ok, I went to HD and bought plywood the same size as the middle pieces and they cut them, the guy being very careful and voila they fit perfectly. The supports-which are kinda crazy (metal circles of some sort that attach to black strong pvc pipes with a white piece in middle of 2 pvc pipes so they are adjustable, have 3 of them, one for under each plank of the center plywood area (If I suggest anything else on this, the one who made this -husband-would go thru the roof and never fix stuff again. but they really do work! so support is good for a new bed. The plywood squares I am sealing with a WATERPROOF sealant, (not using the old ones that came with the bed since moisture went thru them) so now.........only question is venting. I am hoping raising bed 2" off the floor will do the trick??? I really don't want to destroy the furniture-by drilling holes.. I want to be 100% safe before I buy a new mattress -- I want a tempurpedic. (I am hating sleeping on the couch!!)

Hi Cindy--Sorry, I took an internet break yesterday so I didn't see your post til now. The supports your DH designed sound great! Wish I'd have thought of that (my DH probably would have--must be a guy thing!)

Many of the platform beds I saw online that are super close to the floor seem to have about 2" of lift to them, so I would think 2" would be ok...but read further on the ventilation issue below as most of those beds also had slats vs. a solid board as the mattress base. Those pics I saw typically had a square of wood on each corner that lifted the bed above floor level--they probably had a center support too, but you couldn't see it--the adjustable supports your DH made should work nicely for that. With the way your bed is made, you probably need a support for the back corners of the cubbie portion too.

I spoke with my DH & did a little more research on your problem. DH suggested a dehumidifier, drilling the holes, raising the bed off the floor & installing computer fans (small fans like inside of a computer) under the bed which would ensure ventilation underneath. Online, I found dehumidifier, raising the bed, & drilling the holes--but not just in the cubbie portion...I am reading about ventilation holes necessary under the mattress. I see two ways of achieving this--drill holes in the board the mattress rests on or place some sort of spacer in between the mattress and the board. That does sort of make sense--that way the mattress can breathe and any moisture has a way to evaporate. Alot of the platform beds I looked at online had slats instead of a solid board thereby allowing ventilation underneath. So I think this is an important part of the equation. I read 2" holes, but I think that is waaaay too big. I also read small holes, but alot of them--I couldn't find any definite formula for this. Since the mattress sits on top of the board, no one will ever see the holes.

Here's a big question--when you took the bed apart, what was underneath? Any moisture, mold, water marks on the floor or underside of the bed components? If so, was concentrated in one area or was it just kind of all over the place? Is the flooring in the bedroom carpet, wood, vinyl...?

As far as drilling holes in the cubbies--I don't think you're going to ruin the furniture--we're talking about an area no one will ever see or notice & if you're dead set on keeping the bed, then it's a small sacrifice.

Hope this helps!

wow, thanks for doing my research, and s.o.a.b... I thought I had it all figured out! the bed sits on carpet. No, the carpet had no moisture, as good as new (it is new when we moved in las april) When I pulled up the mattress --trying to figure out why the noticeable sag, I first pulled off the rubber carpet pad I had cut to size (it kept the mattress from moving around) I threw that away.then I saw a puddle of water on top of the center of the platform area. literally only on the center square of the 3 mdf cut tops, so just the center of the bed and the puddle was about ,maybe less than 1/4 cup. (it was just starting to get realllllly cold at night. (In the SF bay area it is mid 60's day time or even warmer! but slips down to low 50's or 40's at night.) only when taking a shower, there is humidity, otherwise really not much! My landlords wife also said earlier "put a fan under your bed" and I laughed at that one. hmmm? one thing, any noise wakes me up.my husband says "a mouse's fart would wake me up" have NO clue where he got that saying-he's a Jersey boy. ??so the fan might be a bad idea :( and the slat idea, well a tempurpedic bed is uber heavy and needs a strong base... I have checked out drilling the hole thru the back of cubbies, they are at least 2" thick, same for the top of them. I am completely sealing the plywood with waterproof spray sealer like for decks,etc. I went to the mattress store and saw the temp bed on their own box spring platform as they call it- and it is just solid wood. so... what should I do? I was hoping the 2" lift all the way around (and yes inside/outside/everywhere strength is needed to raise the bed) would be sufficient and would work.?? I do use a ceiling fan in the summer and I can barely hear that. the room is only 9x12' barely enough room for a bed!! Still sleeping on my sectional, actually VERY comfy, plus the heater is in this room,well it sits between the living and bedroom . Not ordered a bed yet, may go over there again today to test drive all the choices. I was supposed to be home yesterday, but got stuck out of town,Kona-yes humid there!(yuck) plane broke and tomorrow I work again so I'm not getting much time to research/fixing/buying. :( anyway, so what's your take now? thanks!

