Help! DD's Walmart bed cracked in half!

[ShanaMama]

I guess you really do get what you pay for. I bought a bunk bed for DD's for $200. We are currently using only the single bed for DD1. DH must have sat on it at a funny angle because the frame literally cracked in half. DH says it doesn't affect the structure & he can fix it. I am super upset about this. I really want to get $$ back to buy a good quality bed. I don't want to take it all apart and shlep it back to Walmart, though. We've had it probably 6 months. WWYD?
FWIW, this is the bed:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Elise-Bunk-Bed-White/10575812

I just double checked the weight limit. It supports 200 lbs of 'distributed weight.' DH is 6'4" & definitely over 200. So, are we screwed? Even if I can't get $$ back, would you replace it or repair it? I really don't want a nut & bolt bed & can't imagine how DH can do a 'pretty' repair job. Plus I am concerned that it isn't safe for DD. She's currently sleeping on her mattress on her floor till we figure out what to do.

[AnnieW625]

I would contact Wal Mart and demand your money back.

[elephantmeg]

I'd contact walmart, I've had pretty good luck with them

[dec756]

I'd contact walmart, I've had pretty good luck with them

:yeahthat:

[Melaine]

You may be able to return it in store.

[shawnandangel]

I would say Wal-Mart is not at fault since the product states it will hold a certain amount of weight. IMO you shouldn't expect it to hold more weight than the product advertises itself to hold.

If the bed said it would hold 300-400lbs then I would ask for my money back but not in this circumstance.

[MotownMom]

I would say Wal-Mart is not at fault since the product states it will hold a certain amount of weight. IMO you shouldn't expect it to hold more weight than the product advertises itself to hold.

If the bed said it would hold 300-400lbs then I would ask for my money back but not in this circumstance.

:yeahthat:

[ellies mom]

Unfortunately, I think you are out of luck. Although I can't imagine how you could sell a bunkbed where the individual beds only support 200 pounds. That is just crazy and annoying. I wouldn't be comfortable with that.

Do you like the way the bed looks in general? How long before you were planning on putting the two beds together and do you need to put them together bunkbed style? Do you want something affordable and fairly easy that will work for the time being until you can come up with a new long term solution or do you just want to jump straight to a new long term solution? If you want to make that bed work for a while I do have a possible solution that will be a lot stronger than the current set up.

When we bought the twin size bed for DD1s nursery, we didn't notice until right as we were getting ready to put the nursery together that it only had a weight limit of 150 lbs. I had bought the bed several months earlier and lost the reciept so we were stuck with it. What we ended up doing was scraping the wooden supports that ran along the side of the bed and buying a metal frame that could take a headboard and footboard. Then we drilled holes in the headboard and footboard and connected them to the frame. The frame supports the weight of the mattress and people and the headboard/footboard are there to look pretty. 7.5 years later, that crappy bed is still going strong.

[ShanaMama]

Thanks, everyone.

I would say Wal-Mart is not at fault since the product states it will hold a certain amount of weight. IMO you shouldn't expect it to hold more weight than the product advertises itself to hold.

If the bed said it would hold 300-400lbs then I would ask for my money back but not in this circumstance.

I was originally really annoyed but when I went to copy the link for this post I checked the weight limit. Don't know why I didn't think to do that before I bought it.
I just need to find the box or receipt to make sure it's that exact bed. I remember it being $200 & now it's $250 although it looks like the bed in the picture.


Unfortunately, I think you are out of luck. Although I can't imagine how you could sell a bunkbed where the individual beds only support 200 pounds. That is just crazy and annoying. I wouldn't be comfortable with that.

Do you like the way the bed looks in general? How long before you were planning on putting the two beds together and do you need to put them together bunkbed style? Do you want something affordable and fairly easy that will work for the time being until you can come up with a new long term solution or do you just want to jump straight to a new long term solution? If you want to make that bed work for a while I do have a possible solution that will be a lot stronger than the current set up.

When we bought the twin size bed for DD1s nursery, we didn't notice until right as we were getting ready to put the nursery together that it only had a weight limit of 150 lbs. I had bought the bed several months earlier and lost the reciept so we were stuck with it. What we ended up doing was scraping the wooden supports that ran along the side of the bed and buying a metal frame that could take a headboard and footboard. Then we drilled holes in the headboard and footboard and connected them to the frame. The frame supports the weight of the mattress and people and the headboard/footboard are there to look pretty. 7.5 years later, that crappy bed is still going strong.

