How to assemble a bunk bed

• Allen key (supplied)
• Spanner or socket set
• Cross-head screwdriver
• Rubber mallet
• Step stool
• Tape measure

Before you start, lay everything out on a soft surface (the flattened box works) and check it against the parts list in your manual.

• Head and foot end frames (upper and lower)
• Long side rails for both beds
• Slats or slat rolls and centre supports
• Guard rails and ladder
• Bolts, barrel nuts, dowels and connecting pins

1. 1

   Step 1: Build in the room where the bed will stand; a finished bunk bed often does not fit through a door.

2. 2

   Step 2: If the ends come in two halves, join the upper and lower end frames with the connecting pins or dowels first.

3. 3

   Step 3: With your helper holding the end frames upright, bolt the lower bed's side rails between them, using the barrel nuts in the rails. Keep the bolts finger-tight.

4. 4

   Step 4: Fit the upper bed's side rails the same way, from a sturdy step stool, never from the lower bed frame.

5. 5

   Step 5: Check that the frame is square: the diagonals across the top of the frame should be equal. Then tighten every bolt firmly.

6. 6

   Step 6: Lay the slats or slat rolls on both beds, fix them if the manual says so, and fit any centre support legs so they touch the floor.

7. 7

   Step 7: Fit the guard rails on all open sides of the top bunk, and the ladder, with every bolt your manual lists.

8. 8

   Step 8: Put in mattresses of exactly the size and maximum thickness the manual gives. The top of the mattress must sit well below the top of the guard rail.

9. 9

   Step 9: Check every bolt again after the first week of use, and then every few months.

• Using a thicker mattress on the top bunk than the manual allows, which lowers the effective height of the guard rail.
• Leaving the ladder bolts loose so the ladder shifts under a child's weight.
• Skipping the centre support on long slat runs, which makes the slats sag or fall out.