If you have a loft space within your home, it is time to put it to good use. Lofts are often small and dimly lit, so these spaces tend to go underestimated. Try not to let the fact that your loft space is minimal or the lack of natural light stop you from using your loft to its fullest potential.
Utilizing your loft as storage space is an amazing idea, or perhaps you could turn it into your own personal oasis away from the craziness experienced by the rest of the house. First thing’s first though, you must first invest in a safe, durable, and aesthetically pleasing loft ladder.
When shopping around for loft ladders, you’ll see tons of options all ranging in materials used, price, size, and overall look. If nothing suits your fancy, it is entirely possible to build a loft ladder all on your own. Here you can read up on the steps involved in building your very own wooden loft ladder so that you can start using that loft space that has been ignored up until now.
Step 1: Take measurements
Before you can even start thinking about building your wooden loft ladder, you’ll need to take some measurements. Use a measuring tape to determine the distance from the floor to the top of the loft. Add one foot on top of this measurement so that the ladder extends 12” past the loft floor. Then acquire two 2×4’s of this length.
Step 2: Angle the bottom legs of the ladder
You’ll need a radial-arm saw to trim down one side of each of the 2×4 pieces of wood. Hunker says that you’ll need to “swing the blade of a radial-arm saw to the right side and lock it down at 15 degrees.” The trimmed ends will serve as the bottom of the ladder.
Step 3: Make holes for the ladder rungs
Each rung of your ladder should be 12” from the next, but you’ll also need to take into account the thickness of each rung (1.5”). This means that each rung will actually be spaced 10.5” apart from the top of the rung to the bottom of the next one. You’ll then cut the notches for the rungs using a dado blade. Do this on each 2×4.
Step 4: Create the rungs
With another 2×4, cut 18” segments for the number of rungs you’ll need. Then, with one 2×4 ladder leg laying on its side, start placing each rung within a notch. You’ll first need to apply glue to the notches so that the rungs stay in place.
Step 5: Secure everything with screws
Once the rungs have been placed in the appropriate notches with the help of glue, you’ll need to do the final securing. You’ll want a drill for this as well as 3” screws. Each rung should receive a screw on both sides of the ladder. It is an even better ideal to use 2 screws per side, so 4 screws in total for each ladder rung.