Platforms...the kind for beds, not the other kinds
January 30, 2019 8:46 AM   Subscribe

What is a good bed platform for a heavy person?

A housemate is buying a bed platform for a full mattress and wants one that will support a person who weighs ~300 pounds. Plain is better than fancy, cheaper is better than costlier, but it would be better to spend more money to get a durable one than to spend the minimum to get something for a year or two. What do you recommend?
posted by Frowner to Home & Garden (7 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
I use the Zinus folding steel platforms (Amazon has them, I think Overstock either carries them or a similar brand), which are generally rated around 4,000 pounds. Mine are sturdy and silent, with the caveat that one of the guest beds has a hollow spring mattress in it and it does occasionally make a gonging noise that carries through the frame, I keep meaning to put a yoga mat under it and see if that helps. I have one room on the 18" high and another on the 14", which is a little low (these aren't really intended to use a box spring with, but if you put one on the 14" you end up with like a 20" platform and that's way too high) unless you're using one of those huge pillowtop mattresses, in which case it's about perfect. (It was also perfect with a slim mattress for a very short houseguest, so there's that.)

Only complaint is that the feet are not nicely tucked away out of toe-kick range. I have pool noodles affixed to the middle and bottom legs for the safety of my toes, but it's kind of cute.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:47 AM on January 30, 2019 [1 favorite]


I have this one in queen size and it is very durable and was easy to assemble and is holding up fine after 6 months... and I fit your weight criteria.
posted by Jahaza at 9:49 AM on January 30, 2019 [1 favorite]


Only complaint is that the feet are not nicely tucked away out of toe-kick range.

This is a problem with the Olee one as well. I have smashed my toes more than once on the middle bar at the foot of the bed.
posted by Jahaza at 9:50 AM on January 30, 2019


So I'm not super heavy, but what I've done is just get a steel harvard frame and then laid down 3/4" plywood on top of it. (Actually these days I have a box spring under the plywood, but for a long time I just had the plywood.) It takes two sheets of plywood, which I had pre-cut for me at Home Depot. I then took a jigsaw to the corners to round them off. It is very strong.

So, that's one option anyway.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 11:43 AM on January 30, 2019


I'm not sure if you (your friend) cares about having a "real bed" look (headboard) or maybe they have a different configuration in mind. I have this platform bed. It's definitely more expensive than the other suggestions, but is on sale now. The looks are a matter of taste, but I know it can support 300 pounds and is durable. I've moved houses/rearranged furniture and it's still holding up great after about 5 years.

For comparison, I have the metal frame platforms in my guest rooms like the ones linked above, and they are good and would do the job. My complaints are 1) I crack my toes on the legs of the bed ALL THE TIME. One came with foam on its legs, but I still crack my toes and it still hurts. This would drive me nuts if it were the bed I got into every night. 2) It seems to me that the mattress is able to slide around more freely on top of the frame, like there is not an inset/lip the mattress is in. I don't sleep on my guest beds often so maybe it's not really an issue, but I've noticed one side of the mattress can easily slide off the edge of the frame.
posted by kochenta at 1:58 PM on January 30, 2019


I have the Zinius folding steel platform in King size with a latex/memory foam combo mattress. The frame is solid and quiet and sturdy and great in every way except that I guess I have a relatively thin/cheap foam mattress because I can feel a ridge in the middle where the center part of the frame lies.

It's not so awful that I can't sleep, but it does prevent me from using the entire bed. Rolling from one side to the other forces me to "roll uphill" and then back down on the other side, and any kind of diagonal or sideways position is compromised.

As soon as I have some spare cash I'm going to get something different so I can lie on the diagonal right across the middle of the bed. I want to be able to fully appreciate the expanse of my king mattress!
posted by mccxxiii at 2:14 PM on January 30, 2019


I'm another one who just bought a basic no-frills bed frame for my full mattress, and eventually put two pieces 3/4 inch plywood across it. Cut the plywood to fit, put the mattress on top .

I'm very heavy, with most of my weight in my stomach/hips, and prior to putting the plywood down, even with the frame's center rail, my mattresses always ended up sagging in the middle, leading to bad sleep and backaches. This cheap basic fix has worked perfectly for me.
posted by Lunaloon at 2:38 PM on January 30, 2019


« Older Recommend washcloths   |   8.5 month old baby hates napping, tips please! Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.