Thanks for the advice. That is actually a great idea. Where did you get the metal frame? I wonder if I can incorporate your idea into a bunk bed.

I was thrilled to find such a cheap bed with decent reviews because I really don't know what our long term plan will be. We currently live in a tiny 2 bedroom & DD's obviously share a room, which is quite small. DH is a contractor, so the plan is to expand at some point. I liked the bed a lot & it matched our high quality crib (which I hope lasts forever!). I also liked that it had the capability to be 2 separate beds, so it could potentially be used if DD's end up sharing a larger room at some point. I didn't expect the bed to be excellent quality, but I certainly didn't expect it to crack the way it did. I need to take a picture so y'all can see.
I am not sure whether it's worth emailing Walmart to see if they'll do anything. I don't think it's worth the hassle to dissemble (is that a word?) & bring in. If we get rid of it we'll just trash it.
As I think about it, technically we can just give her the other bed & not even deal with the situation until DD2 moves out of her crib. I have a toddler bed in storage which can buy me more time....

[ellies mom]

I bought the metal frame at a "bed place" but apparently, you can buy them at Walmart (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Adjustable-Bed-Frame-for-Headboards-and-Footboards/1931711). But I think we only paid $35 for ours.

I'm not certain if you could get away with using it as the base of the bunkbed. I don't know the structural differences between a regular bed and a bed that can be used as a bunkbed. I can say however, that I probably would never feel comfortable with those beds as a bunkbed. And in all honesty, I wouldn't want a bed that I or my husband couldn't sit on anyways. If I was in your situation, I'd either fix the bed like I did to be structurally stronger but have the same look or replace it. If I didn't have the money to get a new bunkbed at the moment then I'd fix the single bed now and get a new bunkbed later.

[WatchingThemGrow]

I would do just what you said...try the other one until your younger one needs a new bed. The next time, buy something higher quality. We often have YA stuff on our CL that's a good price, and we love our (new) Stanley YA stuff.

[kozachka]

I would do just what you said...try the other one until your younger one needs a new bed. The next time, buy something higher quality. We often have YA stuff on our CL that's a good price, and we love our (new) Stanley YA stuff.

:yeahthat: That's why we bought a YA bed for DS. I've heard stories of bed cracking when couple kids jump on it, and companies refusing to replace the bed. My DS is a pretty active boy and does occasionally jump on his bed even though he is not supposed to.

[Tondi G]

I would contact them. Explain that your child's bed cracked in half when you husband sat down to read her a bedtime story. I have a feeling they might be willing to refund your money or give you a store credit. I don't care what the weight limit says ... a bed shouldn't crack in half.

that said we did a lot of research when buying our bunkbeds and I knew my boys would be rough on their bed. We've had several boys up on the top bunk and kids hanging off the sides.... our PBK bunk is rock solid. I've gotten in bed with my older DS up on the top and never felt nervous about the weight of having both of us up there.

[bandgsmama]

[QUOTE=ShanaMama;3063460]I guess you really do get what you pay for. I bought a bunk bed for DD's for $200. We are currently using only the single bed for DD1. DH must have sat on it at a funny angle because the frame literally cracked in half. DH says it doesn't affect the structure & he can fix it. I am super upset about this. I really want to get $$ back to buy a good quality bed. I don't want to take it all apart and shlep it back to Walmart, though. We've had it probably 6 months. WWYD?
FWIW, this is the bed:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Elise-Bunk-Bed-White/10575812

I just double checked the weight limit. It supports 200 lbs of 'distributed weight.' DH is 6'4" & definitely over 200. So, are we screwed? Even if I can't get $$ back, would you replace it or repair it? I really don't want a nut & bolt bed & can't imagine how DH can do a 'pretty' repair job. Plus I am concerned that it isn't safe for DD. She's currently sleeping on her mattress on her floor till we figure out what to do.[/QUOTE

so sorry this has happened! we have the same bunk bed set & i must say, was not impressed when putting it together. i will likely try to sell it before we have an issue. i sent an email to walmart about the lack of quality of the item fwiw.