Solutions For A Broken Wooden Ledge For Slats On Side Rails

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Question: I am looking for the long wooden strip of wood that fastens to the inside of the fancy finished wood bed railing that connects the head and footboard. Do you have or sell this? If not, can you tell me how to fix it?

Thanks, Lillian

Answer: This wooden strip is in essence a shelf. This mantel piece’s primary purpose is resting place and designed to support various types of center support systems which then, in turn, support your box spring and finally your mattress.

When too much weight is applied and there is no or insufficient middle support, many bad things can happen. The screws in the ledge can loosen or pull out, they can crack and even break. If this crucial support fails, the boxspring and mattress can literally fall onto the floor.

Related Links

• Heavy Duty Center Support Bars
• Best Supports Under a King Size Bed
• Waterbed Hardware Pack
• Wood Replacement Bed Side Rails
• Bed Rails For Full Size Bed

Do Bed Stores Sell Replacement Wooden Lips For Wood Side Rails?

In our STL Beds market located near St. Louis MO, we have not seen any local mattress stores, furniture stores, or hardware stores that carry these replacement pieces as an offering to consumers. What we mean by that is that it seems you cannot just go out and buy and then fasten such an item to your current rails. However, this does bring up several possible solutions that we have listed below and explain in detail.

Buy Replacement Steel Bed Frame With Center Support

If you do not want to mess around with fixing them yourself or hiring someone else to fix them, replacing the rails maybe your best solution. This process is simple and requires only a couple of quick things to check. Many stores like STL Beds offer replacement steel frames like our F71002 that fits King and Queen or our F71001 which fits Twin and Full sizes beds. Both are straightforward and will get the job done.

Fit Criteria

• We need to be sure that your current bed is a (King, Queen, Full, or Twin) size?
• It must have a (wooden headboard and footboard) and include (hook in slots). One vertical slot in each leg. Inside the vertical slot is 2 steel horizontal pins.
• Have you printed out the “Hook in Template” that was located on the website? This will assure that our frame-down hooks will fit your bed.
• Additionally, we do offer very super heavy-duty versions of this type of frame.

How To Fix A Broken Bed Side Rail Lip /Ledge

You Have A Couple Of Options When It Comes To Bed Rail Repair

1. Hire a company or carpenter to perform the service repair. It is not a difficult job but does take some knowledge of working with wood and being able to perform general maintenance. Since we are not aware of a bed rail repair kit to replace this lip, the best choice may be to be built one from scratch. A friend with building or carpentry skills, hiring a cabinet maker, or a maintenance person are some possible options.
2. Is to (DIY) Do it yourself. Whichever way you decide to go, it starts with removing the broken lip. These are typically screwed to the inside of the wooden side rails. If fastened with screws they will need to be removed. If the wood is also glued scoring with a carpentry knife on both the top and bottom of the lip may be necessary. Then using a chisel and hammer carefully start popping the lip free from its attached position. Be mindful you can damage your side rails when trying to break free. If this is looking to be the case, you may have to cut the wooden lip off.

NOTE: You may have to remove the entire length of the wood or just a small portion. This can be done by only cutting out the bad section. Different manufacturers build them differently so determine if it is sectioned or 1 solid long piece. Measure the length, thickness, and width of the wooden lip.

You will then need to purchase preferably inexpensive hardwood like poplar or cut down from scrap wood you already have lying around. Cut to fit the replacement section or the entire length of the strip.

Next using woodworking glue clamp the new strip into place. Once dry screw your lip into place making sure that the screws are long enough to secure the lip, but not so long as to damage the finished side of your side rails.

Should I Keep My Wood Bed Frame Slats?

In most cases, the answer is no.

We highly recommend replacing the wood slats with steel slats. Steel slats that work best are those made in 1 ¼ or 1 ½ angle iron made from recycled railroad steel. This type of steel is high carbon and is very hard to cut, bend, or drill through making it the perfect type of steel for this kind of application.

No more bowing, warping, cracking, splitting, or breaking. Steel center support slats rest on your wooden lip like wooden bed slats and fasten securely with wood screws. A minimum of one crossbar at the head, foot, and middle is recommended with at least 1 center support leg on each one. NOTE: You must know the measurement from the floor to the top of the wooden lip before purchasing to assure the proper height of your new center support system.

New Wood Side Rails That Bolt Or Hook In

Finally, consider purchasing a brand-new set of wooden side rails. You can contact the retailer that sold you the bed or if they are no longer in business or carrying the brand bed you have to contact the manufacturer that built it. Unfortunately, our experience is that models change often.

This makes finding the identical rails next to impossible especially in today’s retail environment where a large percentage of bedroom furniture is made overseas and imported. In this case, if all else fails you can use the headboard only by getting a frame that attaches to a headboard frame only. You can also anchor it to a wall like bed and breakfasts and hotels do. Lastly, if none of these options are viable, then it just might be time to consider a new bed if the budget allows.

Don’t forget that all of these can be different and you might need different bar clamps, metal brackets, wood glue, wood tape, a putty knife, a rubber mallet, or different tools. It might depend on if you have a metal bed frame or a wooden bed frame and that will affect your ability to drill holes. You might need a piece of wood to help your mattress and box spring fit correctly.

Hopefully, this helps you to know How to fix bed frame support.

How To Fix A Bed Frame Support FAQs

• How Do You Fix A Broken Wooden Bed Rail? – The cracks or splits typically occur near the ends but can also be centered on the rail. Repair this type of damage by first removing the bed rails. Pry open any cracks or splits with a putty knife, and inject glue into the crack. Rub the glue into the crack with your finger to ensure that the glue saturates the crack.
• How Do You Stabilize A Metal Bed Frame? – The electrical tape will work as a cushion for the metal bed frame. Simply, wrap electrical tape around the legs of the bed frame. Make a hole through the electrical tape, then insert the screws in it, this will stop the squeaking noise.
• Is It Safe To Sleep On A Broken Bed Frame? – Sleeping on a broken or damaged bed frame could result in a damaged mattress as well as bodily injury. Not having the proper support for your mattress is not only dangerous, but it could also cost you. Sleeping on a mattress without proper support can actually void your manufacturer’s warranty.
• Why Does My Bed Creak When I Move? – Loose joints are a common cause of a squeaky bed. Check all the bolts on your bed frame to see if they might be the source of your problem. … If you cannot manage to tighten a bolt securely, add a washer between the frame and the bolt to ensure a snug (and noise-free) fit.
• Can I Replace Bed Slats With Plywood? – Anyone can replace their bed slats with 0.75” or thicker plywood to greatly increase the strength of the bed frame. Remove the existing slats, measure bed frame, cut plywood, and sand edges, and install on the rails. Use two plywood and add center support beam and posts for full, queen, and king.