Lockdown building - a bed for Ev and the economics of tools

Ev had outgrown his bunk bed - both in length, and in head knocks (the desk and wardrobe were underneath).  It was all a bit of a problem, his room, as you know, is utterly tiny, 1.97m wide, and probably 3.5m long.  Full size beds, unless they are mattress stands with no edges, hotel style (but without any headboard) are typically around 1,95 long, and man, you have to get that sucker in and in the right position.  The room is really not big enough for a double bed, width-wise, again assuming you could get that in - so how to create some joy in a tiny space?  Ideally, I thought, a 3/4 - which is not quite a double.  These however are surprisingly expensive in Hong Kong - like 6K expensive.  So we collectively scratched our heads, and after much thinking and inspecting, we decided to build a bed, quite high off the ground, so that he has some storage space, and can see out of the cell-sized window.  Wood is a bit of challenge in Hong Kong.  Having scoured around the internet - and finding some maybe places all the way out near the Chinese border in places like Yeun Long - I decided that we were going to buy some rough, unfinished builder's pine beams, two rough hardwood beams (one for the wall struts, one for the front edge which would take extra weight with Pickle jumping on and off it, and a power planer to turn the rough stuff into neat.  Total cost, 2.2K.  And it worked (and we still have the power planer as change :-).  That machine is an absolute beast, gobbles wood, and pretty much effortlessly turned out some perfectly finished beams; Ev measured where the holes had to go, drilled and countersunk them, and we turned it out in no time. 

The rough stuff removed in a flash.  Filled a big bin bag with shavings. 
Should come with a free hamster.

Evan getting loooonger by the day, massive feet, measuring for drilling.
How cool are those beams?  Spotless stuff.

Ev smiling at the thought of getting a new bed.

 

Far from the finished article, but you get the idea - the mattress is Covid slow, so will only arrive next week (if then) so he has his old mattress in the interim (with an old fold-out below it to catch falling phones and I-pads in the interim.  The cosmetics will follow and we will send you an update.