Wood bed frames incur more physical damages next in line after chairs and rockers from physical abuse and use. We repair and rebuild them.
Headboard or Footboard Frame Loose:
It is common for HB or FB units to become loose from side to side. Since their design and number of components vary widely. Unless something is unusual or fractured we can usually re-glue a HB or FB within the $100 or $200 range. Certainly some problem HBs or FBs will require more.
Four Poster Post Broken:
Usually the posts have a lathe turned design. They frequently break in the narrow portions, or where the manufacturer designed in a joint to put sections together. We can rebuild any required areas to include, if needed, cutting away a bad section and turning a new portion with finish to match for $100 to $400 with a new sectional turning.
Post Break Outs from Side Rail:
Most modern wood side rails have a metal plate in the end of them that goes into a narrow slot in the leg post of the HB or FB. Inside that slot are two metal rods we call “bullets” over which the plate hooks. Improper assembly/disassembly or moving of the assembled bed can cause the wood around the slot to shatter. We can rebuild the available pieces and/or replace the shattered wood with finish to match as needed. A straightforward minor break might be $120. The worse the break, the more missing pieces that are not available, the size and shape of the fracture area, and the finish involved can all impact the pricing up to $400.
To repair a major break or to lengthen the bed as if for longer rails, special wood blocking with the post slot can be fabricated, finished, and installed for about $350/450 per HB or FB pair. To go from Double 75” to Q or K at 80” would require them on both the HB and FB.
Side Rail End Plate Break Outs:
The metal plates in modern wood side rails are inserted into the end of the wood side rail into a very special slot. They are held into place by two short metal rods that we also call “bullets”. The leverage placed on these bullets by rough housing on the bed or moving the bed fully assembled frequently causes the limited amount of wood from the location of the bullet to the end of the rail to fracture. If the fractured wood still exists we can usually reinforce the area with new surface wood cleats for about $60 per side rail end.
The loose plate and bullets may have also caused the wood side rail to split down its grain. This too can be re-glued as needed.
Bed Slat Cleats on Side Rails:
The wood slat on the inside bottom edge of wood side rails frequently fails. They are usually of low-grade wood that has been glued and screwed into place. The proper repair is usually to remove the existing fractured cleat and replace with a new wider cleat. The cost guestimate might be $60-$120 per side rail depending on how hard it becomes to get the old cleat off cleanly.
Wood Side Rail Replacement:
Existing wood side rails come in all levels of quality and can be made of lumber, lumber core plywood, or even plywood and frequently do not match the bed wood or finish very well.
To custom fabricate a standard typical replacement or longer wood side rail can become relatively high. We have to pull the needed lumber, mill out the needed straight piece, special slot the ends, locate the bullets, insert the bed rail plate, add the bed slat cleat, and finish to match. The costs for one rail can exceed $600 and a pair at $850.
We recommend conversion to metal side rails.
Metal hook-on side rails are readily available for T/F size at $50/pair and Q size at $75/pair. They are also available in bolt-on rails.
Headboard or Footboard Width Modifications:
Due to changes in lifestyles and home sizes, it is not unusual to modify a HB or FB to a different width. The furniture owner usually desires to save the full bedroom furniture set design.
The requests seem usually to be from King to Queen requiring about 18” to disappear, or Double to Queen requiring 6-7” to be added.
For changing a Double to a Queen the requirement is both width and length and we can provide a metal conversion kit to allow support for the slightly wider and longer Queen springs and mattress for $90. It involves a special upside down “L” rail system.
We also can modify the HB and/or FB with adapter plates to continue to use the existing wood side rails. The cost could range from $120 per HB/FB to $360. New longer metal side rails cost about $75/pair.
For changing a King down to a Queen we must have the HB or FB here for several days to analyze how it can be disassembled, cut away the needed 18” portions of width from the center or from both ends, and to reassemble the bed with needed finish touchup. The length is the same. The cost can vary widely from $500 to $1000 per HB or FB depending on the problems involved.
To learn more about this topic or The Wood Works, Inc., our products and how our services and expertise can help you, give us a call or visit our showroom.
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