There are many variables to consider when analyzing the options that are available and I scratched my head about how to write this article.
Best wood bed slats are birch, popular, fir, maple, oak, and ash with a minimum of 3.5″ width, 0.75″ thickness, and 2.5″ gaps. Best metal bed slats are aluminum, steel, and alloy at least 1″ wide grid.
You can buy a top seller on Amazon here if you want a fast and cheap fix.
Scott Boyd
Best Wood Bed Slats
This is tough as the best might not be good. The best are the ones that you build yourself to match the foundation for which they are to be installed. This way you can design and overbuild them to make sure they will not sag, break, or fall through the frame after a few months
I rated models out of 10 based on the following criteria:
- Design
- Wood species/type
- Thickness
- Width
- Gaps
- Squeak and noise potential
What to Look For When Researching
- Look for beds with slats that are screwed to the frames to reduce noise potential and increased strength.
- Wood species and the strength and flex (you can check wood mechanical properties here and strength properties here)
I only did this for models that I thought had a chance to make this list so that I didn’t waste too much time with this project.
For example, I did not look at any Ikea options as my research over the past year leads me to believe they should be avoided when possible.
I also did not factor in cost since this is a list of the best overall regardless of the prices.
Design
Some companies have designs that are well-engineered and this is very important since we spend so much of our lives on this piece of furniture. Think about how many hours per day you spend sitting on a chair while eating dinner. How many hours per day are spent on this piece of furniture?
And if you are like me I focus on the strength and sturdiness of chairs when shopping for a table and chair set. I think the bed deserves at minimum the same considerations when shopping.
Unfortunately, the design that increases the strength of the bed while substantially reducing sagging and noise is not used in most models. This is baffling to me.
Read m articles How To Make Bed Slats Stronger in 7 Steps and How to Fix Sag in 60 Minutes
Scott Boyd
As you can see in the table below, simply fastening to the frame on each end reduces sag by about 75%!!!
I realize that manufacturing costs would go up slightly due to having to drill holes in the slats and providing fasteners, but this would be a tiny cost for a gigantic increase in strength.
And yes, many customers would wine about having “extra” work to assemble the unit. But come on, let’s not be this lazy. An extra 30 minutes of assembly time to decrease sag by 75% is a smoking deal!
For more information please see:
- Replace with plywood in 11 steps
- Should you screw them in place and how
- Slats vs Platform
- The best 6 wood types for DIY
- Do Bed Slats Need to be Screwed Down
Wood species/type
Is the company using pine 1×3 or 1×4″ that you find in the lumberyard of most hardware stores in the USA and Canada? Below is a list that compares the strength of various wood species and a few important notes include:
- Assuming 30 lbs per foot, which is likely high.
- Center loading (because people are not a flat block and people usually sleep in the middle at the weakest point).
- Fixed means the ends are fastened to the frame. Not fixed means floating on top of frame rails.
- I used the Sagulator calculator on the Wood Bin website.
- Results are based on Queen size with 27″ of total unsupported span (assuming a center support beam/rail/frame).
- Wood slats that are 3.5″ wide and 0.75″ thick, which is the true width of 1″x4″ lumber.
How To Fix Center Support article here.
| Wood Species | Sag “ Fixed | Sag “ Not Fixed |
| Pine Eastern White | 0.019 | 0.075 |
| Birch Yellow | 0.012 | 0.046 |
| Ash White | 0.013 | 0.053 |
| Cedar Northeast | 0.029 | 0.116 |
| Douglas-Fir North | 0.013 | 0.052 |
| Elm Eastern | 0.017 | 0.068 |
| Hemlock Eastern | 0.019 | 0.077 |
| Maple Sugar | 0.013 | 0.051 |
| Oak White | 0.013 | 0.052 |
| Spruce White | 0.016 | 0.065 |
| Poplar Yellow | 0.015 | 0.059 |
| MDF | 0.066 | 0.264 |
| OSB | 0.033 | 0.132 |
| Plywood Fir | 0.019 | 0.077 |
Thickness
Wood bed slats are typically 0.75″ thick and made with a solid piece of wood or plywood. The sag of the slats of the same wood species decrease approximately:
- 50% for 1″ thick (fixed and floating)
- 88% for 1.5″ thick (fixed and floating)
The best resource for thick cheap wood read my article Can I Use 2x4s For Bed Slats: Yes But…
Scott Boyd
Width
Wood slats are usually between 2.5 inches and 3.5 inches wide. These are two common dimensions of lumber, which is a convenient supply of material for the production of furniture.
