If you are building a double or queen size Murphy bed, you will need 4 sheets of 3/4” thick plywood and 2 sheets of 1/4“plywood or similar thin wood for the mattress supports.

If you cut the wood yourself you can use the leftover plywood, it not you may also need 12 pieces of 6-foot 1×2’s pine for frame struts and 2 pieces of 8-foot 1×2’s for the frame sides. Also an 8-foot piece of 1×3 pine for the cabinet top rear bracket.

If you choose to build a twin-size Murphy bed, you will need 3 sheets of 3/4“and 1 sheet of 1/4“plywood.

There are a few basic skills that you need to know in order to complete a do it yourself Murphy wall bed project:

You can build your Murphy bed with 3-4 sheets of plywood or use the fancy laminated wood that cost hundreds of dollars for a sheet!

In general, depending on the type of plywood you choose the cost can be between $250-$450. Regular plywood is about $30-$80 a sheet at most big box stores.

The type of wood you use is very important when you build a DIY Murphy bed.

We offer two options in our cutting guide and every cutting guide has the measurements for two types of wood:

• Plywood such as (Birch, Maple, Oak, etc.)
• Particle board or MDF

You can build the entire Murphy bed out of plywood if you have a saw and you cut the wood yourself.

If you choose to use particle board or MDF, you MUST use plywood for the bed frame parts, because this is where most of the stress takes place, and if you don’t use plywood your wall bed will fall apart witch can be dangerous. 

Our kits are available in both vertical mount and horizontal mount configurations that you can choose from. 

We carry hardware kits for all popular mattress sizes such as Twin/Single, Double/Full, and Queen.

What kind of mattress do I need for my Murphy bed?

Our wall bed kits are designed to be used with any innerspring mattress up to 12 inches thick. Your mattress should weigh between 60 to 80 pounds depending on the size of the bed you are building.

If you have a circular saw or table saw and you are familiar with woodcutting you can cut all the wooden parts yourself.

However, you can also go to the Home Depot or Lowes and get the woodcut at the store simply by giving them the measurements provided in your cutting guide.

Home Depot may charge $1 for each cut if you buy the wood from them. Sometimes, they also do cuts for free.

Many local lumber yards also cut wood for very small fees.

This is the decision that you have made when you plan the construction of your Murphy bed.

If you want to get better results and make a professional-grade Murphy bed, you should place make the holes and attach the hardware, then take the hardware off to paint or stain the wooden parts.

After you finished staining or painting, you can place the hardware back on the parts and assemble your wall bed.

Please click on the link below to see the finished dimensions:

• Vertical Murphy Beds
• Horizontal Murphy Beds
• King Size 

By referring to the chart below you will know what is the maximum weight for your size of the wall bed. If you use a heavy mattress for a Murphy bed, your bed will be too heavy for the pistons to lift which is not very convenient. Any innerspring mattress up to 12” thick will work great.

Heavy, pillow-top mattresses are not suitable for a Murphy bed. For each size Murphy bed, there is a weight limit for the mattress. If your mattress is too heavy, the pistons would not function properly and the bed would be hard to close. That is why you need to keep the mattress weight within the range.

However, if your mattress is 13-14 inches, but the weight is within the range, you can use it, but you have to make your side cabinets a couple of inches deeper. Just be aware that you cannot use the leg crossbar between the two legs when your mattress is thicker than 12 inches. The maximum weight for a queen-size vertical mattress is 85 pounds and the height should be less than 12 inches.