Bunk Ladder
I have the 5er in my sig below. On my bunks, i do not have a ladder for the top bunk, so i want to make one. Anyone done this before or have any plans/designs i could go by?
Forum Discussion
I always believed if I walked around Home Depot or Lowes enough times, then an idea or a solution would present itself...
Anyway, Even though I didn't have any pictures, I could give you a couple of links to show you some of the things that I used...
The Handrail. This is the particular shape that I used for my ladder. Other shapes may work better for your particular purpose.
The The Dowel (Rungs). I can't remember the actual diameter of the dowels that I used, but I would use the largest diameter that will fit into the handrails. This will help with the strength and will give you more area for footing.
The latch. This is what I used to secure the ladder to the side of the top bunk. I used 2 of these, with the actual latch attached to both sides of the ladder and the "eye" attached to the bunk. Depending on your situation and also the availability of other hardware items out now, there may be a better solution. But this worked great for me because it kept the ladder firmly attached to side of the bed, especially when my daughter was climbing the ladder.
Once I got everything cut to length and glued together, I determined when the angle would be for the bottom of the ladder where it contacted the floor. I cut the bottom of the ladder to match that angle and attached a couple of these. I didn't want to chew up the wood or the flooring.
Since you have access to woodworking equipment, you will be fine. I am absolutely horrible at woodworking. I would rather work with nuts and bolts than nails and screws... Good Luck and let us know how it turns out.
Duane
Anyway, Even though I didn't have any pictures, I could give you a couple of links to show you some of the things that I used...
The Handrail. This is the particular shape that I used for my ladder. Other shapes may work better for your particular purpose.
The The Dowel (Rungs). I can't remember the actual diameter of the dowels that I used, but I would use the largest diameter that will fit into the handrails. This will help with the strength and will give you more area for footing.
The latch. This is what I used to secure the ladder to the side of the top bunk. I used 2 of these, with the actual latch attached to both sides of the ladder and the "eye" attached to the bunk. Depending on your situation and also the availability of other hardware items out now, there may be a better solution. But this worked great for me because it kept the ladder firmly attached to side of the bed, especially when my daughter was climbing the ladder.
Once I got everything cut to length and glued together, I determined when the angle would be for the bottom of the ladder where it contacted the floor. I cut the bottom of the ladder to match that angle and attached a couple of these. I didn't want to chew up the wood or the flooring.
Since you have access to woodworking equipment, you will be fine. I am absolutely horrible at woodworking. I would rather work with nuts and bolts than nails and screws... Good Luck and let us know how it turns out.
Duane
