Safe and Sound
When you welcome Art Van Furniture into your home, we want to make absolutely certain that our Kids & Teens furniture not only meets your needs, but keeps your child safe as well. One of our most popular bedroom options are bunk beds, because they are great space savers and budget friendly.
To help make sure your child sleeps safe and sound, we've put together a checklist of the standards a bunk bed must meet and the guidelines all parents need to follow for setup before you ever put your child or children to bed in one.
Summary of Requirements for Bunk Beds
16 C.F.R. Parts 1213 and 1513 contain three basic sets of requirements that a bunk bed must meet. These are summarized as follows:
- Entrapment Requirements: Entrapment requirements are established for guardrails and the end structures of bunk beds. (16 C.F.R. § 1213.3 and 1513.3)
Marking and Labeling Requirements: A bunk bed must have specified labels on the bed frame that identify the manufacturer or importer, model information, as well as warn the user about safety issues. (16 C.F.R. § 1213.5 and § 1513.5) Here is the label:
Instruction Requirements: The standard requires that assembly instructions
accompany each bunk bed set. They must specify the mattress size; i.e., the length and width of the intended mattress and foundation shall be clearly stated, either numerically or in conventional terms such as twin size, twin extra-long, etc. In addition, the instructions must also state the maximum thickness of the mattress and foundation required for compliance with the rule that the top of the guardrails and of the upper bunk end structures shall be at least 5 inches above the top of the mattress.
- Each bunk bed must have at least two guardrails, one on each side of the bed, for each bed with the underside of its foundation more than 30 inches from the floor.
- The top of the guardrails must be at least 5 inches above the surface of the thickest mattress the manufacturer recommends.
- The guardrail intended for the wall side must be continuous between the end structures.
- The non-wall side guardrail can have an opening up to 15 inches wide between each end of the guardrail and an end structure.
- The upper edge of each of the upper end structures must be at least 5 inches
above the top surface of the mattress for at least half the distance between the two posts or corners at the head and foot of the upper bunk.
The instructions must also include a warning to consumers against certain practices and uses that could be unsafe. (16 C.F.R. § 1213.6 and 1513.6)
These practices and uses are:
- Do not allow children under 6 years of age to use the upper bunk.
- Use guardrails on both sides of the upper bunk.
- Prohibit horseplay on or under beds.
- Prohibit more than one person on upper bunk.
- Use ladder for entering or leaving upper bunk.
- If the bunk bed will be placed next to a wall, the guardrail that runs the full length of the bed should be placed against the wall to prevent entrapment between the bed and the wall. (This applies only to bunk beds without two full-length guardrails).
This is a general summary of the requirements for bunk beds and does not replace the requirements published in 16 CFR 1213 and 1513. This summary does not include all of the details included in those requirements. For those details, please refer to the regulation.