Step 1 - Remove everything from the room.

Step 2 - Acquire all your materials.

• When you purchase plywood at Lowes or Home Depot, they will cut it down for you free of charge. This saves you a little time and makes it easier to fit all your materials into your vehicle!

Step 3 - Cut the studs.

• Use a chop saw to cut down the studs for the walls - remember the old adage “measure twice, cut once!”

Step 4 - Build the headboard and footboard Walls.

• The header and footer are built from the 2x4x8 and are identical. Each is 47” wide and 89⅞” tall because we have 7’6” ceilings. Adjust if your ceilings are higher or lower.
• To make the headboard wall, use the framing gun to secure two of the 86⅞” studs together to make a sort of post. Repeat so you have three of these.
• Next, attach these to the top/header and bottom/footer 47” pieces. Use a speed square to make sure the walls are square.
• Repeat these steps to make the identical footer.

Step 5 - Build the mattress platforms.

• For the bottom platform, cut three 2x6x8 to 80”. 
• Measure 12” from the floor and attach the 80”pieces to the inside of the three post of the headboard and footboard walls with the framing gun. The center support should go on the inside LEFT center stud.
• Cut the following lengths 2x4x8’s into four 20¼” cross members and four 16” cross members. Evenly space these between the three supports and the two walls.
• For the top platform, measure 37” from the floor then follow the steps above except that the center support should go on the inside RIGHT center stud.
• For added overall stability, we alternated the short and long sides on the platforms.

Step 6 - Build the ladder wall.

• To build the ladder wall, cut six of 2x4x8 lumber down to 50” and two pieces down to 73”. The studs for this short wall should be attached every 16” on center aside from the ladder which is 12” wide.
• From the 2x4x8 pieces, cut three 12” pieces for the ladder. Use the framing gun to attach all the pieces.

Step 7 - Attach the ladder wall.

• Use the framing gun to attach the ladder wall to the footboard and headboard walls.

Step 8 - Build the top wall.

• Cut two pieces of the 2x4x8 to 73” each. Then, cut the six studs for the top wall to 49⅞”.
• Use the framing gun to attach the top wall to the headboard and footboard walls.

Step 9 - Attach the plywood.

• Secure the ¾” plywood to the top and bottom platforms. We used decking screws and a drill to make sure they were secure.
• Then, secure the ¼” finish plywood to the sides. If your cuts aren’t perfectly straight you may have small gaps, don’t worry it will be okay. You can use the decking screws for this step too.

Step 10 - Drywall the outside walls.

• Cut the drywall for each of the outside walls and hang with drywall screws.
• Tape and mud the seams. When the mud is dry, sand to blend the seams.

Step 11 - Prepare for Painting.

• Remove all the leftover lumber and tools that are no longer needed. Brush off the walls, then sweep and vacuum.

Step 12 - Paint the walls.

• To paint the walls in the rooms, as well as the new bunk bed walls, we used the Wagner Flexio 4000 sprayer.
• Set the pressure control on the X-Boost turbine. This controls how much air power is created by the base.
• Next, set the material flow, which controls the amount that will be sprayed. For latex paint, you want it to be about 9-11.
• We used the iSpray Nozzle since we were painting walls, but you can also use the detail finish nozzle if you’re doing smaller projects.
• Then, change the air cap to match the direction you’re going to paint, either horizontal or vertical.
• Finally, add the paint to the cup and tighten the nozzle assembly.
• For best results, thoroughly read through the instructions on how to assemble and use the Flexio 4000 Sprayer. Practice with the included spray poster.
• Before starting, I would recommend taping and covering areas you do not want paint on, and make sure your surface is clean. There is some overspray as you might imagine. We also used a drop cloth to protect the floor.
• Hold the sprayer about 6-8 inches from the surface.

Step 13 - Add finishing touches!

• Add the desired trim you would like to create a built-in look for the bunk beds. You may wish to use more decorative trim. We chose standard baseboards. To cover the larger gaps around the ceiling, we decided to router 1x4x8 pine trim because it's very economical. Finally, to trim out the bed openings, we used simple 1-¼" outside corner molding.