More Bunk Beds

These turned out to be pretty interesting. I was contacted by the chairman of the deacons at my church about building some bunk beds for a mission that supported refugees. They had plans and a few people to help build, and just needed me to lead through the process. Ok, no problem, let's go!

I was not a huge fan of these plans. They were kind of confusing and didn't look like the finished product was going to be that stable, but in the end it makes sense. Build the ends, and some rails, then cut plywood for the base. We never did figure out the stairs to get up to the top bunk. But what we did take care of, made it back to the church for some middle schoolers to sand and stain.

Tripp and Wilson on the cut line

First we assembled the ends

Essentially we cut & notched out enough 2x4's to scrub together 4x4 posts with places to attach the rails, then built up 2x6's to connect the posts together.

Tripp caught me on the saw

Tripp and myself

Assembling the posts

Cutting plywood with Wilson

the stack of plywood and 2x2's for the rails

It only looks wonky because of the ground we assembled. Everything really is square

It's 3/4" plywood attached to 2x2 cleats on the 2x6 rails that actually support the body weight. That just doesn't feel as sturdy as the slats I've been using recently.

Overall this was a fun project, and a great time spent with friends. This refugee mission tries to get people as soon as they get into the country. I hope if someone spends their first night in the US on one of my beds that they can find comfort.

One other fun event happened again, I got to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity again with a team from work! Habitat events are the best way for me to spend my RE Cares days and a good way to bond with teammates.

Adding sill plate to wall framing

It's a good day for framing

This really makes me want to give more effort to charity.Really I want to start with the bunk beds. I've got the Etsy store up and going, and placed a Craigslist ad to sell custom bunk beds. For every $1500 in beds that I can sell, I'll build and donate a twin/twin bunk to some kind of charity. Might be this mission with the church, or a homeless shelter or something else entirely. This is going to be good. And if you can donate something, go out for a day with Habitat, you will not regret it.