Bunk bed safety basics: guardrails, mattress height and the top bunk age

A bunk bed is the one piece of furniture a child climbs every night, so parents are right to ask how it is built and what to watch for. Here is what goes into ours and the habits that keep a bunk safe for years.

How the beds are built

• Frames are solid New Zealand pine, not particleboard or veneer over MDF.
• Most bunks and lofts are rated to 400 lb per sleeping surface, on solid pine slats with a metal centre support bar.
• Structural joints are metal into metal rather than screws biting into wood, so they do not work loose and start creaking after a year of climbing.
• The children's beds we carry are manufactured and tested to applicable children's furniture safety standards, and elevated beds ship with guardrails designed to standard spacing.
• Finishes are durable and low-VOC, and many beds are GREENGUARD Gold certified for low chemical emissions indoors.

The age for the top bunk

Health Canada advises that children under six should not sleep on the upper bunk, and your bed's instructions include the age recommendation for that model. Until then, the lower bunk, a low bunk or a low loft gives the same fun without the height.

Mattress height matters

A guardrail only works if the mattress sits low enough below it. The instructions state the maximum mattress thickness for the top bunk, so stay within it, and use the mattress size specified for the bed so there is no gap at the edges. Our low-profile mattresses are sized for bunk and loft clearances.

Placement

Keep bunk and loft beds away from windows and heat sources, and make the ladder or staircase the only way up.

A check every season

Once the bed is built, re-tighten the hardware after the first few weeks of use and then check it every few months for loose bolts or damage. Kids climb, and climbing works things loose on any bed.

More on our safety standards page, and if you are choosing between a bunk and a loft for a specific age, ask us.