Bunk Beds and the slip through portal theory

Found this online and it's perfect for this blog's description. 

We've all seen them on AMFV, or You Tube of bunk beds breaking when someone gets on them - scary.  I'm just hoping those were cheaply made and or seriously old for that to happen.  But there is also a hidden danger in Bunks that most parents don't care to find out or don't know that it even exists.  Openings.  Spaces.  The portholes of the bunks beyond.  Bad rendition of a kids movie line.  

Our Standard line - $395 as shown

There are codes that bunk manufacturers have to abide by.  There is a magic number that the opening space can not be any wider than or less then.  There are also magic numbers per square inch for weight.  I won't talk about those because I don't build anything out of 3/4" press board covered in veneer.  Seriously, no one should ever buy a bunk that is made of wood that is less than in inch in thickness anyway - unless it's made out of Brazilian or Purple Heart Mahogany and if you can afford that, you might as well purchase that very big diamond or 300" TV for yourself.  

Custom made (Finish and build)

Our twin/full mission style $800.00 as shown

On to those numbers.  I am not telling you.  But I can say this.  The codes are worse to read than any tax instructional booklet from the IRS.  The opening space can't be any more than this but has to be less than this and no wider than this unless it is smaller than this.  (paraphrasing)  After having it translated into a basic and common language most people can understand - we have been building our bunks the same way since the get go.  The rule of thumb is this.  The spacing should not be big enough to get a normal childs head through - this also means a leg.  If the space can fit such an appendage - there better be enough room to get a normal childs entire body through.  Most people use the normal measurements based on their own child.  We go smaller - based on a toddler.  The government provides the common sense measurements (which sometimes don't make any sense) and are based on things that have happened.  That is why there are so many recalls on children's furniture.  Anything and everything eventually does happen and therefore they change things up a little to prevent it again.  For example guard rails.  You should never ever buy a bunk that doesn't have them.  They are the probably the first thing the government made mandatory.  They are there to prevent whomever is sleeping on top from rolling out of bed while sleeping.  No amount of guard rails can prevent anyone from falling off a bunk if they are using the top bunk as a freebasing jumping platform, or as a trampoline or if the child decides that he or she can swing on the ceiling fan blades.  Why would you have a ceiling fan so close the top bunk anyway - that's an ER visit waiting to happen!!!!  Think of helicopter rotors slashing along the forehead.  This is also why the government says no one under the age of 5 should sleep on top. Some kids don't think of danger.    As a mom myself, I know that one of my kids didn't know what danger was till much later.  Every child is different though and so the government chose the magic number of 5 years old for top bunk usage.  Just because it says 5, you should know your own child well enough to know if it will work.  This is another reason why I refuse to build toddler bunk beds.  No matter how much of an angel your child is, anything and everything usually does happen.  That and Toddler bunks are very top heavy, narrow and if you have one..please I beg you to anchor it to the wall. 

Plank loft with two desks and single frame bed.
Two rooms of Furniture in this one ensemble.  

I have seen some local builders advertising on Craigslist in many different states that charge around the same as we do and what they build is A).  Non compliant and B).  An accident waiting to happen and C). I wouldn't put my Chihuahua on the top bunk.   Here is a good rule of thumb that is based on common sense when shopping for a bunk bed for your kids.  If YOU (not your kid) can comfortably climb up, flop into bed and you feel confident - buy it.  If you are slightly worried it can't hold your weight - don't buy it.  All bunks and lofts have a little bit of wobble.  If the frame wobbles more than 1/4 inch or give either way - walk away.  Look at the weight limits on store bought bunks.  Most of them say 160 lbs on the top bunk.  How much does your child weigh?  How much does your childs mattress weigh?  How much does the flat support weigh? Subtract all of that from 160lbs and that is how much you can allow your child to grow before you have to purchase a whole new bed.  

