We’ve been way behind posting pictures and testimonials from our satisfied customers. In our photo gallery, we can’t post all the good stuff everyone has to say, but here on the blog, we can post every unedited word. Here is the latest batch from the past two weeks.

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Dear OP Loft,

This twin high loft took about a month for me to build from start to finish. The plans were easy to follow. My 5 year old had trouble with the side supports so, I built a custom ladder. As you can see from the pic I used the guardrail modification for a side guard and added an extra side rail for aesthetics. My Hubby and I were a bit concerned about the wing-nuts being a safety issue but after we put it together we only replaced the wing nuts with regular nuts for the sleeping area of the bed and turned the bolts so that the bolt head faced in and the nut faced out. As you can see the lower wing-nuts provide nice ‘hooks’ for robes and toys :-). After my husband creatively painted the hardware it looked good. I added a foot guard from leftover plywood for added safety at the ladder end. The paint is zero VOC and low VOC in semi-gloss. I hand-painted the name and coordinating flower design. Now the bottom is a reading nook, but will evolve to a study as she gets older.

The pine wood only cost about $120, hardware kit was from OP Loft (under $50-way cheaper than local hardware store), the majority of the cost was from the bedding ($50), mattress ($100) and paint and brushes, sandpaper, wood filler, caulk, extra hardware and wood ($150).

My husband thought that the work involved might have been worth the extra cost to have someone else build it. I, on the other hand, have minimal skills and found the experience enjoyable and empowering (I also did about 90% of the work). This bed is STURDY! It does NOT MOVE! I had fun making it, I can take pride in my work and my daughter LOVES IT!

- Danielle - Fort Worth, TX

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We wanted to make our boys’ room something unique and to be proud of. This project surpassed what we had desired. The bed plans (Tall Loft) were well drawn and detailed. Extremely sturdy and well designed beds!!! It took a few days of off-and-on work to complete, as well as painting added at least 2 days. I would definitely advise to buy or borrow, a table saw for making the notch-cut for the plywood, Having one made it extremely easy to do. We had also ordered the hardware which simplified things even more!! All in all a very good project for the 3 of us to tackle. The results were spectacular!!!!! We added a set of stairs in the back corner where the beds meet, which creates almost a secret entrance for the boys. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS AS A PROJECT!!!! 5 Stars to OP Loftbed!!!!! Total cost was less than $150 per bed.

- Thanks, Jerry, Joseph (age 12) and Jeffrey (age 6) of Pennsylvania.

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Everything went smoothly, even when we had to change the height of the bed platform once we got the frame into my son’s dorm room. It’s very sturdy, and very useful. Sorry I don’t have any better pictures, but here’s what we have:

We opted to use regular nuts instead of wing nuts. Some of the tolerances were a bit tighter, so I used a locknut instead of a nut and a lockwasher. We found using the nuts with a wrench and socket was easier than turning a bunch of wingnuts by hand or using a pair of pliers on them.

FYI - we saw a lot of other loft kits, including one sold by Lowes, and they were very flimsy comparatively. I don’t know that I would have felt secure with them. I pulled and yanked on the OP loft once my son and I had it finished, and it just won’t budge.

- Craig

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I recently stopped by my local Lowe’s Home Improvement Center to do a little pricing. I realize that lumber and fasteners are commodity items and prices can vary greatly from one day to the next and from one geographical location to another. But I was interested in what it would cost the average person in Thomasville, North Carolina (where we’re located) to build a twin extra long size OP Loftbed loftbed today. (It’s back-to-school time and the twin extra long size is the most popular size mattress in college dorms.)

Lumber

A twin extra long size loft bed requires ten 2″x6″x8′ pine boards, 13 2″x4″x8′ pine boards, and one piece of 3/4″x8′ plywood. We use pine here in North Carolina because it’s abundant in our area. In other areas you may use different types of wood. Generally speaking, whatever type of wood is used to build homes in your neck of the woods should be fine for building your OP Loftbed. If you are unsure, just ask the professionals at your local lumber yard or home improvement center.

Anyway, the two-by-fours were $2.47 each; the two-by-sixes were $4.26 each,; and the plywood was $22.38. This comes to a grand total of $102.46.

Fasteners

All of our tall and medium height loft beds require the same hardware:  sixty 3/8-16 x 3-3/4″ hex head cap screws (bolts), two 3/8-16 x 2″ hex head cap screws (bolts); sixty-two 3/8-16 wing nuts; one-hundred-twenty-four 3/8″ flat washers; sixty-two 3/8″ lock washers; fourty-two #10 x 3-1/2″ flat head phillips wood screws; and twenty-four #10 x 2″ flat head phillips wood screws. They didn’t have the 3-3/34″ bolts, so I priced 3-1/2″ bolts which are a little shorter, but can still work OK. They didn’t have the wing nuts in stock, so I priced regular hex-head nuts. Some of the items are sold in bags or boxes of specific quantities.

