This evening I finally completed the loft bed that I’ve been working on for three weeks. A lot of overtime at work and busy weekends made the project take much longer than I thought it would! It’s nice to finally have a living space and also to have a space free of wood and tools for once! There are a few design changes I would make if I could, but overall I am quite pleased with it and it is standing solid. Not half bad for my first larger building project! I think some people probably think I’m crazy for ‘wasting’ my time and money on something like this, but I find joy in designing and working with my hands, and it is my philosophy that I should do that now – even while I’m a poor nomad – in any small way I can.
The bed is a bit different in its design because the legs and ladder are attached to the base with a pin joint that is a steel pipe, and the legs bring the force diagonally into the floor and the base of the existing walls. To keep the whole bed from swaying, there are rubber spacers wedged between the bed and the walls, locking the whole structure firmly in place. I fitted the bed to the exact size of my existing mattress, and left pockets of space at the head and foot for storage.
I thought I would have to politely ask my neighbours (who I don’t even know all that well yet) to help me lift the bed into place, but because of the pin-joint action, I was able to install it myself. It was as simple as lifting one end up at a time, bringing the leg piece in, and setting the pipe into the corresponding slot of the bed frame. I was even able to take a break in between installing the first set of legs and the second. Below are some process pictures. Enjoy!
Step 1: Lift up the bed frame, drag the ladder-leg piece into place, and slot the steel bar into the groove.
Step 2: Lift up the other side and do the same.
Step 3: Place the decking boards to bridge the joists.
And finally the last step: A crazy amount of clean-up and re-arranging to transform the space into a living room. Now I must get accustomed to sleeping up high and close to the ceiling. I think it will be worth it though for the extra space I get as a result!
Life Section 