How to Build a Platform Bed With Cinder Blocks and No Tools

If you need a bed frame ... just the bed frame, but you don't have the money to buy one or the tools to build one, make one yourself with cinder blocks. Fans of the cinder-block-and-plank bookshelf will find this design for a platform bed familiar and even complementary to what they already have. These plans are for a low platform bed, as opposed to a high-rise platform bed--sometimes called a loft bed. Cinder blocks would not be appropriate for tall or high-rise platform beds.

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Step 1

Consult the following guide to determine how many cinder blocks you should use:

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Step 2

Ask the associate where you buy the plywood--your local home improvement or hardware store--to cut it to match the dimensions of your mattress minus 1 inch from the length and 1 inch from the width. For example, a twin mattress measuring 39 by 75 inches would require a piece of plywood 38 by 74 inches. This will keep you from scraping your legs on the plywood.

Step 3

Arrange four cinder blocks in a square corresponding to the corners of your mattress. Lay them on their sides so they are wider than they are tall. Though this step doesn't require any great precision, try to set them so they're about one inch in from where the edge of your bed will be.

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Step 4

Add extra cinder blocks as necessary. For a full mattress, place one block in the center (like the 5 on a playing card). For a queen mattress, place one block in the center and a block at the middle of each side. Set up a king mattress just as you did the queen, but with four additional cinder blocks forming a rectangle between the outer edge and the block in the center.

Step 5

Set your plywood on the cinder blocks. Set your mattress on the plywood.

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How to Build a Platform Bed With Cinder Blocks and No Tools | Hunker (2024)

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