What should I do about my Ikea bed slats? They keep falling apart.

Question

Ok. I need some help. We bought our King Size bed, and the slats keep coming apart EVERY SINGLE time we have s*x in the bed. The rails are thin wood, so no shot of drilling in screws. The bars the wooden slats sit on are metal, so we can't s***w them into there. The bed came with two sets of slats on either side of a metal support bar in the middle of the bed. HELP!!! My knees and her ***/back are taking a bruising from having to switch from the broken bed to the floor each night when we get too wild for ikea's poor planning.

Answer 1

Start on the floor.

Answer 2

You can have s*x in a bed from Ikea with bed slats...but it sounds like teh slats are defective. Take them back--ask for slats or you can exchange them for a boxspring, which Ikea also sells.

Answer 3

I think your first stop should be at your Ikea dealer.  You may not want to mention your s*x life to him but a beds purpose is both sleep and s*x.  If you can not get satisfaction there you will need to construct your own wood support to fit inside theirs.  You should look at other beds in a furniture store to come up with ideas.  If you have no skills at woodworking, a local cabinetmaker may be able to make something for you.

Answer 4

Simply replace the slats with 3/4 inch plywood.  Measure the distance between the metal bars and the center support and the width.  Both Lowes and Home Depot will cut the wood to fit.  Rest the wood on the edges of the support bars.

Answer 5

Take it back where you bought it, it's defective (the bed, not the wife, she sounds like a keeper!).

Answer 6

You'll have to take the slatboard back and buy a "real" boxspring - every person I know who has purchased those things has done that for the exact reason you state.  Ikea has good deals on some things, but this just isn't one of them - take it back.  

Answer 7

Hmmm...  I don't have an IKEA bed, so no personal experience with this.  But I'll put my 'fix-it' imagination to work for just a moment:

I wonder if you could us long ratchet straps - the ones that have a strip of webbing and a mechanical ratchet.  Take the mattress and box off, put the straps around the bed rails right next to the slats at 1/3 and 2/3 positions, tighten a bit, put the box and mattress back on, and then tighten some more.  Seems to me that'd keep the rails from spreading and keep the slats in place.

...that's what I'd try if it was my bed.

Answer 8

What about glueing a king size board using (no more nail glue) then place or s***w the slats to the board.

Answer 9

First of all, kudos on having the s*x every night.  We should all be so lucky.  Second of all, I know exactly what you're complaining about becuase I purchased a similiar bed from Ikea myself.  I got it for my son because I knew their furniture was cheap, fashionable, but had already taken into consideration that it wasn't really practicle.  It's very weak and made of mostly particle board.   My son destroys all things anyway so it would hurt less when it was something that falls apart all to easily anyway. Hence, the cheap prices and "some assembly required".  It falls apart easily and it's like sleeping on a slab of concrete.  I've tried to fix his as well and have been unsuccessful.  I think you should do what I'm doing and get a new bed.

Answer 10

I would first contact IKEA, there may be a product recall or manufacturers service replacement. If not, just replace the slats with lumber from the lumber yard.  

Answer 11

Whatever you do, do NOT get wood from Lowes or Home Depot and have it cut. You will have the exact same problem you have now. I know this from experience (we too have to move to the floor every night). We didn't get the slats when we were at Ikea in Dallas and haven't been able to get back down there since, so we tried the Home Depot thing. If you do go that route, make sure you measure the width of the bed and have them cut it exactly that width. If it is even just a fraction of a centimeter off it will fall through every time.

Answer 12

Didn't you notice the fine print under the big IKEA sign (cheap swedish craftsmanship, that takes hours to assemble just to fall apart).  buy a new bed frame that might fit inside the frame of the bed?  Reattaching the thin boards might not be the answer because they are thin and if you secure them they will probably end up breaking anyway.