Murphy Bed

Started by new land owner, February 08, 2015, 05:22:10 PM

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new land owner

I was wondering if anyone has built a Murphy bed for one of their projects?  I am planning a guest cottage and think it would work well there.  The other thing I was wondering is if they can be effectively built without the cost of a $300.00 spring kit? The bed in my case would not be used but maybe two or three time a year. Thanks and pictures would be great.

Don_P

My Dad built one using the spring kit, it worked well. I built a counterweighted bed that rose to the ceiling and then we had prop sticks to put under it. A counterweight and pulley system ought to work for a tip up.


jaransont3

I built a murphy bed for our little cabin.  It has worked out great.  We don't fold it up everyday that we are there, but when we have wanted the extra space, it is nice to be able to.  We also fold it up when we shut the cabin down between trips.  I did not use any springs or counter balances.  I just man-handle it up and down.  It is really not too bad.

You can sort of see it here...



I added the desk that folds down when it is in the up position.  Haven't really used that part yet, but I am sure we will.

It is basically just a shallow box that the mattress sits in. I use a couple of velcro straps to hold the bottom of the mattress into the box when it is folded up. The long skinny box under it slides out and acts as a support for the foot end of the bed when it is folded down.  We can store extra linens and stuff in there when we need to.  You sort of see the floor bracket that the bed pivots on in the picture too.

I have some more detailed pictures of the construction I can post if anyone is interested.
John Jaranson
Home: Dearborn, MI  Cabin: Iron Range, MN