Turn ANY Bed Frame into a Waterbed Frame!

Soft-sided waterbeds have come a long way in technology. The frames, not so much. It used to be that if you wanted a waterbed, you would would be stuck with an ugly, metal frame to which you would just lay the box spring on top of, and then the mattress.

My husband and I have had a waterbed for the last 15 years, and we wouldn't have any other type of bed. We went from a hard sided bed, which was great, to a soft sided waterbed, only because we could no longer find a hard sided bed frame.

Now if you know me, I can't just use a metal frame with a flimsy head board. I like stylish bed frames. The problem was, it was almost like they didn't exsist for a soft sided waterbed.

So what's a girl to do? Make your own! It's really not that difficult, once you find the bed frame that you really like. The best part of this transformation, is that if, after 10 or 15 years, you no longer want a waterbed mattress, you won't be ruining the frame. In fact, you're actually making the frame of your bed even stronger!

Here's what you'll need, in addition to having a bed frame all set up.

(This is for a king size bed)

2 - 8 foot pieces of 4x4's ( NON pressure treated!)

2 to 3 - 8 foot ferring strips - also NON pressure treated.

2 sheets of half to three quarter thick ply wood.

Most bed frames will come with 3 ferring strips and several small legs for the center of the bed. These will NOT be strong enough to hold up a waterbed. First measure the width of your bed, and cut the ferring strips you purchased to the desired width. Secondly, cut the 4x4 pieces to the same height as the other legs, and attach them to both the ferring strips you purchased, as well as to the ferring strips the bed came with.

You should end up with 5 rows of ferring strips and legs.

(What you are doing is taking ALL the pressure off the side rails of the bed.)

Now you'll need to measure again for the sheets of plywood. Most likely you'll will need to cut both pieces to the correct length. Once you have the correct length, you can lay the first piece of plywood directly into place.

Now you'll need to measure the width of the other side of the bed. It will be okay if you make the second side slightly smaller, and leave a small gap between the pieces. Remember all your weight of the waterbed will be dispersed on the legs of the bed. (Which is why it's important to use 4x4 pieces)

Once you have both sheets of plywood cut, and into place, and have checked under the bed, to ensure all your legs are carrying the weight, you can now add your box spring, and waterbed mattress to your frame, and begin to fill your new waterbed!