Pallets are the best friends of carpentry enthusiasts, because they can be obtained for free or at a very low price, they are very easy to handle and very versatile, allowing you to build with them from simple decorative furniture to walls or entire houses.
In this step by step, you will learn how to build a sofa bed with pallets. A very easy piece of furniture to make, because you only need to build a base with wheels; very comfortable (you just need to see it to know how comfortable it is); and very practical, because if you have a surprise guest who needs to stay the night, you hardly have to do anything to set it up as a bed.
In addition, this project is a great recycling opportunity, because you will not only be using pallets, but you can also give a new life to a mattress or two and recycle some pipes for the armrests, as you will see later.
Go ahead and build it!
Materials
- 2 pallets
- A single or 1 and 1/2 box spring mattress (you can use another extra mattress if it is very low, as you will see later)
- Nails, long screws, dowels, hammer, electric sander and drill
- four wheels
- Two spouts for recycling (optional)
Process
1. To start, prepare the pallets. Sand their surface well until smooth, and reinforce them. Put nails in all those loose boards. The trick to building good furniture out of pallets is to condition them well so that they are as strong as a non-recycled structure.
2. When they are ready, join the two pallets together. Again, the trick is to do quality work. You don’t have to just nail them together, but use some good long screws and get a good grip on the joint.
3. When the main structure is ready, it’s time for the details. Drill four holes in each bottom corner of the sofa and screw on the casters.
4. The sofa is almost ready. You just need to use your creativity to build armrests (which will also support the mattress), and if you want a backrest. Armrests made from recycled pipes were used here.
5. Now all that remains is to assemble the sofa with the mattresses, some sheets or a cover that you put together specially, and all the cushions that you want! You can make cushions yourself by recycling fabrics and clothes that you no longer use.
Enjoy it!