It is true that some preplanning is needed but most hard sided beds come with relatively easy to understand assembly instructions. This is just a basic outline of the assembly process and you should always follow the assembly and safety instruction provided by the manufacturer.
Once you determine the right location for your bed, the rest is as easy as one, two, three. The basic components of the bed are a pedestal or riser, side frame, safety liner, heating system and a mattress. The bed may include a headboard, padded side rails, pedestal drawers and other amenities. Chemically treating the water in the mattress is a critical step that should not be overlooked.
Hard sided waterbeds usually sit on a riser or pedestal that is assembled first. Placing the pedestal in the proper location is very important. The pedestal is positioned centered under the frame. Some risers include under the bed drawers that provide convenient storage space for your bed linens.
Once the pedestal assembly is complete, decking material is attached to the pedestal. The decking needs to be centered on the riser. Depending on the size of the bed, the decking will consist of one piece for a twin sized bed and up to three pieces for a king sized bed.
Plywood is the most commonly used decking material. Once the decking has been attached to the pedestal, the side frames are assembled. Four side rails will be fastened together at each corner often with metal brackets or otherwise bolted together.
Now that the basic framing has been assembled, the next step is installing the heater. Most heating systems for hard sided water beds consist of flat heating coils sealed in a vinyl enclosure. Place the heater in the center of the decking making sure that is flat.
The power and control cables run towards the headboard and through a cutout in the corner of the decking. The heater will also have a temperature sensor that is connected to the heater. Follow the manufacturers instructions on where to place the sensor.
Never, ever plug in or turn on the heater until you have filled the mattress with water. Always follow the manufacturers instructions for properly routing the connecting the heater cables and controls.
The vinyl safety liner is next, and is placed inside the frame box. There are several methods of fastening the liner to the frame depending on the manufacturer. Smooth out all of the wrinkles in the liner paying special attention to the area over the heater and square out the corners.
Once the liner is securely in place, the mattress is placed evenly inside the frame box and positioned evenly out to the corners. Be sure to remove any wrinkles from the bottom of the mattress. The fill plug should be located at the foot of the bed. Make sure that the mattress is centered.
Following the manufacturers instruction, pour the proper amount conditioning chemical into the fill plug. Connect the fill tube to a water source and begin filling the mattress with water. As the mattress fills, gently remove any remaining wrinkles. Understand that once the mattress has an inch or so of water, trying to move it may cause damage. Continue filling with water until the mattress reaches the desired firmness.
Once filled, you must burp the mattress, removing any air trapped inside. With the drain plug removed, gently move the air bubbles with your hand towards the plug. Once all the air is removed, replace the plug.
Now you can safely turn on the heater. It will take up to twenty fours for the bed to reach the proper temperature. Filling the bed with warm, not hot water, can shorten the time considerably.
The design and reliability of waterbed mattresses has steadily improved over the years. As a result, the hard sided waterbed offers a greater level of comfort then ever before. Heating systems are more energy efficient and frame designs have gone well past the days of simple pine boards.
Having slept on a hard sided waterbed for well over twenty years, I have been very impressed with how these unique sleep systems have endured. When the new and improved motionless mattresses are combined with the ability to control the firmness of the bed the comfort level can rival more expensive, adjustable beds.
The urban legends of waterbeds falling through floors or flooding bedrooms have long since been dispelled. I have not been able to find a single documented case of a waterbed falling through the floor. No one is even sure how the rumor got started. The fact is that a properly assembled hard sided waterbed is safe, affordable and extremely comfortable.
Now the new fangled soft sided waterbeds have some advantages of their hard sided cousins. They weigh less and look like a traditional innerspring mattress. Soft sided waterbeds or hybrids as some folks call them can use standard sizes of sheets. But there is no substitute for the plush feel of nice, warm waterbed, filled to just the right firmness.
Big in the heyday of waterbeds, mostly in the nineteen seventies, manufacturers experimented with alternatives to the wooded frame. Wood frames were and still are the standard, but some interesting earlier attempts were made to replace wood to encase the waterbed mattress. The invention of the airframe mattress was hailed as the next big step in waterbed design. Light and easy to set up, airframes have certain advantages.
In order to appreciate how the airframe worked, you need only imagine an air filled ring surrounding the water bladder. There is one big difference between an airframe and a traditional wood frame. Wood frames, or sandbox as they were often referred to, incorporated a separate vinyl safety liner that creates a sort of bathtub. If the mattress does spring a leak, the water would be captured in the liner. If fact, the liner could retain the all of the water in the mattress.
Some early airframe designs did not have a safety feature like the liner and were one piece affairs. If the bladder was punctured or a seam failed, the water was free to leak all over the room. In fact, if the airframe failed, there was a good chance the bladder would rupture since there would not be anything supporting it. Some airframe designs have a separate inflatable frame. Once inflated, the water bladder fits snugly inside the frame, much like a wood frame design.
Some manufacturers offer sizes of airframe mattresses that can be used with a standard sized wood waterbed frame. The combination of an airframe mattress and a hard sided frame does offer one significant benefit. The outer edges of the airframe mattress will support your weight edge to edge, much like a well made innerspring mattress.
So if you have considered purchasing a hard sided waterbed there has never been a better time. Shopping online for your waterbed accessories like sheets, pillows, conditioners and chemicals makes owning and caring for your hard sided waterbed more convenient then ever.
Mitch Endick has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home, Puppies Dogs and Education. Mitch Endick is a short article writer for the populargood sleep site: . Heprovides informative advice on waterbeds, waterbed mattre. Mitch Endick's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.