There are a lot of good reasons why you might choose to build your own bed, instead of buying one ready made. The most commonly cited reason, which may or may not be relevant to you, is the price. Building a bed tends to be much cheaper then buying one ready made, although if you buy second hand you can get a good, rugged bunk bed for under $150. You might be able to get a new one at that price, as well, but I seriously doubt that any bed you buy that cheaply will be well made enough to be worth having. As you know, if you want quality, it will come at a price... Unless you buy it from someone else.

On the other hand, if you would prefer not to buy a prebuilt bunk bed, it's not as hard as you might think it would be to build one for yourself. While you'll have trouble finding a cheap bunk bed new, it is easy to get hold of a bunk bed kit. Not only are they easy to find and cheap, but they are also easy to put together, and you can either buy the materials to make them yourself, or get a kit which comes with them.

First of all, as I've said, kits are not difficult to put together. Not completely without effort, of course, but you really don't need any woodworking experience, or even particular skill with tools. If you've bought a kit complete with materials, then you can just start putting it together, otherwise you'll need to go about and get some wood as well. Still, that shouldn't cause you any difficulty, as you can just use off the shelf lumber. Plus, the plans are always simple to follow.

Obviously, if you want something slightly unusual, then constructing it yourself is the only way to ensure that your specifications are met. As the old saying goes, if you want it done right, do it yourself. You can never be completely certain of the quality of something that you buy, but you can if you make it on your own.

The second most common reason for building a bunk or left bed is that building it is a fun activity. All the family, parents and children both, can contribute. This transforms it from a necessary item of furniture, into a fun family project. Additionally, if you don't want to involve the kids, then you can build one for your children (or grandchildren) as a gift. Something you've built yourself will, naturally, be of much more value to them then something just bought in a store. This way, when they have other children over to play and get asked about their nice new bunk bed, they can proudly say "my dad built it". Or even, "My granddad built it, and I helped!"

As I've already mentioned, the only way to guarantee that you are getting exactly what you wanted is to put it together yourself. Whatever it is that you want in a bed, you may or may not be able to find for sale, but there's a good chance that whatever it is will not be perfect for you as it has to appeal to many different possibly customers. Of course, you need to be careful not to stray too far from the designs you've got, as a mistake made in constructing your bunk bed could result in a dangerous instability. So unless you really know what you're doing, it's best to choose a plan that is close to what you want and then alter it only slightly. Nevertheless, there is still plenty of room for imagination. When you build it yourself, you can color it how you like, using paints or stencils, and give it an appropriate pattern. Or even allow your kids to design how they want it to look, adding yet more fun to the construction.

The number of plans available, as well, is extremely large, so you can easily find something that closely matches what you want and then adapt it to your specific designs. You can not only choose different shapes for the bed itself, but also find whatever extra features you want. For example, you might want a bunk bed with storage lockers or drawers underneath it. Or a loft bed with something larger, perhaps a desk, or closet, under it. any of these (and more) are available.

In conclusion, you may want to buy a low cost bunk bed in some situations, particularly if you just need it for a short time, or you need it very quickly. If you're not comfortable using basic tools, then building a bed is not for you, although I'm still not sure I would advise buying one.

However, building a bunk bed has a large number of advantages that go beyond just the money saved. Building a bunk or loft bed can be a fun family project, that serves to bring parents and children closer together. You can customize the bed as much as you wish, changing the color and design to fit whatever you wish it to, and there are a huge variety of kits and plans available for you to get started.

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Patrick Oakley is a professional carpenter who specializes in designing furniture to make efficient use of space. To this end, has recently begun selling bunk beds and loft beds online.