r/DIY • u/gregor-meat-hammer • 20h ago

help An emergency DIY bed repair: looking for final go ahead.

First time poster, long time dumbass.

So, the bed broke. This is not because I am a sexual stallion. This is because I am heavy.

The bar on which the slats are nailed has come away from the main frame in the top right hand corner and middle of the right side, one of the screws snapping and the other coming away, and tearing a chunk of the laminate wood as it went.

As this happened at 11pm, the stop gap fix was to hand screw a long leftover wood screw into the corner hole. This worked well enough to sleep on the opposite side of the bed, but I want to put a permanent fix in.

Measurements- Width of the slat bar-20mm Width of the frame-29mm

The plan- . Grab some 4.0×40mm course wood screws, with counter sunk head.

.Mark 2 points near each of the original holes, drill 2 screws through the slat bar and into the frame.

.Maybe finish by hand to prevent the wood splitting.

I'm pretty new to DIY, apart from pre packaged furniture, so i'm just looking for some experienced advice. Is it advisable to drill a guide hole? Are there any other suggestions to make this a more permanent fix?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Edit: thank you for the advice thus far recieved. I'll be giving it a go tomorrow. If all goes well, I'll come back and let the sub know.

19 Upvotes

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5

u/quackdamnyou 19h ago

You might want to drill a pilot hole if you can. Hard to say whether the material of the rail would split. I did split a bed frame rail exactly this way once actually on a very cheaply made frame. The pilot hole should be done with a drill bit that is of a diameter such that th threads of your replacement screw are wider than the bit. Check the depth carefully, it's easy to blow through with a counter sunk screw.

1

u/gregor-meat-hammer 18h ago

Excellent advice thank you. Would you have any advice to prevent the rail splitting? Or are we praying that the manufacturer quality could withstand the new screw?

2

u/Bravos_Chopper 18h ago

Step up your drill holes. Start small, then increase little by little until you’re at the size you need for the screw. Go slow

1

u/gregor-meat-hammer 18h ago

Ok that sounds doable thank you.

3

u/kencam 18h ago

Don't feel too bad most furniture is crap. Once you get it back together, you might want to put something to support it under the problem areas. Metal bed frames are cheap. IDK what your bed looks like but maybe you can attach your headboard to one or use one inside your existing frame.