The bolts and or screws;  This is what pisses me off the most.  I guess the government is waiting for some sort of bunk bed Apocalypse.  If you have a bunk that is held together with common screws - burn it.  Take it down and burn it.  If you have a bunk that is held together with thicker screws that are angled in and hidden (Pocket's)- burn those.  If you have  a bunk that is held together by bolted ratchet system that is on the inside of the bed rail, burn those - although all of these are allowed, they are all very dangerous.  You need to have access to your fastenings because over time they will need to be tightened.  If you see a bunk that is held together with the old fashioned hook and eye system....seriously burn that one too. Are you going to trust something 6 foot in the air to hold up you up if the only thing holding you up are a few hooks?  Why would you want your child up there?  Would you trust yourself hanging from a ceiling on a swing with those hooks or screws or hidden pocket screws.  I know I wouldn't.

A lot of people think that to have a very sturdy and well built bunk that it has to made out of huge dimensional pieces of wood and very expensive - this is not true.   It can be I suppose if you are going for that look and like to waste money.  But a good quality affordable and sturdy bunk bed can be made to look sleek, rustic, modern and can be very beautiful.  There are tons of us woodworkers that do great jobs in making these - we take the time to learn and figure out the compliance codes -they we make them to code.   Then there are tons of wood workers that want to make money and don't think about how the build will be in a few months of use - so you might as well have paid for firewood.  Below are some great examples of bunks that are not compliant.  I pulled these off of the internet - can you point out how they are not compliant - notice some of them are all over the internet (viral) because they look great - but sadly, in my experience would end up being death traps or at least contribute to a good concussion and or broken bones.

No Guard Rails or ladder system and top heavy. (It will tip).
Accident waiting to happen on this one.  

No enough guard rails - one post? Wow!
Whats the weight limit on this one I wonder?

No Guard Rails (looks great) - 2 posts holding it up
wonder the weight limit on this one too.

No Guard rails - wood is too thin and I bet
this bed is not sturdy at all.  

Looks great - no guard rails and ladder system
is waiting to be dove off of. 

A Stress Swarm! Coping with Business Issues, Personal Issues, Teenage Issues and Tax Issues

My plate is full.  The cup hath runnith over and is forming a very large pool on the table and cascading on the floor.  I am, in a nutshell - stressed.  I'm almost out of my mind.  To be honest I am not sure what exactly is keeping me together, other than two very common sense things.  Baby Steps and crawl if you must.  I'm serious.  We all learned how to walk that way.  We crawled, then took baby steps and if our walking was not fast enough to get that cookie, we crawled like Dale Earnhardt in record time.  The results were the same - we got there and we got that cookie.

I am not exactly sure if it is season or that we have found a marketing plan that actually works.  But me and my little company are very busy.  So busy in fact that I am backlogged and behind on orders.  The orders have not stopped coming in.  We have also been recognized and are nominated for an award (I am very proud of this, by the way).  I have hired an assistant to help out in the shop with sanding.  I had to rent another space to use as a staining/painting and assembly room.  So giving all this added expense, I did not get paid one penny for my 340+ hours worked in the month of March.  But hey, it's a little dip in the road to success.  This I know.  

My gorgeous teeny girls are apparently lined up with the insanity planets or something, because the teenage angst of your typical girl, has gone from normal level to well, insane!  I can't even look at them without them giving me attitude or seeing tears.  Wow - was I ever that bad?  I am trying my best to tell them, rub dirt in it, chin up, boobs out, walk on and get on with it.  They aren't listening.  I have been told I don't understand, will never understand and just don't get it.  That's the same thing as not understanding, by the way.  If looks could kill, I'd be dead at least a 1000 times by now.  So I put them to work during spring break to keep their minds off of whatever insanity was lurking there - um, the sacrifices us parents have to make to our own mental health to make sure our kids are alright can be very painful.   But hey, at least they got paid.  Maybe I can talk them into taking me out for a dinner. 

