How to Take Apart a Metal or Wood Bed Frame (Even With No Screws)
Find the joint before you pick up a tool. Most bed frames come apart at the four corners, and how they let go depends on the kind of joint. A frame with no visible screws is usually a hook-and-slot or push-together design, and it needs lifting, not unscrewing.
Clear the bed and the path
Take off the bedding, mattress and box spring, then the slats. Allied Van Lines recommends this order: slats first, then the headboard and footboard, then the rails and crossbars (Allied). Roll-style slats can be bundled, and fixed slats unscrew one at a time.
Have a screwdriver, Allen keys, pliers, resealable bags and painter's tape to hand. A rubber mallet and some penetrating lubricant help with stuck hardware.
Which joint do you have?
| What you see | Type | Tool | How it lets go |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bolt heads or hex sockets at the corners | Bolted | Allen key or socket | Unscrew, keeping a helper on the post |
| Rail end with hooks, post with a metal plate and slots, nothing to unscrew | Hook-and-slot | Hands, rubber mallet | Lift the rail straight up |
| Thin metal rails, folding legs, pins that click | Snap-together | Hands | Push the rails together, pull apart, fold |
| Wood rails with long bolts through the post, sometimes behind caps | Wood rail bolts | Long Allen key, flat screwdriver for caps | Pop the cap, unscrew, slide the rail off |
| Drawers or a deck under the mattress | Storage base | Varies | Remove drawers first and look inside the box |
A wood frame
- Take out the slats and any center beam.
- Have a helper hold the headboard while you release one rail.
- Release the second rail on that end, then lower the headboard away.
- Repeat at the footboard.
A metal frame
For a bolted frame, do the same as above, loosening each bolt a little at a time so nothing binds. For a hook-and-slot frame, lift each rail straight up. Do not pry sideways, which bends the hooks. If one is tight, tap upward from underneath with a rubber mallet. Folding frames unclip at the rails and fold on their hinges; watch your fingers as they close.
Stuck parts
Give a seized bolt some penetrating lubricant and time. Try tapping a tight rail upward, then stop if the wood starts to split around the bracket. Rusted or stripped hardware may need someone with the right tools.
Slats and hardware
If the frame is going to someone else, keep it together. Bag the hardware for each joint separately and tape the bag to the matching part with painter's tape (Allied), and keep the slats in order. If it is going away for good, separate metal from wood, because steel may have a scrap route. Scrap yards take metal bed frames but can have preparation rules, such as removing non-metal parts (Puffy).
Where it goes next
The City of Albuquerque names bed frames on its free large item pickup for residential customers, if you can get the parts to the curb (City of Albuquerque). A sound frame can go to Beds4Kidz, which takes bed frames. If you would rather not do any of this, bed frame removal covers it, and estimates are free.
