A bunk board is designed to support the mattress on a bed frame. The bed frame will usually come with slats that are spaced and when the weight is put on the mattress like when you sleep on it, the mattress tends to sag between the slats.
This sagging will damage the mattress especially foam mattresses and latex mattresses. A Bunkie board is put on top of the bed slats to offer support to the mattress in the gaps between the slats.
How much weight a Bunkie bed supports depends on the material used to design the Bunkie board and the design of the bed frame slats. Where the slats are closely spaced, the Bunkie board will carry more weight, and where they are widely spaced, the board will carry less weight.
In the lowest levels, Bunkie boards will carry 200-350 pounds while the strong ones made of steel, solid wood, and plastic will carry 500-700 pounds.
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How Does The Material Affect Bunkie Board Capacity?
The material used to make the Bunkie board has a direct bearing on its weight-bearing capacity. Metal Bunkie boards that are made of steel have the highest capacity while solid wood has a lower capacity but plywood and particleboard Bunkie boards have the lowest capacities.
Steel Bunkie Board
Steel though strong tends to be heavier. Due to these reasons, a steel Bunkie board is not made of a continuous sheet of steel but rather is slated and put on a frame.
This reduces the overall weight of the Bunkie board but it is still higher with some steel Bunkie boards weighing as much as 35 pounds and above.
The steel Bunkie board can support weights of up to 700 pounds without any damage. Due to their heavyweights, steel Bunkie boards come in splits making them easier to lift and handle.
Particleboard Bunkie Board And Plywood Bunkie Boards
These are made of small materials such as wood shavings, chippings, and sawdust that have been glued together to form the board.
Due to the weak nature of the materials making the board, the resultant board is very light weighing as little as 9ponds for a twin-size board.
These boards cannot support too much weight and will support 200-350 pounds of weight for a twin size to queen size on the higher side.
They can come in splits for ease of storage and movement or as one block.
Solid Wood Bunkie Boards
These are made of solid wood and are stronger than plywood and particleboard Bunkie boards. They thus support much more weight. It is heavier than the others weighing in at 15 pounds for a twin size and the weight increases as the size increases.
Solid wood Bunkie boards can support as much as 500 pounds depending also on the kind of wood used to make the board. Hardwood has increased capacity as it is stronger than softwoods.
How Do Bunkie Bed Measurements Affect Weight Capacity?
Bunkie boards will come in different sizes ranging from twin size of 38 inches wide by 74 inches wide to the massive king size measuring 76 inches wide and 80 inches long.
The size of the Bunkie board has a direct bearing on the weight the Bunkie board can carry. The smaller twin-size wooden Bunkie boards can carry between 200-350 pounds while the massive king-size Bunkie boards can carry above 500 pounds.
The structure of the bed frame is more important to the weight capacity of the Bunkie board than its size. A bed that has closely spaced slats will have a plywood Bunkie bed carry more weight than a bed where slats are widely spaced.
Does Weight Capacity Affect The Durability Of The Bunkie Board?
How long a Bunkie bed lasts depends on several factors including the materials used to make the Bunkie bed and the structural design of the bed frame.
High-weight carrying Bunkie boards are made of stronger materials and they tend to last longer than low-capacity Bunkie boards.
The usage of the Bunkie board will also determine how long the board lasts. The environment where it is used will also directly affect how long the board lasts.
Metal Bunkie beds have the highest weight capacity and they also last the longest compared to other materials they usually last over 20 years with proper usage.
Solid wood Bunkie boards have increased capacity than plywood and particleboard Bunkie boards and they also last longer with up to 10 years life expectancy.
Can You Increase Bunkie Board Weight Capacity?
The capacity of a Bunkie board will depend mostly on the structure of the bed frame and the slats. A Bunkie board on its own may not hold as much weight as they are usually 1-2 inches thick.
One way to increase Bunkie board capacity is by reducing the spaces between the slats of the bed frame.
This way, you will have much of the weight transferred to the body frame through the slats rather than being carried by the Bunkie board.
If the slats are widely spaced, you could:
- Measure the thickness of the wood used to make the slats.
- Get the measurement of the distance between the slats and determine how much distance you want to leave after adding the piece of wood to the gap
- Get the measurement of the length of the bed slats
- Cut a smoothened piece of wood according to the measurements obtained.
- Sand the cut edges using sandpaper to obtain a smooth finish
- Insert the cut piece into the gap and increase the weight capacity of your bunkie board.
Final Thoughts
Though the weight-carrying capacity of a Bunkie board will depend on the structure of the bed frame and the material used to make the Bunkie bed, usage of the Bunkie bed will also determine its capacity.
Where a Bunkie bed is misused such as being jumped upon, its carrying capacity will be reduced. If a Bunkie bed is used in harsh environments like moist areas, its weight-carrying capacity will be reduced. This will also reduce the Bunkie boards’ durability.
