I have a room that is in bad need for at least two Murphy beds, the largest size, double or king.

 If I had a picture of the metal parts it takes and the sizes of the metal pieces I thought I could save.

My metal working tools are screaming, lets do something. My wife wants 4 sets of bunk beds instead. She don't realize when no one is around no one will be able to hear her screaming, I can't get through this room without stumbling over things.

  

Doubt this picture is detailed enough-https://www.amazon.com/DIY-Murphy-Bed-Hardware-Kit/dp/B00NVODF8G

Jess, my dad made a Murphy bed for me when we lived in a small trailer as a kid, he didn't use any special hardware. The wall framing was 2x6, there was a long rod at the bottom of the wall that hinged the bed to the wall, that's it, and we lifted the bed out of the way for the day and there was a latch at the top that we flipped to keep the bed from falling out of the wall. Now that being said, there were no springs to retract the bed, so the bed was a tad heavy to get back up into the wall. The bottom of the bed was paneled to match the wall. Just an idea for ya.

 

Another video for a Murphy Bed that uses non-standard hardware;

 

5 hours ago, Smallpatch said:

My wife wants 4 sets of bunk beds instead

 

four sets of bunkbeds.  That's  ummmm (assuming only two high)   8 beds.  You got 8 little kinders running around? That's  houseful.

 

Only two of us but the holidays presents a problem. Wife and I sleep in the camper then the rest have the floor and beds,couches and recliners but 4 more bodies have been added the last couple of years and the floors gets kinda cool this time of the year. 

  John that is what I have been thinking in my head especially since looking at those prices of a few pieces of metal on amazon.

  Lew I haven't seen that much money since I retired.

3 hours ago, Smallpatch said:

Only two of us but the holidays presents a problem. Wife and I sleep in the camper then the rest have the floor and beds,couches and recliners but 4 more bodies have been added the last couple of years and the floors gets kinda cool this time of the year. 

  John that is what I have been thinking in my head especially since looking at those prices of a few pieces of metal on amazon.

  Lew I haven't seen that much money since I retired.

Hey Patch...check your email...just sent you a couple PDF files plans for Murphy beds...they were free to me...free is good.

3 hours ago, Smallpatch said:

Only two of us but the holidays presents a problem.

 

OK.  I was nearly tearing up thinking about how much food 8  kids can consume.

 

Think on air mattresses when considering un-assisted non-spring hardware.  I could see that with some designs, planning on deflating the mattress for storage would also slim the murphy bed assembly.  A lot of the expense in air mattresses is the automatic "sleep number" controller.  Esp with kids (they don't ever seem to get back problems), exact pressure isn't a problem, so a plug-in or battery inflator is cheap, only need one per all the mattresses.  Might be able to find used airbeds at Goodwill or local listings, etc.

Pete has the answer Jess.  Easy on you and if they fall out of bed you won't even hear it.  Use your metal working skills to build some go-carts for them.

Edited December 5, 20169 yr by HandyDan

Hey, Patch, where ya gonna put that chair on the go cart?

First off, Dan my idea of building a gocart track back yonder sure took the free rides off the map. Having a gocart here now and all those free rides don't sound real bright. Back in 1984 through 92 each gallon of gas was 100 dollars plus in my pockets.

     Cliff I was thinking of the food also and thats why the bunk beds would be out side. With the murphy beds no one would know there were and beds in the house. I could keep the keep keys to the locks in my pockets.

   Dan, Pete does have a good solution for I remember the air matresses in the army and all night long you could hear guys blowing their guts out for none of the air mattresses would hold air long enough to get asleep before they would have to start blowing in them again. I always thought this was the armys solution to keep the guys mind off of the other sex. 

   Dave, thanks again for your help. At least I did get to take pictures of Rocklers Murphy bed. The printer would only kick out the last page of the 22 pages so I took pictures and now have them stored somewhere.