On top of all of this and the deepening tax bill that is ahead, we started having Earthquakes.  Not really big ones and no I am not scared, but it's turning into an Earthquake Swarm.  As of today, 233 since Friday evening when we had the big one.  A whopping 5.1.  Please, I am more shocked at my neighbors response than I am about anything else.  We live about 2 miles from the epicenters.  He is a native Californian.  I'm just along for the ride.  But again, it's a little worry behind everything else.  What if all my wood falls over?  

I had one customer ask me "When was your last day off?"  I actually had to think about that.  I think it was the day after New Years.  A full day that is.  I take a morning or an afternoon when I can.  I went out to lunch with a friend on Saturday before going into the shop and then took off early on Sunday (I left at 6pm) and enjoyed watching a few episodes of the Killing Season 3 on Netflix.  So a full day off, no can't recall what that feels like.  Little chunks of time to myself, I don't have those.  2 hour naps, I really miss those, ALOT.  So when i am reading about other Mom the Builders and Mom-prenuers - and they talk about down time.  I really want to call them and ask them, what down time are we talking about here?  Your brain never ever switches off.  If you are not physically building something, you are on the computer researching something else,  making to do lists, on a delivery, networking, on the phone, researching, pricing out options, writing blogs, you get the gist.  Working for yourself is not 9 to 5 it is 24/7.  It is who you are.  Stress is just one part of it.

My Love Affair - wood, customers, stain and all things creative.

Rockling 

I have quite a few customers that comment that they can tell how much I love my job.  I guess my face glows when they meet me or they can hear it over the phone.  I am not sure how they can tell. I love to build.  I love to be creative and the best ego boost that anyone can have is the head nod, look of amazement and the inflection of awe in my customers voices when I show them a technique right in front of them.

Tigerwood finish

I especially like it when a customer brings in a sample of something that I have to match that is not a normal color (veneer) and right then and there I do up a sample that is very close.  Sometimes the customers look scared when I pull out weird colors (a beige for example when I am trying to match something that is an olive green).  I have worked with stains for so long, I know how they behave when mixed or smudged with each other.

Reclaimed barnwood finish

Driftwood Finish

I also have to say that some of my customers trust me enough to allow me 100% creative freedom. They give me an idea of a color they are wanting and a style and as one customer put it "Do your magic and surprise me!".   I love those customers.  It's almost like a grab bag, Backwood Beds style.  They know they are getting  bed, but they trust me enough to design it and color it as I see fit.  I ask about heights, dimensions, rustic or modern etc - get those and then I have a long think on what it will be.  Then I sketch, build and do the finish.  Sometimes these beds are so good, they become part of our line.  (Mondo, Olympian & Shire)

Crown

Crown

I have designed a simple little platform bed that utilizes welded  hairpin type legs at the foot.  Since we purchase all of our material locally, we found a gentleman that welds them for us.  The result of the bed are amazing.  We have not launched the design officially on our site, but did post it to instagram.   So far - the feedback and the few orders are a sign that the bed will do very well in our line. One of my older customers helped to name it - the Crown. 

 I have also designed a bed specially for kids - I haven't built the prototype yet - but I know that this bed is going to be a huge hit.  Let just say when you see it, you will know someone (if not yourself) that will want it.  Adult or child, it will be as cute as can be.  As well as 100% Eco-friendly.  This is the bed that I am going to use my home-made milk paints with.

All in all, no matter how many hours I put in, at home on the PC or at the shop and the fact that I rarely have any down time.  I love what I do.  I don't look it as work and even in the evenings while home with the family - I am always researching or thinking of something that I could do, want to do or at least try.  I have heard "Turn it off" quite a few times from my kids and husband. They are asking me to turn off my design switch.  It really is not that easy.  Sometimes I wish I could turn it off so I could just be.  I have a hard time with staying idle and just being.  Yeh, no, I can't do that.

Mondo

Please note that I only use new wood.  I don't use reclaimed wood on anything.  I make it look that way.  All of my techniques are a multi-step process using, stain, paint, waxes and different odd tools to get these looks.

