How to Build a Bed Frame: The Easy Way

Project Details

Anthony's bed frame was built for a queen size mattress. The bed frame is roughly 63.5" wide, 83.5" long, and 16" high. Although, these plans utilize our queen size bed frame kit, the process is the same for any size kit.

Fittings & Pipe Needed

Everything you need for the bed frame (minus the wood slats) will be included in kit. However, for reference the following fittings and pipe are listed below:

• 5x Single Socket Tee fittings
• 5x Flange fittings
• 2x Side Outlet Elbow fittings
• 2x 90 Degree Side Outlet Tee fittings
• 2x 90 Degree Elbow fittings
• 3x 14" Gator Tube (for the two legs at the front of the frame and the leg for the middle support)
• 2x 41" Gator Tube (for the two legs at the back of the frame that extend up into the "headboard" section)
• 3x 80" Gator Tube (for the horizontal supports running length wise)
• 4x 60" Gator Tube (for the horizontal supports running width wise)

Note, the dimensions listed above for the legs and horizontal supports are for a queen size bed frame kit. Dimensions of these parts will differ based on the size kit you order (twin, full, etc.). However, all the listed fittings will remain the same, no matter the size of the kit.

Tools Needed

You will need the following basic tools to assemble the bed frame:

• Cordless Drill w/ Screwdriver Attachment
• Socket Wrench w/ 5/16" Allen Key Attachment
• Circular Saw (If you don't have a saw, Home Depot can cut the boards for you when you purchase them)
• Tape Measure
• Level
• Pencil

Addition Materials Needed:

Like mentioned above, the bed frame kit does not include the wood slats used to provide support to the mattress. However, we have listed the materials you will need below and have provided detailed instructions on how to build them for the bed frame.

• 1" x 4" Wood Slats (You will cut these to length depending on the size of the frame)
• #8 x 1-1/4" Wood Screws

Assembling the Bed Frame

To build the bed frame, we recommend starting by assembling the bed frame legs and from there, building the frame in sections.

Step 1: Attach Flange Fittings to the Bed Frame Legs

Figure 1

First, start by assembling the bed frame legs. Each leg will utilize a Flange fitting. This fitting will act as the "foot", or base, of the table leg. There will be five legs total. One will go at each corner of the frame and another will go in the middle to provide extra support.

Slide a Flange fitting onto each length of pipe meant for the frame legs. Three of the flange fittings will go on the shortest lengths of pipe (in this case, they are 14") and two will go on the next size up (in this case, they are 41"). See the diagram above (Figure 1) for a closer look.

Once the Flange fitting is in place, tighten it down using an Allen wrench, to secure the fitting to the pipe. These can be fully tightened down at this time.

Step 2:Attach Side Outlet Elbow Fittings to Bed Frame Legs

Figure 2

From there, you can add the Side Outlet Elbow fittings to the front bed frame legs. The bed frame kit will include two Side Outlet Elbow fittings.

The two Side Outlet Elbow fittings will go on two of the shortest lengths of pipe (in this case, they are 14"). When sliding these on, be sure to leave space for pipe to go into the other two sockets. Do not slide this on until it meets the edge of the internal wall inside the fitting. It should look like the image above.

Once these are in place, tighten down the set screw to secure the fitting to the pipe.

Step 3: Attach Horizontal Support for the Front of the Bed Frame

Figure 3

With the Side Outlet Elbow fittings secured in place, you can add the horizontal support for the front of the bed frame. See the diagram above (Figure 3) for a closer look of how this comes together.

First, slide a Single Socket Tee onto the horizontal support used for the front of the frame. This will be one of the second longest lengths of pipe (in this case, they are 60"). Do not tighten the Single Socket Tee fitting down at this time. This will be used to attach the middle brace later on.

Then, slide the horizontal support into one of the open sockets on the Side Outlet Elbow. Again, do not push this right up against the internal wall inside the fitting. You need to leave enough space so that pipe can slide into the open socket adjacent to one you are sliding the support into.

