My name is Jena, and I've been nick-named the Vista Print Goddess.
Feel free to email me through the contact form on the home page.
We built our own steel pipe bed!
11 years ago, my husband (boyfriend at the time!) built himself a wooden platform bed. I've been ready for an upgrade for years. I really wanted it to be taller (higher off the floor = more storage underneath), and I really wanted a head and foot board. He finally acquiesced. We started Googling DIY options, and I totally fell in love with the bed over here -------------------------------->
There's a fantastic tutorial here: Clicky. Actually, if you click here: Clicky, you can see my Pinterest page full of steel pipe bed ideas.
There's a fantastic tutorial here: Clicky. Actually, if you click here: Clicky, you can see my Pinterest page full of steel pipe bed ideas.
So that bed is amazing, but I really wanted a foot board too, kind of like this (you can find this bed on Etsy, here: Clicky.)
We spent a couple hours at Home Depot looking at 1" galvanized steel pipe. I had drawn up a sketch with overall dimensions, but I didn't take into account the space the actual fittings would take up: eg, if the overall length needs to be 80" the pipe length should be around 77" since the pipe fittings will add their own length.
Are you ready for sore eyes? Here's the mockup, and the associated math:
Are you ready for sore eyes? Here's the mockup, and the associated math:
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Does your brain hurt looking at that? Mine does. Of course, I made our lives all the harder by trying to cut some money saving corners. I'm going to walk you through my thought process, then give you a list of measurements and what we bought, and at the end of this, I'll tell you what I wish I'd done differently. The first linked page introduced me to these very cool pipe fittings called "Kee Klamps" (Clicky). Basically, they operate without the need of threading on the pipes. The downside is, they're kind of pricey. Definitely more expensive than your average pipe fitting. So I worked out which fittings I could "get away with" just using the average pipe fittings from the Home Depot.
3 tees $5.82 each - instead of $8.86/ea and 4 elbows $4.17, each - instead of $11.26/ea. See the image to the right (top) for the specific fittings I mean. The bottom image to the right is a close-up of all the kinds of (and the associated quantities of) fittings I bought. |
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Fittings - Home Depot:
3 x 1" galvanized tee - $5.82/ea 4 x 1" galvanized 90 degree elbow - $4.17/ea Fittings - Kee Klamp: 2 x 10-6 - Single Socket Tee, 1" - $8.68/ea 4 x 21-6 - 90° Side Outlet Tee, 1" - $11.62/ea 5 x 61-6 - Flange, 1" - $9.59/ea |
Pipe - Home Depot:
A. 4 x 27.5" - one end threaded B. 2 x 37.25" - both ends threaded C. 2 x 76.5" - no threads D. 2 x 56.7" - both ends threaded E. 1 x 57.5" - no threads F. 2 x 26" - one end threaded G. 1 x 16" - one end threaded H. 2 x 43" - one end threaded Additional items - Home Depot: Wire Brush - $2.47 Clear Shellac - $13.76 2 x 1x4x8' pine board - $11.82/ea 8 x 1x4x10' pine board - $13.77/ea 6 x 10' 1" Galv. pipe - $20.77/ea |
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The 1" galvanized pipe comes in 10' lengths. So we carefully figured the cheapest way to "lay out" the cuts to buy the fewest number of pipes. We only needed 6 total. If you ask nicely, they'll cut and thread the pieces (as long as you're not asking for an obnoxious number of cuts, I think the most we got was 3cuts in one 10' piece). We washed the galvanized pipe with soapy water to get the general yuck off them. We used the wire brush to scrub in the threads, and to remove the printed writing along the pipe length. It only took us a couple hours to assemble the metal frame.
We laid the mattress over the pipe to get a quick peek at how it was coming along. Eeep... we had to cram the mattress into the frame. All that careful calculating, but we flubbed up somewhere. Overall length "inside" the pipes was 76.5" and we really could have used another .5-1" to more easily fit our mattress.But, it does cram in there, and there isn't a problem with the corners, because the 80" long mattress is rounded at the corners.
Here are Google SketchUp images of the inspiration bed and my bed. If you click on the pictures, it should link you to the Google SketchUp files.
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I don't have any pictures of us making the wooden platform. But here's a pic of it from underneath, already on the bed. Those little dot things are hot glue dollops. DH bought screws that were too long, and hot glue was my solution so we don't tear up our arms or anything we store under there.
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Total cost: $442.58
Tip: Spend some time cruising around the Simplified Building website (they sell Kee Klamps). Then you can take a survey about its usability, then they will email you a $10 off coupon for your time! I talked (phone and email) to three different staff members, and they were over-the-top helpful, just so nice. I couldn't be happier with my interactions with them.
What I wish I'd done differently: Well, I only saved about $40 by changing out the seven average fittings (price difference plus difference in shipping). I should have just spent the money and saved myself the headache of the threads. So you would instead ask for the existing threads to be cut off (each pipe comes with a thread at each end), and you'd have two longer A pieces instead of four shorter ones, and one long B piece instead of two shorter. Though to be fair, the exposed threads don't look nearly as bad as I thought they would - the threads are a little over an inch long, and only screw into the fittings about a half inch. So I was originally worried it would A) look horrible and B) be sharp. But, it doesn't faze me at all.
Tip: Spend some time cruising around the Simplified Building website (they sell Kee Klamps). Then you can take a survey about its usability, then they will email you a $10 off coupon for your time! I talked (phone and email) to three different staff members, and they were over-the-top helpful, just so nice. I couldn't be happier with my interactions with them.
What I wish I'd done differently: Well, I only saved about $40 by changing out the seven average fittings (price difference plus difference in shipping). I should have just spent the money and saved myself the headache of the threads. So you would instead ask for the existing threads to be cut off (each pipe comes with a thread at each end), and you'd have two longer A pieces instead of four shorter ones, and one long B piece instead of two shorter. Though to be fair, the exposed threads don't look nearly as bad as I thought they would - the threads are a little over an inch long, and only screw into the fittings about a half inch. So I was originally worried it would A) look horrible and B) be sharp. But, it doesn't faze me at all.
