Futon Frames

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The most widely used frame, is the wooden frame. They can be made of either hard wood, or soft wood. Soft wood frames are usually made of Aspen or Pine. This type of wood often is unique because of the knot holes and the variations of grain in it. The only disadvantage of the soft wood is that they are easily dented. Although the frames are usually prestained, or given color, some mannufacturers will not do this. This allows the consumer to paint or stain the futon themselves, and keeps the price lower.

Hard wood frames are very different from the soft wood frames. They are not easily dented, so they often have intricate designs carved in the armrests. Hard wood frames are almost always prestained. Some hard woods are Ash, Oak and Maple. Of course since the wooden frames are a little more durable and intricately designed, they will be more expensive than the soft wood frames. If you are thinking of keeping your futon frame for a long time, the Hard wood frame would be a good investment.

Futons are made up of six different parts. There is the seat, which you put the cushion on, the back which goes on top of the seat, the two arms at each end of the futon, and the two stretcher rails. The arms and rails almost always made in the same fashion. Barrel nuts and steel screws connect the arms and rails. On the inside of the arms there are two rows of grooveswhich allow the rollers to move in the frame. Though this construction is the same, the back and seat are made differently by different manufacturers. Sometimes staple guns are used to attach the wood slats. Another method is a dowel and glue. The best method though, is the dovetail joining method. This method best holds the stresses of everyday use. These differnet ways of construction greatly effect the cost of your futon.

After choosing your style of wood, there is another choice to make about your futon. You must pick whether you want a bi-fold or a tri-fold frame.; A bi-fold frame look like regular furniture and are the most common found on the market today. They have two sections which will easily fold up into a sofa. A tri-fold frame has three sections and use less wall space. The fit into tighter spaces because of the 45 degree difference from the bi-folds. Choose your fold type wisely.

As you can now hopefully see, the frame on your futon is one of the most important things that you need to pick. Choose wisely, and you can have a heavenly futon to use both during the day and night. This futon frame that you have picked will be the base of all your other choices like the mattress and the coverings. To see more additions to your futon, go to www.bedsfortoday.com.

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