5 Best Bunkie Boards For You

What is a Bunkie Board?

A Bunkie board is a flat barricade designed to fit between the bed mattress and the underlying surface. It is about one to three inches in height and is often made of particleboard, wood, or plywood. A Bunkie board can be used with any bed base or frames, including solid platforms, metal frames, slatted foundations, and box springs.

As mentioned, the Bunkie board is a thin and firm platform that fits under the mattress. It is placed above a slatted bed base to give the bed support and strength. Thereby, the mattress stays in place and withstands the abuse.

Bunkie board is mostly made of plywood, particleboard, solid wood, or steel. It comes with thicknesses ranging from 1-inch to 3-inch. The thickness changes based on the type of bed and the height you want to provide to the mattress.

Nonetheless, you can use a Bunkie board in day beds, platform beds, trundle beds, and bunk beds. You can also use it on top of a box spring to give maximum support.

Without a Bunkie board, your mattress will likely have a minimum life expectancy. Before we move to further discussion, let’s have a look at where it comes from.

Where did Bunkie boards originate?

Bunkie boards were initially used for bunk beds. The traditional innerspring mattresses require a box spring, and as box springs could not be used for bunk beds, people had to develop an innovation.

Hence, Bunkie boards were invented to be used instead of box springs for bunk beds. Bunkie boards are now manufactured to be used for every kind of mattress and bed frame.

As the name implies, the Bunkie board is designed to provide a base to the bunk bed mattresses. In earlier days, bunk beds needed a solution to support the traditional innerspring mattresses. People used to use the box spring for support.

But, box springs are thick and failed to fit either above or lower the bunk beds.  It also makes the bed so thick that the sleeper would hit the ceiling. As a solution to this problem, the Bunkie board was developed.

People started to use the Bunkie board as a replacement for the box spring. However, the Bunkie boards of earlier days were not as they are now. Initially, it was just one solid wooden or plywood piece. The current Bunkie boards are equipped with wood stripes. They perfectly match the look and style of today’s bed frame.

How do Bunkie boards work?

Bunkie boards are two-three inches thick and are usually made of wood. They support the mattress without adding extra height, unlike bedsprings, and also provide better support.

Bunkie boards are made of different materials, as mentioned above. They can hold a different range of weights. For instance, plywood Bunkie boards hold around 150-200 lbs and metal Bunkie boards hold around 500 lbs.

When do you use a Bunkie board?

Bunkie boards can be used for any bed frame as they provide support and comfort. They are ideal for foundation or platform beds. They are also great for kids and bunk beds and different mattresses such as latex, foam, and memory foam.

Do you need to use a box spring with a Bunkie board?

No, you do need to use a box spring with a Bunkie board. Bunkie board was invented as an alternative for box spring. The former is more practical as it adds less height and is more comfortable. Technically, if you use a Bunkie board, you do not need a bed frame either. However, you can add a Bunkie board on top of a box spring if you need extra height.

Do I need to add a Bunkie board if I have a bed with slats?

No, you do need to add a Bunkie board if you already have bed slats. The purpose of the Bunkie board and bed slats are almost similar. Hence, unless your bed needs extra support, you do not need to add a Bunkie board if your bed has slats.

Can you use plywood instead of a Bunkie board?

The first form of Bunkie boards were simple pieces of wood or plywood. So, you can use a block of flat plywood that will function as a Bunkie board. You will have to wrap the plywood with a piece of fabric to avoid punctures, cracks, splinters, etc. If you do not want to wrap it with fabric, you can add one more padding layer between the mattress and the plywood.

Box spring vs. bed slats

Bed slats are easy to install, cheaper, and have more extended durability. However, they cannot take too much weight and don’t add height either. On the other hand, Boxspring adds height, durability, and bounce factor to it. However, they are more expensive and heavier compared to bed slats.

Box spring vs. Bunkie board

Box spring adds more height than a Bunkie board that might be more than you want. Bunkie boards are more practical and cheaper than box springs. Moreover, Bunkie boards are easier to move around and can be carried from one place to another quickly, while box springs are quite heavy and not portable.

Benefits of a Bunkie board

Bunkie boards provide the perfect amount of height. They can also be used as support for bed slats as they will prevent the mattress from falling and the slats from breaking. Bunkie boards also give beds a sleek profile. They are also quite affordable.

Downsides of a bunkie board

Bunkie boards’ disadvantages include, if they are used for latex or memory foam, there might not be any air circulation resulting in moisture build-up and mold growth. Moreover, if the wood quality to make the boards aren’t good, they might be warped over time due to humidity and wet climate. This could damage your mattress. You will also have to check the Bunkie board’s condition once in a while to make sure it is in good shape and change it once it starts to sag.