The good:
Solid bed. Looks great. Its a nice height as a platform bed, particularly with the low, futon type mattress we are using with it. Mostly went together well and most components are good. Only a little issue here and there. Shipping was free! (Okay, its probably figured into the price, but weve bought less bed for more money before.)
The not so good with a little goodness tucked in:
The bed was shipped via a private carrier and there was no tracking info provided. It was taking a bit of time to get here so I emailed the company about wheres my bed? The company did reply quickly with contact information for the carrier they shipped by. When I called the carrier they were very helpful and were waiting to hear from me to set up a delivery time. We live about three hours from San Antonio, TX and while we have daily UPS, FedEx, and of course USPS, not all private carriers are making runs here everyday. I set up a day. As it turned out the truck was down this way the evening before and the driver called to see if I would like the bed delivered tonight. Sure! Not only was the bed delivered about 8PM, but the driver and his helper unboxed it, carried the components into the house where we wanted them, and carted the packing materials away.
So its mostly good on the shipping side. The only downside concerning shipping was that there was no tracking or carrier info provided by the seller and I was left wondering where my bed was. As it turned out I needed to contact the carrier to get the bed delivered. Once I made contact everyone was very helpful both at and the carrier. I just shouldnt have had to initiate contact to find out where the bed was and to find I needed to contact the company to arrange a delivery date and time.
The bed overall is heavy and seems well made of real wood. A few niggling issues though. Even though the bed was unpacked and I was able to inspect it since I didnt inspect every square inch there was a flaw on one of the side rails I didnt see until I was actually putting the bed together. On the inside of one rail near the end there was a crack, perhaps more adequately described as a thin groove as it did not go all the way through the board, but was on the inside. I was a little concerned, but it did not extend into the connection area or through the width of the board. The idea of trying to return this big bed was not something I cared to get into over this. So I filled the crack with a good, clear glue to sort of stabilize it. Two months so far and no change.
Overall assembly is straightforward, but a few issues there. One of the holes in the headboard was slightly too small in diameter for the pin of the sideboard to enter. Either the finish had pooled in there and made it too small or it just wasnt fully drilled. Either way, I got my drill and an appropriate size twist drill and opened the hole up. Irritating when you are putting a bed together late at night and when it isnt a sub-$200 bed.
A few issues others here have mentioned about the assembly process and their solutions were quite helpful and not really addressed in the otherwise good assembly instructions. First, the slats. These are supposed to be pre-drilled in both the slat ends and the sideboard for easy placement. They are predrilled. What they dont do is match up completely. As others here have noted the fix for this is simply lay the slats out properly, use the holes you can, and using the holes in the slat tips as pilot holes drill a guide hole in the side rail. Then just screw it down.
Next is the center rail. Its easy enough to put together. Its no so easy to get it into place and cinch down since it is in the middle and you have the slats in place making getting near it touchy. Be careful stepping between the slats to get to it that you dont break your leg, or the slats. Especially your leg. If you have thick legs below the knee you may have some issues. This also makes it tough to adjust the feet on the legs of the center rail. An essential task.
The center support rail requires a little special attention if you dont want to be one of those complaining about how it or the slats broke shortly after you put the bed together. Some of these things have been mentioned by others and bear repeating as essential information.
One of those things is that just as the instructions say, make sure the bed is where you want it before you do put the center rail into operation. The instructions are quite clear that moving the bed with the center rail properly adjusted for support can damaged the legs (and the slats along with it). Yes, the adjusters are slim. They work just fine in a stationary position and if actually adjusted per the the instructions. Move them, as in moving the bed, or dont have enough vertical tension on them and you are asking for issues.
Another thing is to make sure you follow the instructions on adjusting the legs of the center rail. Dont just run them down until they make contact with the ground. You need to adjust them until they put some upward pressure on the slats and bow them up just a little. Dont overdo it, but make sure there is some upward pressure on the center area of the slats.
One thing others here have mentioned when using a mattress only, which is sort of the idea of a platform bed, is that foam mattresses dont do well with a base that has open areas. We learned this with a memory foam mattress and a metal, fold out frame that was supposed to be just fine with it. Once again, I followed the advice of some of the other reviewers on here who were kind enough to provide useful information on the subject. Since we had been getting in a few new computer desks and odd bits of furniture at this time I had plenty of large cardboard boxes to try and figure out how to get rid of. Following the advice of a few reviewers here I simply cut the boxes so that I could lay them out flat and covered the slats in the bed with them. It keeps the areas of the mattress from slipping and shifting into the gaps and acts to spread movement over an area a little. This not only helps the mattress, but shifts just enough stress off the slats to protect them. Probably a good place to mention that between the wife and I we top just a little over 400 lbs total. Add in the dog that likes to get up there and lay between our legs at the foot of the bed and its more like 460 lbs total.
Even though I have spent most of my post focusing on issues, the simple fact is we really like the bed and are pretty happy with it. Okay, the wife just loves the bed. Which is one reason I spent a week or more total reviewing beds, the specifications, and reading tons of reviews in an effort to find solid, informational reviews to help with the decision. I changed my mind at least three times and finally came down to purchasing this bed. A solid wood platform would be nice, but that would sort of preclude ease of shipment.
Hopefully, this review will be helpful. I for one hate those reviews that go something like, 5 Stars! I havent actually used it yet, but Im just sure its going to be wonderful! Yeah, thats really helpful and someone doesnt understand the concept of a user review.
Oh, and as others have noted. Yes, until you get the hang of it the bed will bite your legs. ;) Dont worry, youll learn spatial awareness after a time or two. Painfully learned, but learn it you will.
