Ikea beds also require that the slats are rigid, not moving around and possibly falling on the person underneath. We also like that they aren't as high as some, in case someone were to fall off while playing. My friend has a Kura that has been flipped over (it can be used as a single or bunk bed) on a very regular basis and she can't believe how well it has held up.
I wouldn't buy some things from Ikea, but these particular beds have been great for us.

[ChetMC]

Issues

The issues with bunk beds that I know off are mostly kids being silly and falling. The accidents have nothing to do with construction or stability, and everything to do with using the bunk beds like a piece of gym equipment, wrestling on the top bunk, hanging over the side, etc.

The second issue that I know of is when bunk beds are used by children that are too small, or when the safety rail has a gap that's too large. Kids slide under the safety rail and get stuck.

Watching kids get in and out of bunk beds, and from my own recollection of years ago, the style where you don't have to climb over the safety rail looks like it should be easier but it's doesn't really matter.

In our experience, the display models at Walmart are usually wobbly because they are put together wrong. DH often criticizes the assembly of the display cribs. Of only a couple of reviewers complained about the product being wobbly it's very likely that the people were just not that adept at putting them together, or retightening when things naturally loosened over time.

I would be inclined to go with the IKEA set mainly because IKEA tends to produce stuff for a long time. You can get replacement parts if you need them. Their stuff tends to hold it's value well in terms of resale. The stuff that's been in their catalog for years and years has lasted so long because it works well for people and is good value for the money. The stuff that's not so good gets redesigned or disappears.

[beanma]

We have that IKEA bunk bed and love it. We have the exact model you linked to with the double on the bottom and the single on the top. Our top bunk mostly gets used for playing and our girls (almost 7 and 9.5) usually sleep together on the bottom bunk, though occasionally the younger one will want to sleep on the top bunk. The bottom bunk is big enough for a parent to snuggle with both of them and read bedtime stories, etc.

Personally, I don't know that I would get a bunk bed (other than something like the Kura) for a 3 year old, but I'm thinking of my kids when they were 3. They weren't the most kinesthetically aware little kids. We just got ours last year when our kids were 8 and 5 (almost 6). I think the top bunk is about 4.5 or 5 feet off the ground so if they were to tumble from it (which is most likely to happen going up and down the ladder, or playing in unsafe ways) it would be a pretty big fall.

I think the Tromso is a good product though and I would certainly go with IKEA over Walmart if I had to choose between the two. IKEA does make efforts to be a responsible company.

[sunnysandiegan]

As an adult who has slept in bunk beds while on several Girl Scout outings, I much prefer the wood bunk beds over the metal ones. The wood ones creak a bit over time, but the metal ones SQUEAK and can be quite noisy when the person up top rolls over or otherwise moves.

As for Wal-mart or Ikea, I would (and do) purchase from Ikea over Wal-mart for many reasons.

I'd scour freecycle and Craigslist and ask everyone I know to find a used wood bunk bed set within my price range.

[beanma]

I've never noticed our Tromso squeaking. It's really quite sturdy and quiet. I think it's a good product, but it's a big bunk bed and out of my comfort range for a 3 yr old. YMMV, though.

[delphine]

http://furniture-for-small-spaces.co...-bunk-bed.html

We have the bunkbed pictured in the link. We got it about 6 months ago and our boys are 8 and 6 now. I would hesitate to get a bunkbed for anyone much younger than that, but I love that this one has the staircase on the side instead of a ladder (our 5 pound yorkie likes it too).

I saw these new at furniture stores for around $1,000 and we were able to get it from craigslist for $400. I know that's a little higher than what you are wanting to spend, but I saw several in the $200 range when we were looking. Also, I found that most people priced them pretty high on craigslist and I just waited until I found someone who would sell it for the price I needed.

[Therese's Mommy]

Originally Posted by beanma

I've never noticed our Tromso squeaking. It's really quite sturdy and quiet. I think it's a good product, but it's a big bunk bed and out of my comfort range for a 3 yr old. YMMV, though.

Just to clarify, the 3yo would not be sleeping on the top bunk. She would not even be getting up on the top bunk. Our 6yo would be sleeping on top.

I am glad to hear that the Ikea set is sturdy. I went to my local Walmart and they didn't have any beds and then when I checked online I saw that the set I was interested in isn't sold in stores. I do not feel comfortable buying something that I can't test out first. So, it looks like the Ikea one is the front runner. I also contacted the guy who does work for us around our house to see if he would be interested in building us one. He loves furniture making, but is a busy guy, so we will see.

Thanks for all the info!!

Beth