Once in place, tighten down the set screw to secure the fitting to the pipe. Do the same thing for the other leg.

The completed section should look like the image above.

Step 4: Attach 90 Degree Side Outlet Tee Fittings to Bed Frame Legs

Figure 4

Next, add the two 90 Degree Side Outlet Tee fittings to the legs at the back of the frame (Figure 4).

Slide the fitting onto the leg as shown in the picture above. Notice that the fitting is positioned on the leg with the set screws facing down. You may want to do the same thing to make them less visible.

With the fitting placed onto the leg, use the Side Outlet Elbow fitting you just attached in the previous steps, as a height reference for securing the 90 Degree Side Outlet Tee fitting. Line it up as shown in the picture above and then tighten down the set screw to secure the fitting to the pipe.

Step 5: Attach Horizontal Support for the Back of the Bed Frame

Figure 5

With the 90 Degree Side Outlet Tee fittings secured in place, you can attach the horizontal support at the back of the frame as shown in the diagram above (Figure 5).

First, slide a Single Socket Tee onto the horizontal support used for the back of the frame. This will be one of the second longest lengths of pipe (in this case, they are 60"). Again, do not tighten the Single Socket Tee fitting down at this time.

Then, slide the horizontal support into one of the open sockets on the 90 Degree Side Outlet Tee. You can slide it in as far as it will go, since it will come up against the pipe already placed through the socket in the upright position.

Once in place, tighten down the set screw to secure the fitting to the pipe. Do the same thing for the other leg.

At this time, you should now have two sections of the frame complete as shown in the picture above.

Step 6: Connect the Front and Back Sections

Figure 6

The front and back sections of the frame can now be joined. They are connected by three lengths of pipe. These will be the longest lengths of pipe included in the kit (in this case, they are 80").

We'll call each of these lengths of pipe going across the frame, a brace (left brace, middle brace, right brace). Start with one side and work your way across.

In our case, if you were looking at the bed frame from the front head on, the guys started with the right brace. Then the middle and then the brace on the left.

When attaching the middle brace, first slide one Single Socket Tee fitting onto the pipe. Do no tighten it down just yet.

Then, slide one end of pipe into the open socket on the Single Socket Tee at each end of the bed frame. Do no tighten down the fitting until you have the pipe into both Single Socket Tee fittings.

You may need to slide the Single Socket Tee over to the side in order to get the pipe into the socket. Once the pipe is in place, you can slide the brace into position at the middle of the frame. You can tighten down the fittings to secure the middle brace. However, leave the set screw on the other side untightened, allowing the middle brace the ability to slide across the frame. You can tighten this after adding the final brace (the left or right side depending on where you started).

From there, attach the final brace (in this case, the left brace).

Now, using a measuring tape, align the middle brace so the it is in the center of the bed frame as shown in the picture above. Then you can tighten down the Single Socket Tee, on both sides, to secure it in place.

Step 7: Attach Leg to Middle Brace

Figure 7

With all three horizontal supports (braces) connected to the frame, the leg for the middle brace can be added. This will provide extra support to the frame.

Using a measuring tape, position the Single Socket Tee located on the middle brace, at the center of the brace. Then tighten down the fitting to secure it in place.

Now you can attach the leg. Lift up on the frame slightly in order to get the leg into the open socket on the Single Socket Tee. Once in place, tighten the set screw to secure the fitting to the pipe.

This is how the bed frame should look so far.

Step 8: Finish "Headboard"

Figure 8

At this point, most of the bed frame is complete. Next is finalizing the "headboard" section of the bed frame.

First, slide a Single Socket Tee onto one end of the pipe used for the "headboard" section (in this case, it will be 60"). Do the same thing for the other end (Figure 8).

You can tighten these down, but it may be best to leave them a bit loose, to make it easier to slide onto the legs at the back of the frame as shown in the diagram below (Figure 9).

