Has anyone used plywood on an IKEA MALM bed instead of slats?

Question

That is my question. Has anyone done this with sucess? Can you give me some details ex. thickness of plywood? I do not want to buy the slats as I hear they break or move and would much rather buy a piece of thick plywood. Please help and thanks for reading!!

Answer 1

Over a short width span you will find the plywood is stiff.

Wider spans, like full to king size, the plywood can actually flex enough to drop between the rails.  So it might be necessary to attach an additional piece of wood inside the rail, to prevent that.

Don't use anything less than 3/4" plywood.  For wider spans, I'd seriously consider making a thicker core, by gluing up 2 or more layers of 1/2" or 3/4" plywood.

For the best of both worlds, use the slats with a 1/2" plywood.  You get some flex, but the weight is distribuited more evenly.  You can actually play with the plywood thickness to get a stiffer bed... 1/4" to 3/4"... more flex with the thinner ply, less with the thicker.

You can help keep the slats from moving by using a little double sided tape where they connect with the bed frame.

Good Luck

Answer 2

i don't know the bed you're talking about but the slats allow air up through your mattress and they wont break. if you want to s***w more slats across the others...this would take a lot of punishment!  

Answer 3

the slats don't break and are a special shape to flex under a weight load ..we have 3 of them and they are great!