Beds/Cribs

[BabyLex]

Greetings and Happy Holidays! My loving partner and I just moved into a new place which has my very first nursery! (Yay!) One of our projects is to find a good bed/crib and I was curious if anyone knew of good places or had ideas as to where to get one.

Thanks!

--Lex

[beallucanb]

If you are on the small size you can get a baby crib and retrofit it to work for the weight of an adult, you need to drill and add stronger bolts and reinforce the bottom.

I missed one at our local Salvation Army store that would have worked great for me, I looked at it and when I came back after looking at some other stuff a couple was wheeling it out to the checkout, next time I'm grabbing it first.

[sarah_ab]

you can also buy a "captains bed" the twin bed with the drawers underneath.... and then buy some wood at home depot, and some either square or round dowels, and make your own crib bars to fit around it.... at homedeopt they will even cut your wood to the length you need, so no need to buy a saw, just some nails, a hammer, maybe some screws, and a screw driver and some paint of course....

and the best part is, with the drawers under the bed you can store yiour diapers and stuff... and if you work it right, you can make it so the sides could come off the bed and it could then be a guest room bed when company comes over.

[curiositykilledthecat]

A+ for Sarah. I might have to try that.

[tris]

+1 to Sarah. That's what we're going for in the playroom, as well.

A couple of different ideas, though: You could use straight-up wooden dowels, or buy larger pieces and have them lathed at a custom woodworking shop. This would allow you to create some really cool railings.

[sarah_ab]

i'll say you can also do this, to make a play pen... make four 'sides' with rails, and use hinges so you can sort of accordian fold it up, then unfold into a square and have one side that connects with a latch, instant play pen that can be collapsed and stored under a bed.... and it can be taller so even when on their knees, baby can't get out...

[Bettypooh]

Congrats on the new home

As far as pre-made adult cribs, I seem to remember someone does make them custom-order in California but they were very expensive- four figures IIRC You're probably going to find it best to make it yourself and base it on a ready-made twin or double bed. It will be far easier if it's "just for looks"; if you want the sides solidly mounted (or movable) it gets more complex and costly, though it's all do-able Anyone with decent handyman skills, a drill with bits, a circular saw, and the basic hand tools should be able to make a realistic crib that will be solid, durable, and good looking

As to building ideas, I'd suggest a bottom-hinged or side-hinged opening for realism. A slide-down drop-side gets complicated The corners can be a pairing of a 2X6 and a 2X4 in an "L" shape. 2X4 horizontal parts will hold anyone's weight if used properly. Brackets to make any connections are readily available, as are turned stairway pickets, bare or primed up to 42" long - all you'll have to do is drill, cut wood, turn screws, sand and paint. If you want to DIY but need technical help, PM me

Bettypooh

[Angela Bauer]

Greetings and Happy Holidays! My loving partner and I just moved into a new place which has my very first nursery! (Yay!) One of our projects is to find a good bed/crib and I was curious if anyone knew of good places or had ideas as to where to get one.

Thanks!

--Lex

Because you live in Canada, you might well have an advantage over AB in the USA. Sale of new cribs with sliding drop sides has been banned for several safety reasons. A similar ban on the sale of used drop-side cribs by used furniture stores, including charity thrift shops, is pending. As I say this might not be a problem in Canada.

Three AB couples I know well here in Southern California all have professionally custom made adult cribs. All of those start with waterproofed twin-extra long mattresses. Those are very popular in university dorm rooms.

All three of these custom adult cribs have drawers below the mattress, like a captain's bunk, which traditionally had a solid raised rail at the head end on the side away from the bulkhead (wall) to keep the mariner from being tossed out of the bunk in heavy seas. These custom cribs have fixed slatted sides 25 inches high on the foot and head ends, as well as one long side. These have a solid hardwood top rail with rounded-over edges. The slats are 1/2" thick and 2" wide. The bottom rail is blind-screwed into the frame of the custom captain's bunk. The corner posts and the slats are all fastened to the rails with mortise and tendon joints. The posts with are 1x3" maple have traditional tendons cut into them at either end. The slats have all edges rounded-over and fit into corresponding mortises without needing to have ends cut to form tendons. Each individual end or long side fixed rail assembly is held together with modern commercial furniture glue.

The drop -side rail assembly is also constructed with mortise and tendon joints. The difference is the top rail is slightly thinner. The height of the mattress off the floor is just enough such that when the drop-side is lowered, the top rail is slightly below the top of the mattress. Therefore a wooden ladder is needed at the foot end for solo babies. The metal parts that work the drop-sides were custom-made. They are copied from 1990 vintage infant drop-side cribs. Of course the stainless steel sliding rods are more substantial, with a diameter of 0.50" Those sliding rods are held robustly in place by substantial stainless steel parts milled and ground with a flat face which attaches to the wooden corner posts and a blind found hole at the free end to accept and hold the round rod. Stainless Allen set screws hold the rods aligned. Those rods have a grove turned in them toward the top. The latches are spring-loaded to hold in the rod groves when the side is in the raised position. On the outside of the drop-side there is a metal release bar, similar to those used on traditional cribs. Pressing up on that release bar disengages the latches. The drop-side movement is aided by the same sort of system used in modern windows. This is hidden in the solid posts on the front of the crib, They can be adjusted to perfect the motion of the drop-side in such a way that if a latch fails, the side moves to the top and cannot drop without outside downward pressure on the top rail.

Bummer actual baby cribs were not made this well to be safe!

There is also a mid-way latch grove on each sliding rail, so that the drop-side does not need to be raised all the way. Of course the side must be all the way up to open the drawers below the mattress. The 3 top drawers are 24" wide x 6" high x 18" deep with full extension hidden European slides. The 2 bottom drawers are 36" wide x 12" high x 26" deep, but their hidden extension slides are only 22" which is enough to store extra comforters and pillows in them. Waterproof sheets, cotton sheets and draw sheets are stored in the 3 top drawers.

The first pair of those cribs was built in 1995 for a couple who both play big baby. They employ a strict adult nanny. The third such crib was built using the same working drawings by the same well-known Hollywood movie prop firm in 1998 for a couple in which the wife plays the strict nanny and her husband the big baby boy.

All of these cribs are made of maple finished with clear poly coating. Had they been painted, the wood would have been poplar which accepts paint better.

My friends who own those cribs can well afford them. We have never discussed the price they paid. Let us say I would not spend that sort of money for an adult crib for myself.

[lil1inlongbeach]

You might look into getting a daybed as it has railings on 3 sides. Then you just need like something that is used to keep children from falling out of beds or look at thrift stores for railings that can fit under a bed. Daddy found a railing (wooden) that fits in between mattress and box springs at a thrift store I do believe. You'll have to hunt around at thrift stores to see what you can find in your area. It worked great for me when we had the twin bed but we got rid of it when we got our queen. Sadly the way our frame is for the bed we can't use it anymore but I'm not parting with it. Good luck!