Just completed building a loft for my kid.

[Westwood Bengal]

(06-22-2017, 08:58 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I would just leave it like it is.  Chances are that your 8 year old will think they are cool features of the bed.

Actually, on second thought.  You might add some gussets to provide some horizontal stability.  I don't know how your son is, but when I was that age, I was tough on the furniture.  I had bunk beds.  I would climb up on the top and rock the structure back and forth, imagining that I was captain of a ship in a storm.  You just never know what kids will come up with.

I genuinely hope that the "storm" you are referring to is a euphemism for "giving yourself a low 5."      

Honestly I thought it probable that I would want to re-enforce, but after I tightened everything down, I was pleasantly surprised at how solid it was on its own. Obviously I will keep an eye on it for a few weeks as it settles a bit. 

And you are absolutely correct about not being able to predict what a kid will do. It never ceases to amaze.