Bed Platform made out of Milk Crates?

[LilithX]

I read somewhere that you can make a pretty cool looking bed platform out of milk crates. I've looked all over the web to try to find a picture of this but wasn't able to. Has anyone done this before and also did you take pictures of your project? Just curious to how it would look. Thanks.

[Ayn]

Hi LilithX -- I've never seen or heard of that before, but at least I can try to 'bump this up' a bit in case anyone else knows about it or can point you to a pic.

Btw, do you think the people who have done this before used old-timeytype wooden, metal, or wood+metal milk crates?
Or those plastic storage crates that are sold lots of places? (I suspect they were never actually used as milk crates but are called that sometimes)
Or what?

Here are some vague thoughts I had, if I had to do this myself:

Think I'd probably try the plastic ones -- well, the heaviest, sturdiest plastic type I could possibly find.
Assuming they sat perfectly stable on the floor "upside down", think I'd try using them that way first.
[[Of course one could try using them right-side up, & cover the open tops with sturdy wood slats or maybe with one of those folding things used to make regular beds & sofa beds firmer ...
but, it's possible 'bottoms up' would save that step or that expense.  For a large heavy person, though, I believe I'd go ahead & use that extra-something whether the crates were upside down or right side up.]]

Then I guess the crates would have to be fixed together very securely -- which I thinnnk would be do-able with a bunch of those fairly-inexpensive, heavyduty-plastic pullthrough strap thingies from the hardware store [wish I could recall the name of those thingies, lol -- hub's not here or I'd ask him].
If the upside-down crates had any openings in the bottom, I'd fasten them there as well as fastening any side openings together.

And on top, I believe instead of a regular mattress, I'd use the futon type.

[tacosandcakeandpies]

Oh gosh I think that would be a bad idea. Milk crates or pallets don't sound sturdy to me, since they are made to be broken down easily, right?  Those plastic crates would be really sturdy and could hold up a matress nicely, but that might end up being kind of pricey.  I think when it comes to your back you should definitely build something that will offer enough support.

[monoped]

I don't know if this is the sort of milk crate you're talking about

but in Australia no student-house is complete without some milk crate furniture. I made myself a bed-base from this style of crate & it served me well till I could afford a real bed.

[Ayn]

Hi monoped -- thanks! -- I don't know if that's the kind of crate LilithX was thinking of but it sure is the kind I was thinking of.   
For the bed platforms you've seen (or made) --
Do the crates get used right side up or upside down?
How are they tied or fixed together?
And, do they generally get topped with a regular mattress, or a 'futon' type mattress, or... ?

[monoped]

For mine I turned most of them upside down but had a couple on the outside with the open side facing out so I could use them for storage aswell & I topped it with regular mattress.

I didn't secure them at all & they didn't sit flush with each other but the gaps in between were minor & they may have shifted but only very slightly.

I saw a great wall unit/bookshelve thing made from bookshelves in a filmclip by Aussie band "George" which if I had a warehouse apartment would definately try & replicate. I'm currently using a couple, which were part of said bed base & have come with me through 2 moves, for video/cd storage.

Good luck LilithX. If anyone has pics of things they've made from milk crates it'd be great to see them.

[xgreyoutx]

Another great idea for those crates is to take a bunch of them and stack them on their sides, so the open part faces toward you, then use heavy duty zip ties (which are what I think someone else was trying to think of earlier up the page ) to hook them together. You can stack them as wide or tall as you like this way and make a inexpensive shelving unit in this style:



Since they're just plastic, you could spray paint them all to be the same color so it looks nice and uniform, or just leave them as they are for a more funky finish.

[morbid_lady]

i found this on another forum...

Basically, you pack in as many crates as you can under the mattress. Set them as close as possible, with the opening down towards the floor. His bed is in a corner so there's no worry about the mattress slipping of the crates. If yours is not i a corner I might suggest using plastic zip ties to connect the crates.

There's no other support, just the crates. But it's sturdy. We had 3 people jumping on it when he first set it up - no problem. The bed is a bit higher than other platform beds

[Trae]

Where can you get those crates? I like the shelf idea. 

[electricfix]

what forum was that posted in?