FurnitureBedEasy

Bolted Bed Frame

A 1500 x 2000 mm oak-post bed that comes apart with eight bolts: rails bolted to the posts, slats resting loose on bolted cleats.

Designthe dimensions everything else is derived from

Finished size
1500 x 2000 mm, to suit a 1500 x 2000 mattress
Posts
4 off 70 x 70 mm, 300 mm high
Side rails
2 off 2000 x 140 x 25 mm
End rails
2 off 1360 x 140 x 25 mm
Slats
12 off 1360 x 70 x 18 mm, loose
Slat cleats
2 off 1860 x 40 x 25 mm, bolted

Cut list sizes are finished sizes. Add 5 mm to the width and 25 mm to the length of every solid-wood part for saw kerf and planing, and buy boards oversize by one thickness so a bowed board can be flattened rather than relegated.

Materialswhat each part is made from, and why

All materials
Oak · 4 posts
The posts take every load the bed sees and are the parts most likely to be knocked. A dense hardwood at 70 mm square is stiff enough that the frame does not creak.
Pine (Southern Yellow) · 4 rails, 2 cleats, 12 slats
Rails and slats are in bending, not in wear, and pine is cheap enough that a slat which cracks can simply be replaced from the offcut pile.

Cut listfinished sizes, worked back from the design

PartQtyFinished sizeStock
Post470 x 70 x 300 mmOak
Side rail22000 x 140 x 25 mmPine (Southern Yellow)
End rail21360 x 140 x 25 mmPine (Southern Yellow)
Slat cleat21860 x 40 x 25 mmPine (Southern Yellow)
Slat121360 x 70 x 18 mmPine (Southern Yellow)

Fastenersquantities and lengths that follow from the joints

All standards
ItemQtyGripStandard
M8 x 110 hex bolt895 mmISO 4017
M8 x 80 hex bolt665 mmISO 4017
M8 plain washer28—DIN 125 A
M8 nylon-insert nut14—DIN 985

Grip is the sum of the clamped thicknesses. A bolt has to clear the nut by two full threads, which is what sets the length that appears in each row — not a preference.

M8 x 110 hex bolt · grip 95 mm
One bolt at each of the eight post joints: rail (25) plus post (70), then the nut and two washers. ISO 4017 →
M8 x 80 hex bolt · grip 65 mm
Three per slat cleat. The cleat is bolted to the inside face of the side rail, so the grip is the rail (25) plus the cleat (40). ISO 4017 →
M8 plain washer
One under each head and each nut across all fourteen bolts. A bed is the joint most likely to work loose, and the washer is what stops the nut eating into pine. DIN 125 A →
M8 nylon-insert nut
A bed frame is loaded and unloaded every night and moved sideways when it is made. The insert costs nothing and removes the annual re-tightening. DIN 985 →

Toolsand what each one is for on this job

All tools
Drill
Boring the clearance holes through rails and posts.
Twist Drill Bits
8.5 mm clearance plus a 20 mm bit for the counterbores.
Socket Set
Fourteen nuts, most of them awkward to reach behind a rail.
Combination Wrench
Holding the head while tightening the nut, which gives a far better feel for the clamp than driving the head.
Tape Measure
Setting slat spacing: twelve slats over 2000 mm leaves roughly 100 mm gaps if the spacing is set out at all.

Order of workthe sequence, and where it is not free to change

  1. Cut the four posts and the four rails.
  2. Clamp each rail to its two posts and bore through all three at once.
  3. Counterbore the rail face so the bolt heads finish below the surface.
  4. Assemble dry, check the diagonals, then bolt up.
  5. Bolt the two slat cleats to the inside faces of the side rails, their top edges level with each other.
  6. Lay the twelve slats in loose. Do not fasten them: a squeak is almost always a fastened slat moving against its fixing.

Where it goes wrongthe three failures worth designing out

  • Fastening the slats down. Slats that are stapled or screwed cannot slide as the frame flexes, and the movement goes into the fixing instead, which is what squeaks.
  • Using a bolt that is too short because the grip was measured at the post only. The rail counts as well, and a bolt that stops short of the nut is not a joint.
  • Ignoring the cleats. A bed whose rails are bolted but whose cleats are nailed from the outside is only as stiff as the nails.

Frequently asked questions

Why not use bed bolts with a barrel nut, as commercial beds do?

Because the nut then sits inside the rail, in a cross-dowel bored across the grain. That is a stronger joint, and it is harder to make and impossible to inspect. Bolting right through with the nut on the inside face leaves something you can see and re-tighten.

Can the frame be made taller?

Yes, but the posts grow by the same amount as the rails. A taller post with the same bolt pattern is a longer lever on the same eight joints, so if the frame goes up by 200 mm the rail depth should go up rather than the bolt count.

What stops the bed sliding on a hard floor?

Friction, mostly, which is why the posts have a 70 x 70 footprint and not a 40 mm one. If it still walks, the honest fix is a rubber foot under each post rather than a heavier frame.