My Mallet - aka - Bone Crusher

One of my favorite tools in my shop is also one of my most hated.  My mallet.  I use it for so many things, it's the most versatile hand tool I have.  I'm talking hand tools here.  The mallet serves as a hammer, a mallet (duh!), a plugger hammering in thing-a-jigger, a weapon of mass destruction, a gavel while arguing with my help (my kids) and I even use it for stretching the shoulders and upper back.  In fact, scary thought - I have been known to accidentally put it in my purse and carry it around with me (unknowing of course).

Right Foot broken toes

left foot broken toe

I have two mallets.  One is shinny and new and never ever used and there is the "Bone Crusher" or as I refer to it as the "Toe Smasher".  It has earned this name in July of 2013 when i accidentally dropped it on my big toe on my right foot.  I broke my toe.  Then in August of the same year, I did the same thing to my left foots big toe.  That one broke too.  Have you ever had a broken toe? Other than taping it to it's neighbor there is nothing that can be done.  You hobble along and go on with your business.  Thankfully I broke the phalanges and not the knuckles of them both - so the hobbling was at best a cute shuffle.  The worst part of it all was not being able to get a pedicure because of the healing.  I had to keep them as straight as possible.

Broken Thumb

Broken thumb

Then on December 23rd during the Christmas rush of getting all the bunk beds ready for deliveries for Christmas Eve I smashed my left thumb.  What a royal job I did too.  I was separating a top bunk from a bottom bunk - because I build them tight, I had to use the mallet to get that extra umph.  Sledging away I was beating the block and wham, full force right on my thumb.  Looking back it may have been better to use a clamp to keep the block there, lesson learned.  But for that time after working a 9 hour shift already, I didn't have that hindsight.  I threw the mallet across the room, my face and thumb felt like it was going to explode, I drooled, I couldn't breath - it hurt so bad. Then the breath came, and I cried and screamed like a girl.  I am a girl so I will not apologize for that.  After 10 minutes of sniffling and realizing my thumb was indeed broken and numb.  I put some duct tape on it and finished the bed i was working on and another one.  I finally went to bed 5 hours later.

The next morning however, my thumb was obviously swollen, very hot and the pressure I felt was unreal.  I felt as if the skin was going to tear at any moment.  I was hoping that binding it would work, but I knew I needed to have it drained.  So unlike my toes, I had no choice but to visit the ER.  They burred an nice hole in the nail and let it drain.  That day's work went so smoothly because the entire thing was actually numb and I couldn't feel anything.  Just a little medical tape on the knuckle to prevent it from bending and I was good to go.

3 months healed

Again, in hindsight I really should have gone to the orthopedic.  Here it is in March (3 full months later) and although all is healed per say, I still have no feeling in the tip of my thumb.  I still can't press my truck's key fob buttons with that thumb.  When I do, I can't feel my thumb tip on the button, but this shooting pain goes from just under the nail to the base of the knuckle when I press. So I have some damage there somewhere.  But it is usable and I have no issues in using the pad of the thumb for anything.

Since I'm a firm believer in rubbing dirt in the "owies" anyway or repairing a good cut with super glue (Do not use gorilla glue - you will have a little bump in there forever) I am happy with the outcome.  One thing I am really happy with though, having broken both my big toes, I now have to routinely go in for pedicures to help with the nails growing properly.  Ahem..I'll take that punishment any day! I gave up on having nice finger nails a long time ago, but I love pretty toes.

Lincoln Logs & Sloppy Joe's

Cabinet/pantry Circa 1934

Remember when you were a kid and you played with Lincoln Logs?  Making a log cabin, with those window cut outs and a roof - you would day dream of it actually being your house one day. Maybe if you were lucky enough you had sloppy joe's for dinner, needing that bib that was obviously needed while eating but afraid to wear one in case you looked like a baby?