Solid bed and the wife loves it.
The good: Solid bed. Looks great. Its a nice height as a platform bed, particularly with the low, futon type mattress we are using with it. Mostly went together well and most components are good. Only a little issue here and there. Shipping was free! (Okay, its probably figured into the price, but weve bought less bed for more money before.) The not so good with a little goodness tucked in: The bed was shipped via a private carrier and there was no tracking info provided. It was taking a bit of time to get here so I emailed the company about wheres my bed? The company did reply quickly with contact information for the carrier they shipped by. When I called the carrier they were very helpful and were waiting to hear from me to set up a delivery time. We live about three hours from San Antonio, TX and while we have daily UPS, FedEx, and of course USPS, not all private carriers are making runs here everyday. I set up a day. As it turned out the truck was down this way the evening before and the driver called to see if I would like the bed delivered tonight. Sure! Not only was the bed delivered about 8PM, but the driver and his helper unboxed it, carried the components into the house where we wanted them, and carted the packing materials away. So its mostly good on the shipping side. The only downside concerning shipping was that there was no tracking or carrier info provided by the seller and I was left wondering where my bed was. As it turned out I needed to contact the carrier to get the bed delivered. Once I made contact everyone was very helpful both at and the carrier. I just shouldnt have had to initiate contact to find out where the bed was and to find I needed to contact the company to arrange a delivery date and time. The bed overall is heavy and seems well made of real wood. A few niggling issues though. Even though the bed was unpacked and I was able to inspect it since I didnt inspect every square inch there was a flaw on one of the side rails I didnt see until I was actually putting the bed together. On the inside of one rail near the end there was a crack, perhaps more adequately described as a thin groove as it did not go all the way through the board, but was on the inside. I was a little concerned, but it did not extend into the connection area or through the width of the board. The idea of trying to return this big bed was not something I cared to get into over this. So I filled the crack with a good, clear glue to sort of stabilize it. Two months so far and no change. Overall assembly is straightforward, but a few issues there. One of the holes in the headboard was slightly too small in diameter for the pin of the sideboard to enter. Either the finish had pooled in there and made it too small or it just wasnt fully drilled. Either way, I got my drill and an appropriate size twist drill and opened the hole up. Irritating when you are putting a bed together late at night and when it isnt a sub-$200 bed. A few issues others here have mentioned about the assembly process and their solutions were quite helpful and not really addressed in the otherwise good assembly instructions. First, the slats. These are supposed to be pre-drilled in both the slat ends and the sideboard for easy placement. They are predrilled. What they dont do is match up completely. As others here have noted the fix for this is simply lay the slats out properly, use the holes you can, and using the holes in the slat tips as pilot holes drill a guide hole in the side rail. Then just screw it down. Next is the center rail. Its easy enough to put together. Its no so easy to get it into place and cinch down since it is in the middle and you have the slats in place making getting near it touchy. Be careful stepping between the slats to get to it that you dont break your leg, or the slats. Especially your leg. If you have thick legs below the knee you may have some issues. This also makes it tough to adjust the feet on the legs of the center rail. An essential task. The center support rail requires a little special attention if you dont want to be one of those complaining about how it or the slats broke shortly after you put the bed together. Some of these things have been mentioned by others and bear repeating as essential information. One of those things is that just as the instructions say, make sure the bed is where you want it before you do put the center rail into operation. The instructions are quite clear that moving the bed with the center rail properly adjusted for support can damaged the legs (and the slats along with it). Yes, the adjusters are slim. They work just fine in a stationary position and if actually adjusted per the the instructions. Move them, as in moving the bed, or dont have enough vertical tension on them and you are asking for issues. Another thing is to make sure you follow the instructions on adjusting the legs of the center rail. Dont just run them down until they make contact with the ground. You need to adjust them until they put some upward pressure on the slats and bow them up just a little. Dont overdo it, but make sure there is some upward pressure on the center area of the slats. One thing others here have mentioned when using a mattress only, which is sort of the idea of a platform bed, is that foam mattresses dont do well with a base that has open areas. We learned this with a memory foam mattress and a metal, fold out frame that was supposed to be just fine with it. Once again, I followed the advice of some of the other reviewers on here who were kind enough to provide useful information on the subject. Since we had been getting in a few new computer desks and odd bits of furniture at this time I had plenty of large cardboard boxes to try and figure out how to get rid of. Following the advice of a few reviewers here I simply cut the boxes so that I could lay them out flat and covered the slats in the bed with them. It keeps the areas of the mattress from slipping and shifting into the gaps and acts to spread movement over an area a little. This not only helps the mattress, but shifts just enough stress off the slats to protect them. Probably a good place to mention that between the wife and I we top just a little over 400 lbs total. Add in the dog that likes to get up there and lay between our legs at the foot of the bed and its more like 460 lbs total. Even though I have spent most of my post focusing on issues, the simple fact is we really like the bed and are pretty happy with it. Okay, the wife just loves the bed. Which is one reason I spent a week or more total reviewing beds, the specifications, and reading tons of reviews in an effort to find solid, informational reviews to help with the decision. I changed my mind at least three times and finally came down to purchasing this bed. A solid wood platform would be nice, but that would sort of preclude ease of shipment. Hopefully, this review will be helpful. I for one hate those reviews that go something like, 5 Stars! I havent actually used it yet, but Im just sure its going to be wonderful! Yeah, thats really helpful and someone doesnt understand the concept of a user review. Oh, and as others have noted. Yes, until you get the hang of it the bed will bite your legs. ;) Dont worry, youll learn spatial awareness after a time or two. Painfully learned, but learn it you will.