Cindy-is the top of the bed (that covers the area between the cubbies) a solid piece of wood or slats? And does it extend over the cubbbies or just between them?

the space between the cubbies is solid wood, but cut into 3 pieces, don't know why,probably easier to fit in packaging, but I bought plywood the same size as the 3 mdf boards that absorbed the moisture. but it will be solid covered. (I am waterproofing the heck out those, 3 coats -overkill but..... and screwed into the cubbie recessed area. so technically, the bed itself is one solid surface. but the mattress..... I am starting to freak out over the mattress choice. I'm reading the other post on mattresses.

OK, I think you need to drill holes in that plywood in the space that the cubbies don't support to ventilate--especially since that's where the water was pooling before. Waterproofing is a good idea, but then the water has nowhere to go but into the mattress. Ventilating that part should allow any moisture to evaporate. Remember that the vast majority of beds are made such that there are slats used to put the mattress and boxspring on allowing ventilation. In your case, that solid surface is not allowing any ventilation. That's what I was reading about online. Drilling into the cubbie area allows further ventilation since you don't have a traditional setup + so much humidity in the air. Make sure you waterproof the inner part of the plywood where you drill the holes.

Curious, the landlady said something about putting a fan under the bed? When did she suggest this? Had you spoken with her about the problem you were having yet?

Mattresses are one of the hardest purchases to make IMO. They are such a big investment and often can't be returned. For those retailers that allow returns, you typically lose any sale pricing they were running & I would always wonder what they really do with all the returned mattresses. They say they destroy them or ship them off to stores in states that allow mattress resales, but how do you know for sure? Since your sofa is comfortable, take your time in deciding which mattress is right for you & your husband.

oh I'm taking my time on the mattress,-my husband has his man cave and sleeps mostly in there, watches tv late,falls asleep on his comfy couch, then goes to work each morning at 5am --HATE being woken up.so my couch is just fine for now :)
the folks that own this little cottage have a son-my age, and his wife as the landlords. she was sitting out back hearing me tell Fred-landlord & contractor :) my dilemma re bed and she threw in there " put a computer fan under you bed" no, not happening-I can't sleep thru noise.
ok, now you do have me confused about the bed drilling etc.
the 3 cubbies that make up the "U" outline of the bed are nice and strong and are thick all around , the plywood boards 3 square ones instead of 1 long 2'x5', I have waterproofed and they will be screwed down to the heavy cubbie furniture. which will then make it a flat bed. we are raising the bed off the ground 2" to allow air flow, which should also help move the air around in the upper enclosed area under those plywood boards ,where before the air didn't move, the moisture from the air below got warm and seeped its way thru the mdf board and puddled on top of it, where the mattress sits. so if i now block moisture from coming up, and have air movement down under, no wetness will make its way to the mattress level. right?!! so you are now reading to drill holes throughout the top boards and cubbies? That's an invitation for wetness right there,?? you'll have to explain that one again to me. remember no wet was on the furniture except where the mdf boards were. so now with solid surface, waterproofing,and strength, no condensation will appear--maybe on carpet but i doubt it.

Hopefully this will help--what I read was that you will have body heat transfer through the mattress combined with colder air underneath and you end up with the condensation when you factor in the moisture in the air. The condensation will form on any solid surface. It is possible that you will have enough ventilation with raising the bed 2" and all the other modifications. But it does not change the fact that there is no ventilation from the bottom to allow the heat to escape from the mattress through the plywood and and it ends up trapped between the mattress & plywood.

Even with a bunkie board or box spring, you typically have slats underneath running between the sides of the bedframe allowing for ventilation. I've attached a link below with a photo of how boxsprings are constructed--even they are constructed from slats to allow for adequate ventilation & heat dissipation.

Just a thought here--after modifying, could you put the twin mattress on the bed and sleep on it for a few nights to a couple weeks and see if any condensation builds up/mattress is wet underneath? If it does then you know you need to drill the holes in the plywood. If it doesn't then maybe you'll be good to go. Since it would be for such a short span of time, you could probably remove the mattress, sprinkle some baking soda on the wet spot to help absorb moisture, set it on its side and allow it to dry out (kind of like when kids wet the bed). The mattress would still be usable after that(remember to vacuum off the baking soda before using again).

Here is a link that might be useful: Box Spring Construction Photo

oooooohhhhhhh.
well now I'm at a loss. I see what you are saying. so the puddle I had actually may have been from mr. hot sleeper's body that had seeped "down" thru the old mattress I tossed, and not thru the bottom floor area? hmmmmmmmm
so ok....
I read the link (thanks) and it "did" say platform or slat style bed frame but I'm agreeing with you I need to vent the mattress too. and drilling circles thru the wood would help???? I see fancy platform beds in stores and they don't have holes or slats? I am sooooo confused. I'm wondering if I really destroyed those 3 white squares, if water went thru them at all. they are still nice and sturdy,dry.
I swear if I didn't need all that storage I'd be getting another bed. and I do need a mattress soon, my back is now starting to bother me !!!!!!! :(