What Is A Bunkie Board & Why Is It Important For Bunk Beds?

Bunk beds are a sound investment for anyone with small rooms and growing kids who are sharing a room. But what do you do when the bed is uncomfortable? How do you make sure that your kids are sleeping with proper support through the night?

Perhaps you are one of the parents who’ve made the smart decision to buy a bunk bed for your kids, only to have them complain about how uncomfortable they are. You might be thinking, “Why is this bed uncomfortable when it is supposed to be designed for kids to use?”

Depending on the design of your kid’s bed, it may not be designed to support an innerspring mattress or a memory foam mattress type without additional support underneath. Thankfully, there is a solution to improper support for your bunk bed.

At Furniture Fair, we’ve sold many bunk bed frames over the years, and we want to make sure that your kids are sleeping comfortably on their new beds. This article will talk about bunkie boards. We will cover what they are and how they can help provide better support to your kid’s bed.

A bunkie board is a mattress base that helps add a layer of reinforcement between your foam or spring mattress and top bunk and bottom bunk support rails. Bunk bed bases require thinner support systems than a box spring, and the bunkie board is the answer.

Bunkie boards can be made from solid wood or composite materials and then covered with fabric. Bunkie boards help keep the bed level low which is essential for top bunks where the side rails are needed to keep your youngsters from falling out when they roll over in their sleep.

Bunkie boards are placed between the bed support rails and the bunk mattress and function as a box spring without the added height. The board gives the bed mattress an extra level of support and comfort.

A bunkie board can also be used with regular beds that need a little bit more support without creating a higher sitting bed. If you like lower profile beds, or if your kid’s regular bed needs a bit more support, a bunkie board could be just what you need.

Most bunk beds have a type of mattress support because the top bunk mattress would simpl\y fall through without it. This would be annoying to anyone sleeping in a trundle bed, and potentially dangerous to anyone sleeping under the top bunk.

Most bunk bed supports are a rail system underneath the mattress for support. Some use a simple three-rail essential support designed to hold the mattress. However, the essential support of a rail system for a bed isn’t always enough.

If your bunk bed has a three-rail system, those three bars are not going to be enough to support a bunk bed mattress. With a bunkie board, your kids’ mattress is supported evenly, creating a flat, comfortable surface for the mattress.

Some bunk beds do include a slat roll bed support system that offers more support than a three-rail support system, but that system only provides basic stability and isn’t as effective as when combined with a bunkie board.

Now That you know that your bunk bed needs a bunkie board, you might be tempted just to buy the first size you see, but you should double-check your bunk bed size. Some bunk beds are twin-over-twin, which is probably the size you think of when you picture a bunk bed.

Bunkie boards come in twin, full, queen, or even king size. However, not all bunk beds are the same size, and the last thing you need is to get the wrong size bunkie board. Check if your bed is a twin-over-twin or a twin-over-full bunk bed.

You will need to purchase two different sizes of bunkie boards if your bunk bed is a twin-over-full, so be sure to check before ordering your new bunkie boards. With the right size bunkie board under your child’s bunk mattress, you can rest assured that they are sleeping supported.

Now that you know what a bunkie board is and why it’s an excellent investment for your child’s bunk bed, you will be better prepared if you decide to purchase a bunk bed. Keep in mind that support rails are not enough to properly hold up a mattress.

Remember that proper support without increasing the height of your mattress to unsafe levels is achievable using a bunkie board, and a bunkie board will keep your child comfortable and supported on whatever size mattress their bunk bed comes in.

If you need a bunkie board or are considering purchasing a bunk bed, why not stop by one of Furniture Fair’s eleven convenient locations? Located throughout the Cincinnati, Dayton, and Louisville areas, Furniture Fair has a great selection of bunk beds with bunkie boards to match.

Schedule an appointment with your nearest location, or shop online.