It would be beneficial if wider options were available to provide a stronger frame and more support for mattresses, but the cost of the additional material is a luxury most buyers are not willing to pay for.
The additional weight also presents shipping challenges as many wood bed frames (link to the ones I recommend) are already near the weight limit for most shipping companies for reasonable shipping costs.
Gaps
Wood bed frames typically have slat gaps between 2.5 inches and 4 inches. This is much less than most metal options and therefore is a better foundation for a mattress.
Many mattress companies have warranties that require the gaps not to exceed 3 inches so this is an important design characteristic to consider before making a purchase.
Squeak and noise potential
Wood slats squeak and creak less than metal ones that are installed on a metal frame. Rub two pieces of metal together and then two pieces of wood. Which is louder and more annoying? Right, metal. Wood is also much easier to modify if your foundation starts creating noises later since you can easily remove components, modify, and reassemble.
Unfortunately, most only sit on top of the frame and are not fastened to stay in place. The potential for movement is huge and this can cause noises. Many companies add felt to each end to provide a noise-free buffer between the slat and the frame.
Best Metal Bed Slats
The best model with metal slats is the SmartBase Super Heavy Duty foundation with 4,400 lb capacity.
The criteria:
- Design
- Metal quality
- Thickness
- Width
- Gaps
- Squeak and noise potential
Design
The grid system is far superior to the thin wires that only run in one direction or even the designs that use tube slats in only one direction. If you want to protect your mattress and avoid… voiding the warranty the grid system with rectangular metal slats is the minimum you should be considering.
Metal Quality
There is pretty much only one material used in most beds these days, an alloy. Gone are the days of steel and aluminum has always been too expensive (except we are using some aluminum components in our own Super Strong Bed design).
Obviously, the standard box spring frame is made from steel, but this is super rare with foundations that do not require a box spring (actually I don’t know of any, so let me know if you are aware of).
Learn if metal or wood is better here.
Width and Gaps
There are generally two types of frames with metal slats:
- Wire mesh/grid style
- Bars
Wire Grid/Slats
Most companies producing metal platforms for mattresses, rather than box springs, use a wire platform system with thin wire creating a grid or “slats”. This system is not suitable for many mattress models and will void the mattress warranty for many companies.
This is because there is very little surface to gap ratio and the wires can damage the mattress, especially foam models when the mattress sags around the wires.
Bar Grid
A few companies offer models with a heavier duty design where bars are used to create a grid, like this 4,400 kb capacity model
Bars
Bars are similar to wood slats except that they are thinner due to being a stronger and more expensive material. Due to this these bars are much more narrow. Companies say you don’t need a box spring, but check out this model and think about if the approximately 6″ gaps are going to be hard on your mattress!
If the above model has 0.5″ wide metal slats and there are only 11 of them to cover 74.5″ means that only 5.5″ of surface to support a mattress with a whopping 69.5″ unsupported. That means only about 7.4% of your mattress is going to be supported within the exterior frame.
Try putting a foam mattress on this model, sleep on it for a night, and please send me pictures of the indents in your back the next morning haha.
Squeak and Noise Potential
Metal bed slats are rarely the cause of squeaks and noise with beds made from metal. However, connections that are welded by poor quality craftsmen can result in grid style squeaking due to:
- Weak and failing joints
- Weak allioy metal
- Poor design that saves materials, but is not strong enough for some of us heavier sleepers (and late night gymnastic wrestlers).
