Beds usually need bed frames to elevate the mattress and foundation off the floor. The bed frame is also a means of attaching a headboard and a footboard. If you need a bed frame for your bed but haven't found one that works for you, you might want to consider building your own bed frame. You can build your own DIY bed frame using basic dimensional lumber and easy-to-connect threaded pipes—all available at your local home center.

At its most basic, a bed frame is a metal or wood structure that is slightly larger than the mattress or foundation that it carries. Its sides and legs are partially hidden by the bed covers. A headboard and a footboard may be attached to the head and the foot of the bed.

Mattresses in the U.S. come in set sizes; this DIY bed frame project is built around a Queen-size mattress with a box spring. If you choose to build a DIY bed frame around a different size, you can do so by changing the cut lengths in relation to the Queen size provided here.

Adjustable, too, is the height of the bed frame. The legs of this bed frame are 12 inches high. Threaded pipe can also be purchased in 6-inch, 10-inch, or 18-inch lengths if you choose any of those as your bed height.

For an industrial look, purchase black cast-iron metal pipes and flanges. All of the metal parts are screwed together by hand, with no need for pipe wrenches. For ease of assembly, all screws are driven straight in. But if you care to hide the screws, drive in the screws with a pocket jig.

With the miter saw, cut the two-by-sixes:

On a flat, dry surface, lay out the boards so that the two 63-inch boards are at the head and foot of the bed frame. Then, place the two 80-inch boards lengthwise so that the two 63-inch boards are at the ends.

Screw the four boards together with three of the 3-inch screws at each corner.

With the outer part of the bed frame screwed together, square it up with the carpenter's square. Lay the three 83-inch boards lengthwise: two at the sides and one directly in the center. The side boards should meet the very edge of the outer frame.

Attach the three bottom boards with 2 1/2-inch screws. For the two side boards, use several screws spaced about every 12 inches along the length of the boards.

Do not turn the bed frame over yet. With the cordless drill and the 1-inch screws, attach nine of the flanges to the bottom of the bed frame. Each flange will receive four screws. There should be three flanges on each of the bottom board two-by-sixes, spaced evenly.

Screw the nine pipes into the flanges. Hand-tighten them. Finish by screwing the remaining flanges onto the pipes as feet.

Space out the six two-by-fours equally down the length of the bedframe. Make sure that the two outer slats are at the very head and foot of the bed. This is necessary to support the head and foot sections of the box spring.