Loft Bed/Theater Cave AKA "The Beast"

I've browsed this website for a while now, always amazed at the things you guys come up with. Finally, I've been inspired enough to recreate one of these instructable and I thought I should share the process.

I currently rent and I have a fairly small room (10' x 13') with a LOT of crap in it. I have a 48" big screen, queen bed, 3'x5' computer desk and 2 lazyboy style chairs with ottomans. I need more space.

The "pipe loft bed" and "big sturdy loft" instructables have inspired me to build my own 10' x 7' x 4.5' loft. I'm creating this as I build the beast so please excuse the impending past tense/present tense confusion and the rest of the grammatical errors.

Step 1: Materials

Well I used various lengths of 2" x 6 " boards trying to waste the least amount of wood.
-12 x (2x6x7)
-2 x (2x6x10)
-8 x (2x6x5)
-2 x (2x4x10)

-8 x (1/2 x 4") bolts
-8 x (1/2 x 4") nuts
-16 x (1/2 x 4") washer

-1 x (5' x 7')sheet of MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard - cabinet grade stuff that looks a lot better than plywood and doesn't have splinters) to be added later that acts as a flat surface over the part of the beast that doesn't have a mattress on it.

Comments

[simonkoenig911]

awesome. loving the simplicity of it.
i'm totally going to build a version of this when i move in a couple of months. see, i've got this idea of living in a caravan/trailer when i go to college in 2 years. so i'll be using this to work out the minimum space i need to live on. how much headroom do you have under yours?
cheers
simon.

[ElvenChild]

please I am begging you please tell me where I can by rubber duckies that big.

[TLMATX]

Unfortunately, I have no idea! I got mine from a white elephant gift exchange.

[Purocuyu]

I bought some stuff a while back from this place:
http://www.greatbigstuff.com/rubberducky.html
They have big rubber ducks.

[ildegiron]

Hahaha!
Simply the best instructions I've read to date:
Step 1: Move crap out of room.
Step 3: Move crap back into room; under and on top of the Beast.

best regards

[ggregorio]

Really Nice great Instructions! Getting the measures to build mine! Thanks!

[bexabarr]

I built this loft, granted that I live in an old shotgun house with 11 foot ceilings. The clearance is 6'3". Since this picture I've also put my 24" monitor up there and use as a TV screen. The bed is also a queen size bed, so it's a pretty big structure. I have very little building experience, but managed to build this under 100 bucks. And while it doesn't look like it, it is pretty sturdy too. I went to Lowes with a note pad, and in 15 minutes I drew a sketch. I then got the longest pieces of wood available (cheaper in the grander scheme of things) and had them cut it to the dimensions that I wanted. I bought some wood screws (used a ton of these) and borrowed a drill. I also used an old piece of plywood to hold the box together so I didn't need to use that many cross bars. And YES! I have "tested it out," for those of you that that catch my drift. For said means, I found it to be relatively steady... but of course this is all within context. In the future I plan to install cross wires on the lateral far end to increase its stability, but honestly being supported by the two walls, it barely move at all (again for generalized purposes). I also put rubber door stops on the sides and corners so it wouldn't damage my walls. The "night stand" is from an old table that I took apart. Hope you found this interesting! Take care!

[mwolfe4]

this is great!! do you have a copy of your plans? I am looking to make a queen bed loft for a studio apartment with high ceilings as well....
thanks so much

[triumphman]

Built one of these in the 70's in Burlington, Vermont, apartment. I can't recall if I used 6x6 or 8x8 's. I remember they were big! Very sturdy under a two up situation, if you get my drift!. Only thing I did was used 2x10's to form a box for my mattress around the inside of the posts. The apartment had a big bay window area, with very high ceilings. No bedroom, so I saved space and built the loft bed! And gained living space under it. I could walk under it (6' clearance! It was fun. Nice job mate!

[TigerMoon]

I love to see ideas for living in small spaces! If I ever move to someplace that has higher ceilings I'll consider using your 'ibble. The theater cave looks cozy and yeh, reminds me of being a kid. I assembled a somewhat loft bed using two folding banquet tables from Staples and placing the wooden bed frame on them. There's not enough space under to be used for living space but it does provide a lot of storage.

[ElvenChild]

(jaw drop) where on earth do you get rubber duckies that big or did you buy them from marvin the martian

[kuec0040]

 the two supports on the bottom running parallel with the bed... are those 2x4's?
also how did you decide how much support was needed?

