Fixing a Wobbly Bed Frame So It Doesn’t Creak at Night
Why a bed frame starts creaking, and how to shut it up
A creaking bed is almost never one big problem, it's four or five small ones stacked on top of each other, and that's the good part, because you can knock most of them off in an evening with a screwdriver and a bit of patience. The noise is timber or metal moving against timber or metal somewhere it isn't supposed to, so the whole job is finding every joint that's loose and every surface that's rubbing.
Tighten everything before you do anything clever
Start at one corner and work all the way round the frame, checking every bolt, every screw and every cam fitting, because a bed that's been slept in for a couple of years will have loosened in half a dozen places without anybody noticing. Most flat-pack frames use a hex bolt, so an Allen key set is the tool, and older timber frames tend to want a socket or a decent screwdriver instead. Quarter of a turn on each one is often the whole fix.
When a screw won't bite any more
If a screw spins forever and never pulls up tight, the hole in the timber has worn oversize, and no amount of tightening's going to bring it back. The fix that actually lasts is to glue a fluted dowel into the hole, let it set properly overnight, then drill a fresh pilot and drive the screw into solid timber again. It sounds like a big job for a bed, and it's about 5 minutes a hole.
On a metal frame with a bolt that keeps working loose, a drop of threadlocker on the thread will hold it where you put it, which is a better answer than doing the same bolt up every couple of months.
Stop the slats talking to the frame
Wooden slats sitting straight on a timber or steel ledge will squeak every time the bed takes weight, and the cure is to put something soft between the two. Self adhesive felt pads on the ends of each slat work well, and a strip of heavy felt along the ledge does the same job in one go. While you've got the slats out, look for any that are bowed or cracked, because one tired slat makes the whole base flex and the flex is what you can hear.
Check the floor before you blame the bed
Sometimes the frame is solid and the floor isn't, and you can test that in about 10 seconds by pushing down on each corner of the bed in turn to see which one drops. A felt pad or a thin packer under the short leg will settle it, and that one is worth doing before you pull anything apart, because a rocking bed on an uneven floor will keep creaking no matter how tight the joints are.
The headboard is the last suspect
If the noise only happens when somebody leans back, it's usually the headboard tapping the wall or moving against its own brackets, so tighten the bracket bolts first, and then put a felt pad or a rubber washer where the timber meets the wall. That takes the tap out of it without you having to move the bed.
Shop related products
- Supercraft 8 piece metric Allen key set. The tool for most flat-pack bed hardware.
- Supercraft ball end metric Allen key set. The ball end lets you reach a bolt on an angle.
- Toolking T bar socket bit set, 22 piece. For the bolts an Allen key won't shift.
- Supercraft Phillips screwdriver. A long shaft reaches the fittings buried under the base.
- Macsim 8-10 x 45mm screws. For when a slat cleat or a bracket needs a longer screw.
Did you know we also stock felt pads, heavy duty felt by the roll, fluted dowels in 6mm, 8mm and 10mm, Soudal water resistant PVA glue and threadlocker in the shop. None of it is on the website, so give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what's on the shelf. We don't carry replacement bed slats, though we can cut timber to length at the saw bench if you bring the old slat in as a pattern.
The rest of it is in fasteners and fixings and hand tools.
Keep reading
- How to fix a loose door handle
- The best way to mount floating shelves
- What a wire brush is actually for
Half the jobs that sound like they need a new bed need a screwdriver and 20 minutes, and I'd rather tell you that than sell you a frame.
Cheers,
Candeece
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