Dormitory bunk beds for worker housing, hostels and student rooms are mostly steel: welded or bolted end frames, a guardrail and ladder on the top tier, and a slatted or mesh base. Partner factories in Turkey make metal bunk beds and steel single beds. Before a factory prices one, the bed needs two things settled: the safety standard it is drawn to, and whether the housing rule allows a bunk at all.
Which standard covers the bed
| Standard | Covers | Leaves out | Numbers that shape the drawing |
|---|---|---|---|
| EN 747-1:2024 (test methods in EN 747-2:2024) | Bunk beds and high beds for domestic and non-domestic use | Beds for special purposes, including prisons, the military and fire brigades | Applies where the internal length is over 1 400 mm, the bed base is at most 1 200 mm wide and an upper base is 600 mm or more above the floor |
| US 16 CFR 1213 | Bunk beds not intended for children | Beds manufactured only for institutional use (a facility for children under 6 is not an institution) | A bunk bed is any bed whose foundation underside is more than 30 in (760 mm) off the floor |
| US 16 CFR 1513 | Bunk beds intended for children | The same institutional exclusion | Requirements substantively identical to 1213 |
| Saudi Arabia, SABER | HS 9403 20 90 0027 “Beds with several floors” | No technical regulation applies to the frame | Self-declaration in SABER; the mattresses fall under the textile regulation (see SABER certificate for furniture) |
EN 747-1 was fully revised in 2024. The new edition adds requirements for ladders and other means of access, safety barriers, holes and gaps, shear and squeeze points, stability and purchase information, and replaces EN 747-1:2012+A1:2015. CEN members are bound to adopt it as a national standard, and the list includes Türkiye and the United Kingdom.
Whether bunks go in at all is a housing-rule question. IFC/EBRD guidance calls double bunks not advisable, asks for 0.7 to 1.10 m clear between tiers where they are used, and prohibits triple bunks. The Saudi and Qatari limits are set out in staff accommodation rules by country.
The US rule in numbers
16 CFR 1213 is short and public, so its numbers for an upper bunk are easy to check:
- Guardrails: at least two on the upper bed, one on each side. One runs the full length, with any gap to the end frames no more than 5.6 mm (0.22 in). The other may stop up to 380 mm (15 in) short of an end.
- Ladder side: where the ladder hangs on one side, the full-length guardrail goes on the other.
- Height: the top of each guardrail stands at least 130 mm (5 in) above the mattress surface, measured with the thickest mattress the maker’s instructions allow. The upper end frames must also rise 130 mm above the mattress for at least half their width.
- Fixing: guardrails can’t come off without releasing a fastener on purpose.
- Openings: with the mattress removed, no gap under the guardrail or in the end frames may pass the standard’s wedge block.
- Labels: a permanent label with the maker’s or seller’s name and address, the model number and the month and year of manufacture, plus a warning label inside the upper end frame.
- Instructions: state the mattress length and width and its maximum thickness.
Beds made only for institutional use sit outside 1213. A US student-housing or camp buyer can still name it in the specification, and the factory then draws and labels the bed to it.
Mattress thickness and fire test
The mattress is part of the bed’s safety design. A thicker contract mattress raises the sleeping surface toward the top of the guardrail, so the drawing states a maximum thickness and the mattress is ordered to it.
| Market | Mattress fire test |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | BS 7177, tested to BS EN 597-1, BS EN 597-2 and BS 6807, at the hazard category set for the premises |
| European Union | EN 597-1 and EN 597-2 |
| United States | 16 CFR 1633 (open flame, mattress sets) and 16 CFR 1632 (cigarette) |
| Saudi Arabia | Mattresses come under SASO’s Textile Products regulation in SABER: a Quality Mark or product certificate of conformity |
BS 7177 covers premises where arson is a risk as well as ordinary ones, so the hazard category is read from the building’s use, not from the bed.
Spec sheet for a contract metal bunk
These are the lines a buyer states and a factory prices. The figures come from the project, not from us.
| Line | What to state | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | EN 747-1:2024, 16 CFR 1213 or the project’s own | Sets the tests and the label |
| Mattress size | Length × width, e.g. 900 × 1 900 mm, or US twin | EN 747-1 applies above 1 400 mm internal length; frame is drawn to it |
| Maximum mattress thickness | In mm | Sets the guardrail height check |
| Load per sleeping surface | The figure the operator needs | US makers publish their own: American Bedding rates its Model 4000 at 350 lb per sleep surface; heavydutybunkbeds.com rates its beds at 500 lb per platform |
| Tube | Section and wall thickness for the posts and rails | Stiffness and weight per bed |
| Joints | Welded end frames, bolted rails, or knock-down throughout | Flat-pack volume and site assembly time |
| Base | Steel slats, wire mesh or sheet | Mattress support and airflow |
| Finish | Powder coat, colour | Wear and cleaning |
| Guardrail and ladder | Full-length or part rail; ladder fixed or bolt-on, which side | Room layout and wall position |
| Upper base height and tier clearance | In mm | Fits the ceiling height and any clear-height rule |
| Split to two singles | Yes or no | Lets one frame serve a no-bunk rule later |
| Labels | Text and language | The standard’s marking clause |
A locker or locker-wardrobe usually goes beside each bed. The per-bed kits and the storage each rule asks for are on the workforce housing page.
Made in Turkey
Bunk beds and steel single beds are made by partner factories in Turkey, alongside contract mattresses and steel lockers from their own makers. Test reports come from the factory that makes each item and are attached to the quote line they cover. Rovers packs beds flat, labelled by building and room. In the US, Rovers manufactures and delivers; the buyer’s crew assembles.
What to send us
Send the bed count, the mattress size, the standard the project names, the room layouts with ceiling heights, and the city. With only a bed count and a mattress size, Rovers can price a first bunk and mattress line.
- BSI Knowledge: BS EN 747-1:2024, Furniture. Bunk beds and high beds, safety, strength and durability requirements (published 31 Mar 2024; scope, exclusions, changes from EN 747-1:2012+A1:2015, CEN members bound to implement) · accessed 2026-10-07
- eCFR 16 CFR Part 1213: Safety Standard for Entrapment Hazards in Bunk Beds (scope, definitions, guardrails, marking, instructions) · accessed 2026-10-07
- eCFR 16 CFR Part 1513: Requirements for Bunk Beds (children's bunk beds) · accessed 2026-10-07
- eCFR 16 CFR Part 1633: Flammability (open flame) of mattress sets · accessed 2026-10-04
- BSI Knowledge: BS 7177:2008+A1:2011, resistance to ignition of mattresses, mattress pads, divans and bed bases (tests to BS EN 597-1, BS EN 597-2, BS 6807; hazard categories) · accessed 2026-10-07
- CEN: EN 597-1 and EN 597-2, ignitability of mattresses and upholstered bed bases · accessed 2026-10-04
- SABER (SASO): HS codes table, 9403 20 90 0027 'Beds with several floors' (no technical regulation, self-declaration); mattresses 9404 21/29 under the Textile Products regulation · accessed 2026-10-07
- IFC and EBRD: Workers' accommodation, processes and standards (guidance note, August 2009), bed arrangements · accessed 2026-10-05
- American Bedding: Model 4000 industrial bunk (350 lb per sleep surface, 18-gauge 1¼ in square tube) · accessed 2026-10-07
- Heavy Duty Bunk Beds: university bunk beds (500 lb per platform) · accessed 2026-10-07