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Original poster

Would you have a "handmade" cot?

18 replies

FatimaLovesBread · 13/04/2012 20:48

A relative of ours works as a joiner and has said he would like to make us a cot.

At first I thought great, save us some money. But looking in to it, I know they are made and tested to a British Standard and have particular measurements and criteria they must meet.

So now I'm not sure. If he makes it to the same design as one in a nursery shop would that be ok? Has anyone ever had a handmade cot? Should we just buy one?

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terilou87 · 13/04/2012 23:04

Yes, I previously had one made for my first child, I found it more stable than the ones in the shop and I had it painted egg shell white with a changing table on top(removable) all my friends commented on how beautiful it was and as it was made by a family member I knew no one had the same. I would have another one made but my uncle has moved abroad. I would say go with whatever you think is best for your baby. as it is a family member im sure they would put the safty of your baby first maybe make your own design and go through things so you know it will be safe.

YahYah · 14/04/2012 07:34

We used an old family cot, made by my dc's great, great grandfather. I LOVED using something different with history

Look into what features a cot has to make it safe

For example ours has a horizontal part that means it would be very easy for a child to launch itself out once it was standing. We stopped using it once the dc were of an age to do this

As long as it's of a height that the can't escape from and has no where they could get stuck as it were it'll be fine I'm sure

I think it's a lovely offer to have something so special. But if you're concerned why not suggest a crib, something they use before they're moving around might be easier to make safe iyswim

AGunInMyPetticoat · 14/04/2012 07:44

If your relative is a professional, I guarantee that it's going to be more stable than anything you buy from IKEA. Millions of children have survived in their cots.

The only thing I'd want to be sure of is that it's a standard size so that I'd be able to buy a mattress for it should the need ever arise.

Florin · 14/04/2012 07:45

Lucky you what a lovely offer. I would just check what the recommended distance of the bars should be and let him know

BikeRunSki · 14/04/2012 07:50

Check the spacing of the bars on some shop bought cots (go to Mothercare with a tape measure!) and make sure the cot that is made for you does not have bars any wider than this.

Make sure your uncle uses non toxic paint and glue, and covers any exposed screw heads.

Make sure it is a standard size so you can get a mattress and sheets to fit!

He'll need to think about the loading of a 2 yo bouncing around and shaking the sides.

I think you can get British Standards on line, but might have to pay, and most central/university libraries will have them.You could look up what standards a cot needs to meet (ob. BS only apply to commercially sold items).

MissPenteuth · 14/04/2012 07:53

My Dad made my cot when I was a baby, my sister used it after me and DD now uses it when we visit. It's as sturdy as the one we have from Mothercare, maybe more so! I'm sure your relative knows what they're doing, and it will be lovely to have something a bit different.

I agree with AGun about the size, and you need to make sure the mattress fits snugly, for safety reasons.

YahYah · 14/04/2012 07:58

You can buy non standard matresses from here. They were quick and v reasonably priced

Although agree it would easier if it were standard

GinPalace · 14/04/2012 11:38

OOOoooo

Also make sure bars are close enough together that baby won't get his head stuck between them. I am sure your relative would be aware of these sorts of things but might be worth a nice chat to be sure.

What a lovely thing to offer to do, I ma sure a lot of work will be involved. A cot made with love just for you - so nice.

You can look up the British Standards online and see what the criteria for meeting them is, I bet you find it would be easy peasy for a pro-joiner to do. :)

vix1980 · 14/04/2012 16:42

This thread reminded me of the frank spencer episode where he started woodworking lessons and made a cot for his daughter,

the teacher comes over to look at it and says "you wouldnt fit a sausage roll in there", dont know why but it makes me pee with laughter everytime i think of it!

blackteaplease · 14/04/2012 17:15

It's a very kind offer and if he's a joiner I'd assume it would be well made.

Dh made dd's cot, we went to mothercare and checked out the styles and he made sure to make the bars the right size and fit it to the mattress. He also varnished it in special non-toxic varnish in case dd chewed it (turned out she didn't!)

I love that he made it for her.

GinPalace · 14/04/2012 17:31

So OP - are you going to go for it or not? :)

Enfyshedd · 14/04/2012 18:39

My DP used to work for a nursery furniture company and I just ran this thread past him. His main tip is that you would need to source non-fungacidally treated wood (which is what you get from any normal domestic DIY timber supplier) - the wood must not have been near any sort of chemical treatment whatsoever.

Unless your relative knows a supplier, it would normally be quite difficult to do this.

Not wanting to rain on anyone's parade

Original poster

FatimaLovesBread · 16/04/2012 20:38

Sorry for the lack of reply! I checked before bed and there were no replies and then I forgot about it, just checked the threads I'm on and realised there's lots of posts.

I think we will let him make one. I've been doing some googling in to regulations and found the british standard. DH says that he'll be fine to make it to regulations.

We've had a look at a few different cots in shops so we can pick a style we like for him. I was going to go for it to fit a 120x60cm mattress as that seems to be the standard cot size but not sure whether we should go for cotbed instead?

I'll write a list of all the points you've raised to ask him

OP posts:

GinPalace · 16/04/2012 20:40

I think cotbed is great as will last until child is older and can go into full bed. :)

Hope it is lovely.

blackteaplease · 17/04/2012 08:59

Depends if you are planning any future children and what sort of age gap you might want. I went for a cot and then bought a seperate toddler bed (same size as a cotbed) for dd as I wanted a smallish gap between children.

If you are planning on only one, or a larger gap then I would go for cotbed as it will last longer. Dd was only in her cot for a year and a half

Original poster

FatimaLovesBread · 17/04/2012 10:20

blacktea I had similar thoughts to what you had. Ideally I'd like another with not too big a gap so I'd need the cot again for the second so I might as well just buy a toddler bed.
However we've ended up having IVF for DC1, we still have a frozen embryo that we'd want to use for DC2 if possible and then maybe further IVF but there is a chance we'd end up with just DC1.

Still think a cot would be better as we're planning on having it at the bottom of our bed to start off with and a cotbed may be too big

OP posts:

blackteaplease · 17/04/2012 10:48

Tough decision. I ended up with a larfer gap than I wanted.

I think a cotbed is 140x70 so not massively bigger but I don't know how much space you have in your room. We had dd in a crib in our room for the first 6 months rather than a moses basket as it lasts for longer. Would that be an option for you?

blackteaplease · 17/04/2012 10:49

Larfer??? That should read larger

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