Have you ever added legs to a boxspring?

January 18, 2022 9:21 AM

In the long run I want to buy a nice bedframe, but while I save up for it I was thinking of adding legs to my boxspring. Have you done this? Did it work? What kind of legs?

So this is the kind of project I'm thinking of.

Have you done this? Did it wobble a lot? Break? How long can the legs be? "Just get some legs and add them to your boxspring, it's fine" seems like way too easy a solution to my problem.

This would be for a queen sized bed.

I currently have one of those slide-y wheeled metal mattress supports that came with the bed and would like to have something that stays in place. I want a particular fancy kind of captain's bed with drawers, so I would like to avoid spending three or four hundred dollars on something right now.

posted by Frowner to Home & Garden (19 answers total)

Quick and dirty and poor me years ago used 4 cinder blocks.
posted by 2N2222 at 9:28 AM on January 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

Wooden pallets are another option.
posted by eotvos at 9:33 AM on January 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

I'm skeptical... Box springs do have a rigid structure, but it certainly isn't burly enough to support a mattress and people (especially during, um, activities) without any additional middle support. That's why standard bedframes always have a middle beam, and often an extra leg in the middle for larger mattresses. I would be concerned that you would collapse the inner structure.
Maybe if you added several more legs to the cross beam it would have enough support not to break. I would use 4x4s for stability, since any sudden bed movement could easily snap a thinner leg, especially if you want more than standard height.

Alternatively, you can usually find inexpensive metal bed frames (the standard folding kind) at thrift stores for like $20, and stackable risers for about $25.
posted by ananci at 9:36 AM on January 18, 2022 [7 favorites]

I would be concerned about the box spring's strength -- the metal rail supports hold up along the entire edge (and possibly the middle) whereas adding legs at the corners puts a lot of strain at the middle of the box spring, it's not designed for that weight distribution. You may be better putting effort into making the metal rails less slidey.

If you wanted captains bed with drawers, this would probably be the most supportive, because it would be a solid base with a lot of internal support to hold up the box spring and mattress.
posted by AzraelBrown at 9:36 AM on January 18, 2022 [3 favorites]

What I would do is set up the metal frame, and then put each of the casters into a bed riser at the corners. Put the box spring in the frame and then top with the mattress. That will give you plenty of additional height for storage underneath, while preventing the bed from moving on the wheels. It's also likely cheaper--and a lot easier--than trying to restructure a box spring for additional support.

I used this system for several years (until I got a full bedframe) with no issues.
posted by thecaddy at 9:45 AM on January 18, 2022 [4 favorites]

This will definitely not work directly added to the boxspring, you need at least some frame around it. Get a cheapo metal frame as suggested above.
posted by brainmouse at 9:48 AM on January 18, 2022

When I was young and underpaid I did this; it was wobbly AF but I was single and skinny so it worked fine for as long as I needed it to (a bit over a year). I got two out of four screws into the wood frame for each leg mounting plate, leaving the other screw positions empty.

You’ll need to be careful getting in and out of bed, and should check the screws from time to time as they’ll work themselves loose.

Not recommended, but it did work for me.
posted by aramaic at 9:57 AM on January 18, 2022

I'd worry about support for the reasons mentioned. What I've done at different times in the past has been (a) just keep the box spring on the floor (which I found perfectly pleasant), and (b) buy a really cheap frame secondhand (I got a beautiful yet easy to dis/assemble finished pine frame with slats for some nothing price, it was great). Though admittedly these days I might be more worried about bedbugs with wooden stuff, and covid makes it harder to go inspect things in person.

I like thecaddy's approach of housing the wheels of your current frame inside something so they won't move.
posted by trig at 10:00 AM on January 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

I would (and have) just put the box spring on the floor before I'd do that.
posted by Candleman at 10:27 AM on January 18, 2022 [3 favorites]

By slidey, do you mean the mattress slides off the frame? Or the frame slides around on the floor? If it's the latter, there are plastic floor protector cup thingies that go under the wheels and do a good job of keeping the frame in one place.
posted by yeahlikethat at 11:17 AM on January 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

I would definitely not do the project you linked to (former mattress sales guy) because the box isn't made for this. Seconding 2N222 for the cinder blocks, esp if you're planning on replacing all this later.
posted by ivanthenotsoterrible at 11:29 AM on January 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

I was facing this decision a couple of years ago, and I have two pieces of advice:

1) what i initially did was just to put thick felt furniture pads (like the 2" circle ones) at about 12 points around the box spring to set it off the floor a tiny bit, and bought a nice box spring cover. I think this was much more stable than feet will be.

2) When I moved, I got this frame https://www.zinus.com/beds/olivia-metal-and-wood-platform-bed-frame which has been remarkably stable for the price. So you could see if there were any zinus frames on craigslist or freecycle near you.
posted by mercredi at 12:27 PM on January 18, 2022

Beds show up on Craigslist/Free *all* the time. Use the structure, cut off any bits you don't like. The metal bed frames also show up, and I got one a couple years ago on freecycle. Beds are a popular item at Goodwill, too. Bed risers work well with any frame if you want it to be taller. Cement blocks will damage wood or vinyl floors.
posted by theora55 at 12:34 PM on January 18, 2022 [2 favorites]

+1 for checking Facebook Marketplace or other local listings or thrift stores for a cheap frame. It needs more support than at the edges.
posted by Crystalinne at 12:59 PM on January 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

If you have a pet that hangs out under the bed - definitely don’t risk it.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 2:30 PM on January 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

I tried it, it sucked. Problem was that the support frame around the edges of the boxspring wasn't braced properly to support the full stack of boxspring, mattress, and me. The boxspring would twist, wobble, and "walk" very unpleasantly -- which, btw, meant I often woke up with my mattress drooping off the side of the boxspring, which wrecked my mattress in pretty short order (and I wasn't even doing any fun "activities" at the time, either -- that was just me trying to sleep). Of course, it didn't take long for the frame of the boxspring to crack and break completely, so ultimately, I was out both a boxspring and a mattress.

If I had it to do over again, I'd leave the boxspring on the floor until I could get a proper bedframe.
posted by ourobouros at 3:04 PM on January 18, 2022 [4 favorites]

The cheap metal frames people are talking about are called Hollywood bed frames. But it sounds like you already have one and instead want something without wheels?

There are legs available for the Hollywood bed frames, to replace the wheels.
posted by See you tomorrow, saguaro at 4:42 PM on January 18, 2022 [3 favorites]

I use a metal platform bed frame, that does NOT use a box spring. They seem to be the same as "Hollywood bed frames" that @ourobouros talked about. The one I got have no wheels, and I ordered extra tall so I can fit storage totes under them (and they are easier to get out of the bed too!) Amazon has even gotten into the market with their own brand.
posted by kschang at 6:24 PM on January 18, 2022

I installed these bed legs on my box spring about 5 years ago and they work great, no issues with their ability to bear weight or hold up under vigorous activity, as it were. The one issue was that the bed moved slightly whenever I shifted around and this resulted in some nasty scratches in the hardwood floors. I put socks on the legs and it solved both problems.
posted by fox problems at 7:09 PM on January 18, 2022