[TLMATX]

Yup 2x4s. I used those there to gain a couple more inches of headroom.

Honestly I had no idea how much support was needed. I based the design on what wood was on sale and the spacing that worked for me. In the end, it was waaay overbuilt but since I used it to sleep on (with a queen bed) AND for quite a lot of storage AND because I didn't want any type of support beam in the middle, I'd  rather be safe than sorry!

Let me know if you have any more questions!

[kuec0040]

 never mind! just saw your post below saying it was all 2x4's 
thanks!

[caseythr]

You built a small free-standing indoor deck...awesome! I'm trying to do something similar for my dorm, but just a platform next to my bed instead of holding my bed.

[dchall8]

For those who can't see the dark pictures, blow them up with the i button.

[blueblur]

For those who don't like the world, blow it up with the self-destruct button.

[jmacfarlane823]

LMFAO!!!!!!

[footballhead667]

my roommate and i are building this tomorrow. if we remember to post photos, i'll put 'em up! thanks!!

[cuteaznprincesss]

i slept in a lofted bed (ikea.. i know. shameful ) for the past 5 years until i bequeathed it to my brother for his new college apartment. had i seen this earlier i definitely would have recommended he build his own. this is awesome.

[Udon]

In my room/bunker, I sleep on two pieces of rusty scaffolding with a big plywood board. It actually works very well. The original idea was to be lazy and just use scaffolding, but getting the stuff in was more of an operation - almost got a hernia. Probably would have been easier to built one of these. Good 'stuctable. I very like.

[misemono]

OMG you're hot

[JamesW]

Ya'll know, I did a similar thing to my closet. I made a 'hovering' metal piping frame, and slapped a mattress on it. This instructable was indeed my inspiration...I just made mine from piping and some Gorilla Glue. xD

[bomberman3]

I notice you have the same boom box that my local community college used when we were rehearsing "Cinderella".

[JanxAngel]

Maybe instead of just a platform bed I'll make a loft bed and stick my sewing desk under it... I also have a ceiling fan though, and plenty of closet space so maybe when I move again.

[asianpuff16]

i love itt!! you said your bed is huge? how big is it? full size? also how tall is it?

[TLMATX]

Well I have a queen size bed (which are approx. 5x7) and it's 4.5ft tall.

[Mr. Rig It]

Cool idea!

[plzspoilme25]

love it, can u come build mine for me????

[TLMATX]

Where do you live and how much are you paying me? haha

[plzspoilme25]

lol,

[iTHROWDOWN]

im making one as soon as i get the wood how much did it cost you?

[TLMATX]

It cost me about $130 total and mine is HUGE so yours might cost less. That's cheap compared to what it could be if you aren't careful. I used like 144 feet of 2x6's and 70 feet of 2x4's It's pretty important to be picky when selecting the wood. Spend some time at the store inspecting the board before you buy them. Keep and eye out for the smoothest ones with the least knots and always set them on the floor of the hardware store to make sure they aren't warped. Another tip when buying is to make a list of what lengths you need and make sure those numbers fit into the board lengths. For example, I needed a lot of seven foot 2x6's so I bought 14 foot 2x6's because I could cut them in half and have no waste. Plus it's usually cheaper overall if you buy longer boards.

[sysadmn]

Nice Job! Looks like that thing could survive an earthquake. PS - cable ties :-)

[John Smith]

Purty cool. I'd be terrified of that fan, though...

[TLMATX]

Well, it's pretty scary but it'll have to do until I put my window AC unit in. I stuck my foot in it the other night and it did NOT feel good haha

[falcotheimpaler]

i thought this was just a bed frame (because it is, in proportion it seems) until i saw the last step. i am definitely making this for my studio (ugh) apartment.

[LT_WANG]

Nice, I'll have to put up some pics of mine (made in NOV-DEC 06). I don't think mine is that big but it works. I'll take some pics and upload in a few minutes.

[LT_WANG]

BTW if your curious, its all 2"x4" beams except for one plywood board(dimensions are 7'X4'). I have a work light for working on computers, speakers rigged for my monitor that my Xbox 360 is on(full 1080 on sony triniton CRT)....and I don't use the TV

[Brennn10]

Great instructions, and great design! Nice work!