The total amount on needed fasteners came to $81.11. But this included some items that were less than desirable like shorter bolts, different nuts, and box quantities that contained more than I would need.

If you purchased a complete hardware kit directly from us, the cost of the hardware kit would be only $34.99 plus $10.00 for shipping, for a total of $44.99. That’s a savings of $36.12! Hardware kits are shipped US Postal Service Priority Mail (2-3 day deliver) the day after payment is received–so by the time you have all your wood cut, drilled, and sanded, your hardward kit has usually arrived and you’re ready to assemble your bed.

Total

If I bought everything today at Lowe’s, I would have spent a grand total of $183.57. If I bought the lumber today at Lowes and ordered a hardware kit from OP Loftbed, the total would have been only $147.45. That’s not bad at all for a loft bed that is as sturdy and solid as an OP Loftbed. So, the grand total for a twin extra long size OP Loftbed loft bed comes to less than $150! What a deal!

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When most people think of bunk beds, they think of those shaky, wobbly twin-size beds they had as a child. But grownups sometimes need bunk beds too and often a twin size just won’t fit the need. That’s OK here at OP Loftbed because we offer bunk bed plans that can accomodate full size, or double, mattresses.

 Jeanne sent us these pictures and says, ”We purchased your plans and hardware, and my husband built this full-sized bunk bed for my daughter and her roommate at college. Her room was designed for one occupant, so the bunk beds really came in handy. The beds are extremely sturdy. My husband told my daughter if there is a tornado or hurricane, that she wouldn’t be going anywhere if she hung onto the bed!!”

One of the things we especially liked was the customized headboard shelf he made. Here is a picture of it. 

You can see this bunkbed and dozens of other loft beds and bunk beds built by satisfied customers in our photo gallery. If you’ve built an OP Loftbed loft bed or bunk bed and would like us to share your craftsmanship with the world, just send a picture and any comments you may have to gallery@oploftbed.com. If you haven’t yet built your own bed, you can purchase plans for only $10!

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Farrin Abbott and Mariela Huber are filmakers in Chicago. In their production company, CopyCatFilms, the duo documents their adventures from DIY craft projects to hilarious comedy shorts about the cats that cross their path. They call this series of films Obtuse, and episode two details their adventures building an OP Loftbed. It’s a wonderfully made video, certainly much better than much of the stuff we’ve seen on HGTV.

For those of you that prefer still images, they even documented much of the project in a Flickr photo gallery. After the film production, they even added a custom desk to the loft bed supported by chains–you have to see it!

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Have you applied for the 2008-2009 OP Loftbed $500 Scholarship Award yet? If not, you don’t have very much longer!

We must receive your submission before midnight on July 31st, 2008 (Eastern Daylight Time), so time is running out.

We strongly recommend that you NOT wait until the last day because you never know what might come up that might keep you from submitting it. It’s better to get your submission in early and not have to worry about other things coming up in your own life, or even problems with your own computer and our online application.

Visit our scholarship area to submit your entry today!

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How do you add an extra 50 square feet of floor space to a small apartment? Well, build a king-size OP Loftbed, of course!

Paul in Minnesota built the bed you see heare and he wrote to tell us. “I went with the king sized loft so I could put two twin mattress up there so that both my 11 yr old son and I could sleep in. Under the loft made a perfect play area for my 6 and 4 year olds. I raised the height so that I could stand under it (I’m six feet) and added a couple railings. It’s really sturdy. Now I just need to stain it and add some carpet to the stairs for extra padding. Fun project, ended up costing around $150 which is really great for the amount of space it saved me (I live in a 650sf studio apt).”

You can see Paul’s loftbed and dozens of others built by satisfied customers in our photo gallery. If you’ve built an OP Loftbed loft bed or bunk bed and would like us to share your craftsmanship with the world, just send a picture and any comments you may have to gallery@oploftbed.com. If you haven’t yet built your own bed, you can purchase plans for only $10!

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Well, we held off as long as we could, but alas we just couldn’t do it any more. For the past two and a half years, our loft bed hardware kits have been $30.99 and our bunk bed hardward kits have been $34.99. With the rising fuel prices, our suppliers have continued to increase the prices they charge us. We’ve absorbed that until today when we decided we just can’t continue to do it any longer. We raised our prices on each hardware kit by $4.00 so a loft bed hardware kit is now $34.99 and a bunk bed hardware kit is now $38.99.

We continue to strive to provide the highest quality and lowest prices for you that we can. Until last summer, we shipped via UPS, then we switched to the USPS Flat Rate boxes. Since we’re based in North Carolina, when we were shipping a 13-pound hardware kit to California or Washington, it would sometimes cost $20-$25. With the flatrate boxes, we are able to only charge $10 to ship anywhere in the United States. And if you order more than one, we can fit more in a box and not charge you any more for shipping!

We’ll continue to search for the best ways to provide you with the high quality and low prices that you’ve come to expect. Click here to order your hardware kits.

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