Figure 9

Just slide the support to the bottom as far as it will go for now. Once we connect the top support, we will position this halfway between the top and the bottom.

Figure 10

Now, you will cap off and complete the "headboard". You will essentially complete the same process used to attach the middle section.

Slide one 90 Degree Elbow onto the pipe used for the top of the "headboard" (in this case, it will be another one of the 60" lengths of pipe). Tighten down the set screw to secure it to the pipe. Do the same thing for the other side.

Again, you may want to leave them slightly loose to make it easier to attach.

Figure 11

With the 90 Degree Elbow fittings attached, slide the section onto the legs at the back of the frame, as shown in the diagram above (Figure 11) and the pictures below.

Notice, in the pictures in below, that 90 Degree Elbow fittings are positioned so that the set screws are facing towards the back and away from the frame. If you do not want the set screws to be visible, you should do the same.

Tighten down the set screw to each fitting to secure it to the frame.

Now you can position the middle bar. Using a measuring tape, position the bar so that it is equal distance from the bar above it and the bar below it.

Then tighten down the set screw, on both fittings, to secure it in place.

Figure 12

At this point, the frame should be complete as shown in the diagram above (Figure 12).

Step 9: Build the Wood Slats

Now that the bed frame is complete, the wood slats used to support the mattress can be built. We saved this for last in order to get an appropriate measurement for the slats. The wood slats going across the frame width wise, will sit over and on top of the bed frame. While the slats length wise, will sit just inside the frame.

The picture below better illustrates this idea:

In order to find out how long the wood slats going across the frame need to be, measure from the outer edge of the pipe on one side to the outer edge of the pipe on the other, just as seen in the picture above.

Then you can cut the slats, running width wise, down (or have Home Depot do it for you) to that measurement.

Then with the wood slats cut to length, place one over the frame width wise and center it so that it is evenly spaced. From there, take a pencil and mark the inside, under edge of the board right up against the pipe, as shown in the picture above.This will indicate where the edge of the wood slat, running length wise, should line up. Do this on both sides for two boards.

You can use a measuring tape, or line the rest of the slats up next to each other, to make this mark.

To find out how long the wood slats running length wise will need to be, measure from the inside edge of the Side Outlet Elbow fitting at front of the frame to the inside edge of the 90 Degree Side Outlet Tee at the back of the frame. Then cut the slats to length (Again, if you don't have the tools to do this, Home Depot can do it for you).

Then place this slat just inside the frame, it should rest up against the fitting at the corner of the frame on both sides.

Then, mark where the slat meets the edge of the fitting as shown in the picture above. This will indicate where the first wood slat, running width wise, will need to be placed. Do this on both sides and for both boards that will run length wise.

With the boards cut to length and marked, line them up so that they create a rectangle. They should overlap each other as shown in the picture above. The pencil marks you made earlier will show you where to line them up. Place the boards right up against these lines. Do this for all four corners.

Once in place, use #8 x 1-1/4" wood screws to attach the boards.

With everything connected, you should have a rectangular frame for the wood slats as pictured above. Place the wood slat frame over the bed frame to ensure it lines up correctly.

With the wood slat frame complete, and the rest of the wood slats cut to size, they can now be attached.

Using a measuring tape, line them up evenly. Then using #8 x 1 1-1/4 inch screws, drill down into the slats as seen below.

We recommend at least 6 wood slats width wise. In this case, we used 8.

Once everything is connected, you can flip the platform over and place it onto the bed frame.

Step 10: Double Check Fittings are Tightened Down & Secure

With everything in place, do a final check of all the fittings to make sure they are tightened down completely.

Step 11: Add Mattress

That's it! All you have left to do is add your mattress. Again, if you are interested in completing this project, this bed frame kit will include all the necessary fittings and pipe. If you have any questions, please reach out to our projects team for help. We offer free design assistance and can help you with creating and assembling your project. Finally, be sure to sign up to our email newsletter below to receive updates on future projects like this one.