My Husband - the Carpenter

Well, it's official - Tyson is a carpenter! No, not really, but he has now built something with his own two hands - bunk beds for Reed and Eve. It all started when we decided to stay in the same apartment (2 bedrooms) despite the fact that we were going to have 3 children.

I was a bit worried about the whole thing, but it really is what was best for us financially. Plus, moving when you are 9+ months pregnant is just not something I ever want to do (our contract ended July 31st). So, we decided that we needed bunk beds (easy enough decision) and ones that were not super flimsy. The problem: solid wood bunk beds are expensive! The frames were $1,000 (mattresses and bunkie boards not included). Yeah, that was a bit out of our price range. So, Tyson decided that he would build bunk beds from scratch! Yes, from scratch.

Luckily, he had slept in a bunk bed when he was growing up, and it just so happens that his older sister has that bunk bed in her house. Measurements and pictures were taken (she lives in Las Vegas, so we have not actually seen the bunk bed for a while) and we were off to home depot!

We picked out the wood and it got cut there (fabulous). Our friends had a sander and space to sand, so Tyson spent some Saturdays sanding and staining the wood, while I played with the kids at our friends' house. He also did some staining on our tiny balcony with the wood resting on some pvc pipe. He also added the top coat just to smooth everything out. It was a pretty time-intensive project since humidity makes it harder for things (like stain) to dry.

We picked up some beds and bunkie boards (like a thin box spring) when they were having a Memorial Day sale - saving ourselves lots of $$ (we think close to $350).

After all the wood was stained and finished, Tyson got all the nuts and bolts and put it all together! There was a lot of measuring and making sure things were pretty level. But, he finished and they look awesome! So after many trips to Home Depot and many hours, the beds are finished and the kids love them! Plus, the whole project, including the mattresses/bunkie boards, was not even close to $1,000. So, Tyson did awesome!

Reed and Eve are successfully sleeping in the beds and nothing has broken or even come close to falling. We are all ready for child #3 to sleep in the crib in the closet.

So, yes, my husband really is a carpenter. Here are some pictures of the process. For pictures of the bunk bed all together, tune in tomorrow :)

Staining the wood on the blacony

Reed loved helping daddy 'paint' the wood

They were so excited when the mattresses were done! We played and played.

Eve thought putting the beds together was awesome. Who knew a corral could be so much fun?!

Constant measuring and more measuring

Patiently waiting for daddy to be finished

Not wanting to get out of the corral

Measuring the holes to put one bed on top of the other

That hole on the 4 legs holds Reed's bed over Eve's