This afternoon’s urgent project was to build a ladder to access the loft.

I have spent hours in the past weeks researching ladder construction — plans, materials, tips, styles.

My original plan was to make a steep staircase-type ladder that would be deep enough for the back of it to double as a bookcase. I still love that idea but I’m leery of adding more book storage space. Another thing is that such a ladder would have a very big footprint.

Moreover, I’d never built a ladder before and had no idea if I could even do it. I didn’t want to spend money on materials for an experiment.

So, I decided to take a lesson from my second favourite carpenter, Norm Abram, and build a mock up of the ladder using found materials, namely pallet pieces.

I gave the neighbours quite a show I’m sure a couple of nights ago when I took my last pallet apart. It was surprisingly difficult to separate the pieces even if they were only nailed in! I ended up with three five foot lengths of material I felt would be suitable for a ladder construction. Two pieces would be the sides and the third would be chopped up to make steps and step supports. Had the pallet pieces been just six inches longer, I would have been able to make an angled ladder instead of a straight up and down one.

I started by gluing and screwing step supports to the sides of the ladder. I then glued and screwed the steps to their supports. Finally, I screwed the steps to the sides of the ladder. The result feels quite sturdy but if there are any ladder experts reading this, please tell me if I missed a crucial step!

Securing the ladder wasn’t easy. I used long angle brackets to secure the top to the underside of the loft. For the bottom, I screwed a piece of wood to the floor using two small angle brackets and then screwed the ladder into that piece of wood.

I’m not enamoured with the ladder because it being strictly vertical makes climbing up and down awkward. It is definitely better than the step ladder, however! I will try it for some time and see how it holds up. Once I am more confident in my ladder making skills I will make a prettier angled ladder, but I’m pretty sure I’ll forgo the bookcase idea. I like how slim and nearly invisible the test ladder is.

Not counting glue drying time, the ladder only took about an hour to assemble. The sides are 4′ high and the steps are 1′ wide spaced 1′ apart. I’m quite happy with it. 🙂

Working on the loft this afternoon, I realised that I’ve never taken a ‘while I’m living here’ shot of the ‘room’! It doesn’t look like much, but it really is just a place for sleeping. I do have plans to gussy it up a tad once I get on to the decorating part of the renos.

I love using the old dinette cushions as window coverings. They do need some sizing adjustments, however. Since they do not touch the walls or windows at all, I have not had any problems with them causing condensation problems. The one at the foot of the bed rests on the mattress and leans against the window valance. The two on the long side are wedged in tightly between the mattress and the ceiling and also rest against a window valance. At the head of the bed, I shake things up a tad. I have been storing my suitcase up there since I hit the road and I can’t imagine a better place for it. It blocks the window and serves as a headboard of sorts. I just put it up on some 2×4’s to keep it off the floor and it, too, rests against a valance. The final dinette cushion sits in front of it and I can lean against it to read in bed. Books, writing implements, and tissues rest on the suitcase. I have a light within easy reach and a clock beside it. At night, I pull the curtain shut and in the morning I open it to survey my domain. A prettier and more opaque fabric will be in order when I redecorate; the current one is a bit too ‘hospital’ for my taste!

There are some who might find my nest a bit too ‘cozy’ (ie. claustrophobic) for their tastes, but I love it up there! I just feel so safe and warm. I slept in an elevated bed for most of my childhood, so I think loving my loft is just part of who I am.

Since I took the dinette benches apart I have been climbing up and down using a step ladder and the top of the captain’s chair. I’m really looking forward to getting a proper ladder and that is going to be tomorrow’s project; I’ve even started cutting the wood for it!

A shout out goes out to my friend who crocheted the afghan for me nine years ago (already!). It’ll fit in just fine with my decorating plans. While I go for lighter shades now, my colours of choice haven’t changed a bit!

If you have a class C motorhome, and especially if you sleep in the loft over the cab, do not under any circumstances put your mattress directly on the floor. Just trust me on this one and don’t ask me why. Oh, you insist? Well one day you will decide to remove your mattress and discover that you have been sleeping on a fungus forest. No, I will not clarify that with a picture.

Thankfully, Miranda’s original hard-as-nails mattress was between mine and the floor, so my good mattress that I sleep on is fine.

Over the past year and a half I have occasionally taken a peek under the original mattress and I never saw anything amiss. The problems were in the middle of the mattress….

Followed a fun hour of trying to figure out how to get the mouldy original mattress out of the rig without contaminating everything. I wound up rolling it up loosely, mouldy-side in, and taking it out the driver’s side door. This was after wrestling with my good mattress and trying to find a spot for it. Thank goodness for clear wall space where the bucket chairs used to be!

I then spent time with an anti-mould and fungus product, a couple of rolls of paper towels, and a garbage bag. I even dug out a bit of the flooring to see if the mould had penetrated it (no!). I think I might have dodged the bullet on this one, yet again, finding a major problem before it becomes a structural issue. The walls were all fine, including the one were I had a leak earlier this winter. I should have put two and two together back then and guessed that water leaked under the mattress. *shakes head*

Interestingly enough, I already had the solution for preventing this from happening again. I’ve been wanting to remove that mattress for some time now because it is a dust and cat fur magnet and thought that while I was at it I could elevate the mattress to circulate the air under it. Sad how I had this thought for my good mattress but not for the disposable one. *rolls eyes*

The obvious solution would be a wooden base with slats. Many months ago, without even realising that I’d been mulling over this issue, a solution came to me. It was just a matter of making a trip to Home Depot for some pallets…

Did you know that two standard Home Depot Pallets placed end to end have the exact dimensions of a standard double/full mattress?

The only adjustment I need to make is to the board covering the hole over the cab. It’s the board that was tucked into the original mattress, but it’s not at the same level as the floor, so I’ll need to either replace it with something else or make some notches in the pallets.

Of course, the pallets are higher than the original mattress was, so I am going to be even closer to the ceiling. I’ve measured this already and think I can live with it until I can get a new, thinner, mattress. My mattress is reaching the end of its lifespan, so I don’t mind this.

I’d better go finish this project unless I want to sleep in the study tonight. 😀