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I've Been (Bed) Framed
As Amazon catches up following Christmas, things are showing up earlier than originally predicted. This includes the SD card storage case that I bought to hold all the video that I've shot, K's Christmas presents for Julie (and there was much rejoicing!), and the new bed frame for the bed in our bedroom.
This last was a great relief, because the frame from the manufacturer that we're sleeping on, despite being less than two years old, has been behaving in increasingly less reliable fashion, which is not good for my peace of mind in bed. The box for the new frame was ginormous. I wrestled it in the front door and then, as recommended by someone else assembling one of these in comments on Amazon, unboxed it and got Julie to carry it upstairs as two separate pieces.
Putting this together looked remarkably simple, as it's essentially two Twin XL frames that you then bolt together to make a king-sized frame. No tools are required for assembly. You just unfold the frame so that it's flat, unfold the legs, and then move the braces into place, tightening down wing nuts to hold the braces where they belong. Then you put the two frames next to each other, insert two wing nut bolts that you tighten down with a wing nut on the other side, and you have a brand-new and (hopefully!) stable platform for your mattress.
Which meant that it was now time to move the mattress from the old bed frame to the new bed frame. This was a job for Super-Dad and his two faithful child sidekicks, Strength and Speed. Neither Strength nor Speed were entirely thrilled about this job. The hybrid mattress, having some inflatable components, was tethered to a pump and thereby to the outlet, so the pump had to be disconnected to let the mattress slide over to the new bed frame, but once that was done, it was a matter of moments to finish that part of the job.
The fun was removing the old bed frame. After taking out the slats, which ran the entire width of the bed, but were happily tethered together into two sections by a couple of straps, it became apparent why the bed frame had failed. The slats were supported by an entirely inadequate piece of wood screwed into the outer frame with wood screws that penetrated less than half-an-inch into whatever wood was in that outer frame. Once one screw gave way, all of the others started following in very short order. Now I understand why the bed frame only had a one year warranty.
I tipped the frame up on its side and we unscrewed the twelve feet. Then I popped out the two supports in the middle, leaving a more-or-less square. And I looked at the corners and remembered that these were pegged together with a long, conical plastic peg. Oh, good. Happily the bottom of the peg was sticking out and I was able to lever them out from the bottom with the pliers as a pry bar.
Strength and Speed dispatched all of the old parts down to the first floor and vanished while I swept up the rubble and debris on the floor.
This was premature on the part of the Super-Kids, as the bed was a bit heavy and ungainly for me to push across the floor and into position. They were summoned back upstairs, the bed was pushed over to where it belongs, plugged back in, and the Junior Justice League was dismissed.
Super-Dad decided to stretch out on the bed for a bit, because if it was going to fail immediately, it was better for immediately to be now, instead of when we were going to bed.
The bed did *not* fail immediately, which was good. And this bed frame has a five-year warranty and an advertised 4400 pound capacity, so I have hopes that it is going to last for a while.
And that I will sleep well tonight.
This last was a great relief, because the frame from the manufacturer that we're sleeping on, despite being less than two years old, has been behaving in increasingly less reliable fashion, which is not good for my peace of mind in bed. The box for the new frame was ginormous. I wrestled it in the front door and then, as recommended by someone else assembling one of these in comments on Amazon, unboxed it and got Julie to carry it upstairs as two separate pieces.
Putting this together looked remarkably simple, as it's essentially two Twin XL frames that you then bolt together to make a king-sized frame. No tools are required for assembly. You just unfold the frame so that it's flat, unfold the legs, and then move the braces into place, tightening down wing nuts to hold the braces where they belong. Then you put the two frames next to each other, insert two wing nut bolts that you tighten down with a wing nut on the other side, and you have a brand-new and (hopefully!) stable platform for your mattress.
Which meant that it was now time to move the mattress from the old bed frame to the new bed frame. This was a job for Super-Dad and his two faithful child sidekicks, Strength and Speed. Neither Strength nor Speed were entirely thrilled about this job. The hybrid mattress, having some inflatable components, was tethered to a pump and thereby to the outlet, so the pump had to be disconnected to let the mattress slide over to the new bed frame, but once that was done, it was a matter of moments to finish that part of the job.
The fun was removing the old bed frame. After taking out the slats, which ran the entire width of the bed, but were happily tethered together into two sections by a couple of straps, it became apparent why the bed frame had failed. The slats were supported by an entirely inadequate piece of wood screwed into the outer frame with wood screws that penetrated less than half-an-inch into whatever wood was in that outer frame. Once one screw gave way, all of the others started following in very short order. Now I understand why the bed frame only had a one year warranty.
I tipped the frame up on its side and we unscrewed the twelve feet. Then I popped out the two supports in the middle, leaving a more-or-less square. And I looked at the corners and remembered that these were pegged together with a long, conical plastic peg. Oh, good. Happily the bottom of the peg was sticking out and I was able to lever them out from the bottom with the pliers as a pry bar.
Strength and Speed dispatched all of the old parts down to the first floor and vanished while I swept up the rubble and debris on the floor.
This was premature on the part of the Super-Kids, as the bed was a bit heavy and ungainly for me to push across the floor and into position. They were summoned back upstairs, the bed was pushed over to where it belongs, plugged back in, and the Junior Justice League was dismissed.
Super-Dad decided to stretch out on the bed for a bit, because if it was going to fail immediately, it was better for immediately to be now, instead of when we were going to bed.
The bed did *not* fail immediately, which was good. And this bed frame has a five-year warranty and an advertised 4400 pound capacity, so I have hopes that it is going to last for a while.
And that I will sleep well tonight.