Believe it or not, those two famous things have another meaning in adulthood in reference to furniture.  Lincoln Log Furniture and Sloppy Joe furniture are also names that was once thought of as cheap but sturdy furniture.

Simple Benches

Child's Bed - everything is reclaimed

Sloppy Joe Furniture were geared towards very low class and usually made out of salvaged and reclaimed wood and sold at a small profit or was made for personal use.  You have seen pictures of tables, chairs, benches etc during the depression.  Nothing went to waste and if it wasn't burned for heat, it was reused.  This was called Sloppy Joe Furniture.  Among the social classes, obviously if you had this furniture, this meant you were at the bottom of the ladder - income wise.  Art-Deco was left to the upper middle class.

Lincoln Log Build / Simple but stylish

Jump up to 2014 and what furniture is popular?  Sloppy Joe.  Customers are paying a hefty premium of salvaged wood and reclaimed items.  The only difference between then and now, it was made of necessity back then and today, the Lincoln Log build takes over with a huge heaping spoonful  of Sloppy Joe.

Lincoln Log building - is not a nice term either when used by a master carpenter.  The idea behind the name calling is that anyone can build with Lincoln logs.  Seriously, everyone has played with them, you stack them and make something.  So compared to inlay's, joinery, curves and carvings and angle cuts and wooden masterpieces, stacking wood and making it work is a bit derogatory to a highly skilled carpenter and finisher.   But there in then lies the difference of style, function, knowledge and the whole sloppy joe effect.    Lincoln Log furniture is built by those that know what they are doing and sloppy joe furniture was built out of necessity and repaired many times over.

Combine the two styles and you have the current furniture trend.  What I find ironic is the complete swing in favor of the sloppy joe style.  The sloppy joe pieces were not meant to last over time and were considered the low of the lowest in decor - they were built with the idea of them breaking.  Today however, with all the press-board and MDF furniture and veneer (every store sells them from cheap to expensive) the good old fashioned solid real wood, even though considered sloppy joe still outlasts most of the furniture built and manufactured today.  In today's market and furniture trends (not much has changed by the way) - you are supposed to change out your furniture every 5 years or so.  That is what bigger box stores are wanting you to do, therefore nothing is built to last.

So who is the real Sloppy Joe here - a carpenter who builds simple furniture at affordable prices that will last a life time or an assembly line, packaging press-board and odd shaped screws with directions that aren't in English?  But as always, things change and the market is slowly but surely realizing that the words "cheap" and "quality" don't go in the same sentence in describing furniture. Customers are seeking out hand made Lincoln Log built items that can be described as "affordable" and "quality" in the same sentence.  Especially when it is built locally.

Bubby - Backwood Beds official littlest mascot

For those of you who follow me on Instagram and on Twitter - I occasionally post pictures of a little squirrel that I have named Bubby.  Bubby is our pretend squirrel pet, shop mascot and all out party animal.  He has a mixture of my personality and that of a wild animal - which isn't too far off of my own personality.  He is nerdy, quirky and sometimes just down right weird.  Yes, not far off my own personality at all. Bubby will making an appearance now and then - displaying all his talents and glory.  Sometimes he will show his true colors and other times we usually catch him doing strange things.

 We first introduced Bubby on Valentines Day, where he was shy and had a little stage freight.  Since his debut, he is gaining more confidence and wants to display his talents (he thinks he is talented) for all to see.

We wanted to get a "real" Bubby for a pet, as I personally feel that squirrels are the cutest form of a rat that lives in a tree, but it is illegal to own a pet squirrel in California.  So we have the next best thing - a virtual pet.  That and squirrels are very entertaining.

Here is a link to a squirrel rescue here in So. Cal that does some amazing work with the little guys and gals they find or are brought in - usually they are orphans and hurt squirrels that need a little medical help to get back up in the tree again.

So follow us on Intsagram and Twitter - for the occasional Bubby funny meme, you will also get updates on projects, tips on wood and techniques, pictures of prototype beds and the daily life in a small family owned and run business.