Beds are among the easiest home furniture to construct or repair when they come apart. Hanging the bed rails with hooks is the most crucial part of the project. However, integrating an antique bed into your bedroom can be problematic since you do not always have the original side rails. Moreover, the bed rails are usually lost or damaged when your bed is disassembled for moving; therefore, you need to take care of them. In this write-up, we will learn more about how to make bed rails with hooks to help make your bed sturdy. Let's dive in!
How To Make Bed Rails With Hooks
Typically bed rails are used as support to keep the bed frame strong and rigid while preventing the mattress from slipping off your bed. Normally, the rails are incorporated into the design of the bed and are subtle or exaggerated, depending on your preference. Okay, let’s see what the fundamental steps are when you intend to make bed rails with hooks to hold the head and footboards.
Step 1: Measure the Rail's Box Frame
The very first step will be to measure the dimensions of your current rail frame if you want to replace damaged rails. Usually, it would be best to use a measuring tape starting from one side rails. The length of a rail is measured from the top edge of the rail to the bottom edge of the rail. On the other hand, the width is measured from the left edge to the far right edge of the rail. So you will need to know the width, length and thickness of the side bed rails.
In addition to measuring the rail box frame, you will also need to measure your mattress length. For instance, a twin mattress is usually 39 inches wide by 75 inches long, a California king is 84 inches long, and a queen- or king-size mattress is 80 inches long. Therefore, the wooden side rails, commonly referred to as bed rails, need to be two to three inches longer than the mattress. This way, you will have extra space whenever you make the bed.
Step 2: Get a New Bed Rail that Matches the current rail.
With the dimensions of the current rail, you will need to purchase new rails that is made with durable materials to hold the mattress without a box spring and your weight. Here, you will pick the rail depending on what you are looking for; basically, a rail matching your bed would be ideal. Remember to check if the rails you go for have fasteners; if not, you could purchase them separately.
Step 3: Attach The Ends of Each Rail
The third set will safely use screws to secure the rails on the bedposts. This way, the side rails will remain attached to the footboard and headboard of your bed. The amazing thing is that most bed rails come with built-in hooks, so you need to make sure they match the size of your bed.
Step 4: Attach Center Supports
The last step would be to ensure that you attach the center support. You will find that some bed frames have side rails that are connected to the middle board rail to prevent the mattress from sagging. So the center supports will add extra mattress comfort and support while at the same time prolonging the warranty of the mattress.
Nevertheless, before getting the center support, you need to measure the width of the inner bed frame from side to side and the length of the center beam. The amazing bit is that most center support comes with a lifetime service policy, hook plates and long warranty periods.
Types of Bed Rails
When replacing the rails of a bed, you will need to know the different options you can choose from. There are usually 3 main types; Bolt-on Sleigh Bed Rails, Bed Rails with Hooks and Antique Wooden Bed Rails.
1. Bed Rails with Hooks
A bed with hooks usually comes with fasteners on the end of the rail. The fasteners usually slide into the headboard and footboard after securely locking the bed rails in place. Mostly these types of rails work best on wood beds. Purchasing rails that already have hoks will simplify your work, but you could also purchase the hooks separately.
2. Bolt-on Sleigh Bed Rails
The bolt-on sleigh bed rails usually connect to the head and footboard to form a sturdy frame for the bed. Typically the rails give support using bolt-on connection brackets, which enables them to accommodate most bolt-on headboards and footboards.
Bolt-on Sleigh Bed Rails are slightly different from the hook-on bed rails since they are abit hard to install. Nevertheless, they provide more stability and are more durable.
3. Antique Wooden Bed Rails
Out of all the types of wooden bed rails, antique or vintage bed rails are probably the most costly and hard to find compared to Bolt-on Sleigh Bed Rails and Bed Rails with Hooks. Usually, when purchasing these rails, you will have to go directly to the manufacturers.
The advantage is that most of them are durable and quite heavy, meaning they can accommodate heavy people. However, due to the build of these rails, you may need a couple of people to replace the rails or even move the bed around without damaging them.
When Should I Replace the Bed Rails?
If your bed rails are too old, broken, or damaged and can no longer hold weight, it should be time to replace them. Squeaks or creaks are usually the first signs that your bed rails need replacing. The amazing thing is that changing the rails will save you a lot of time, but you would also save money that you could use to replace the whole bed frame.
Again if you see cracks or irregularities in your rails, it means that the rails need replacing and are no longer safe to use. In these cases, you will need to replace the bed rails as soon as possible to prevent the bed from collapsing.
Additionally, if you want your bed rail to match your decor, you could also replace them. The good is that most rails are fairly prized and pretty easy to fix, so you can replace them whenever you want them to match your decor.
Tips And Warning on Making Bed Rails With Hooks
- Ensure that you measure and examine the rail properly to determine how th rails were attached to the bed. Again on the same, remember that not all vintage beds have bed rail hooks.
- Instead of changing the bed rails each time to match your decor, you could paint or stain them to match the headboard or footboard. Painting the rails would work best if you do it before assembling.
- Wear safety glasses and gloves when you are drilling or cutting wood.
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