Parts of a Bunk Bed – Guardrail, Ladder, Rails and Slats

All 10 parts on the diagram

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The two beds 6

Upper bunk The top bed of the two, reached by the ladder.
Lower bunk The bottom bed of the two, close to the floor.
Post One of four corner uprights that hold up both beds.
Side rail It runs between the two ends and carries the slats.
Slats They lie across the bed and hold up the mattress.
Bed end structure (headboard or footboard) The upright unit at the head or the foot. The side rails attach to it.

Ladder and guardrail 4

Guardrail A rail on the side of the upper bunk. It keeps a sleeper from rolling out.
Ladder The way up to the upper bunk.
Rung (ladder step) A step of the ladder. This ladder has five.
Guardrail support A short upright that holds the guardrail above the side rail.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 and kept only where at least two of these use it. (1) 16 CFR part 1513, Requirements for Bunk Beds, sections 1513.2 and 1513.3, read at https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/1513.2 and https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/1513.3 : bunk bed, upper bunk, lower bunk, bed end structure, guardrail, side rail, posts, ladder, foundation, mattress. (2) AS/NZS 4220:2010, Bunk beds and other elevated beds, section 3 and Figure 1, full text at https://archive.org/details/as-nzs.4220.2010 : guardrail, side rail, end rail, mattress base, structural upright (corner post), the rung of a ladder, access opening. (3) One maker's bunk bed assembly sheet, parts list, full text at https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5985321 : upper and lower post, guardrail, guardrail support, mattress support slats, mattress side rail, ladder step, upper bunk, end structure. (4) Wikipedia, Bunk bed, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunk_bed : the upper and lower bunk, the four poles at the corners, the ladder, the railing. (5) Passages found by full-text search on archive.org in three woodworking books with bunk bed projects (Jeff Miller, Beds, 1999; Ana White, The Handbuilt Home, 2012; How to Make 2x4 Furniture, 1987): slats, side rail, ladder rung, guardrail supports, headboard and footboard, upper bunk. Labels, hints, detail lines and position notes were written for this site. Licence: own work

The drawing: Own drawing from plain geometry; nothing traced. Not to scale. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a bunk bed are named here on one drawing of a twin-over-twin bed: two bunks, four posts, a ladder and a guardrail. Tap a ring to read a name, then press Quiz me.

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What holds the two beds

Four posts stand at the corners. At each end a bed end structure joins two posts, and a side rail runs along each long side of each bunk between the ends. Slats lie across from one side rail to the other and hold up the mattress.

What belongs to the upper bunk

A guardrail runs along each long side of the upper bunk, held above the side rail by guardrail supports. The front one stops short to leave an opening for the ladder, and each step of the ladder is a rung.

Parts lists often name a headboard and a footboard where the bunk bed rule says bed end structure.

Questions and answers

What is the rail on the top bunk called?

A guardrail. It is the rail along the side of the upper bunk, there to keep a sleeper from rolling out. The short uprights under it are guardrail supports.

What are the slats on a bunk bed for?

The slats lie across each bunk from one side rail to the other and hold up the mattress. A parts list may call them mattress support slats or the mattress foundation.

What are the ends of a bunk bed called?

Each is a bed end structure: the upright unit at the head or the foot that the side rails attach to. Many parts lists call them the headboard and the footboard.

What are the steps of a bunk bed ladder called?

Rungs, or ladder steps. The two long pieces they join are the sides of the ladder.