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Wood vs. Metal Bunk & Loft Beds… The Facts.

Have you been wondering why we don’t carry metal bunk beds? Well, here’s the facts!

The number one reason is that metal kids’ beds get loose. Over time, rough child’s play and constant shaking of the bed causes heavy stress and vibrations on the nuts and bolts that hold it all together and they slowly begin to loosen up.

The second problem is since the hardware gets loose these beds are considered high maintenance. There is no manual on the frequency of the “re-tightening” of the hardware. Every instruction booklet we have read simply states, “occasionally check and re-tighten hardware as necessary”. So how often should I check? Every day, every week, every month? It doesn’t matter how great the manufacturer is; this is simply a problem of metal kids’ beds, they are high maintenance. I don’t know about you but I don’t expect maintenance on my furniture products other than regular cleaning. Metal children’s bed are not maintenance free. I prefer my furniture maintenance free.

Problem three; What if I forget to check on regular maintenance for the metal bed? This is where it becomes serious. The slow loosening of the hardware isn’t a dire problem until it’s too late. If the top bed happens to loose a nut or bolt then the whole problem escalates. Once one is loose the remainder loosen quicker and it’s only a matter of time before disaster strikes. We do not want our kids to get hurt yet loose hardware is an fast path to destruction.

The noisiest problem; Metal bunk and loft beds are NOISY! If you have a carpet floor than some of the noise is eliminated since the metal is not scratching across your wood or tile floor. But it is still squeaky! If you have a wood, stone or tile floor forget a metal bed. The moment things start to loosen up that metal to metal squeak is guaranteed to irritate at least one person in the house!

The solution… well, at least our opinion. We have tried all kinds of “tricks” to keep the hardware from loosening on kids’ metal beds. We have tried nylon nuts, aka “lock nuts”, on the bolts but they eventually come loose after time. We have tried “locking chemicals” which permanently and chemically lock the nut to the bolt but you can never take the bed apart and move it to another room or house. You might as well just weld it together instead of using chemical lock. Yet none of these are a good solution since there is a large amount of hardware on a bunk bed, it is just not financially feasible. All that hardware is there to keep your kids safe. This is why we love solid wood kids’ beds. A good quality solid wood bunk or loft bed, specifically hard wood, just cannot be beat for durability and performance. Be cautious with manufactures that use particle board or “MDF”. Our manufacturers have patents on construction and locking devices to ensure our solid wood kids’ beds do not come apart unintentionally. Solid wood beds are quiet and can be taken apart easily to move to another location. Adding to the quality; Most of our manufacturers use “green” sources for our solid wood beds to enhance the environment. A good solid, hard wood bed will give your kids lots of pleasure while giving you peace of mind for the safety. And… it will last a lifetime.