How to Build a Loft

A loft is a great thing to build in a room where you do not have a lot of floor space. Many times where a person sleeps takes up a good portion of the room. With a good loft you can use all the floor space without having to worry about where to put the bed.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Circular saw
• Hammer
• Nails
• Power drill
• 1 to 2 Boxes of deck screws
• 4x4's
• 2x4's
• 3/4" Plywood
• Joint braces
• Small piece of carpeting

1. Measure the loft to how big you want it. Many lofts are about 10 feet long and 4 feet wide.

2. Build the frame of the loft using deck screws. The outer perimeter of the frame should be made up of two 2x4's and the cross-members one 2x4. The joint braces should be used for the longer section of the loft.

3. Raise the loft in the air and screw the 4x4's into it.

4. Place the plywood on top and screw it into the 4x4's to make it sturdy.

5. To prevent the loft from wobbling put two braces from the 4x4's to the ground. To do this cut a diaganol section of the 2x4 and push it against the 4x4 and the ground until it doesn't move and screw it into the 4x4.

6. Nail or screw some carpet on top of the plywood so that the mattress does not sit directly on top of the plywood.

7. Make sure your new loft is sturdy and place the mattress on top of the plywood.

Tips & Warnings

• It may be a good idea to saw the wood outside or in the garage. This will make the sawdust easier to clean up and it will not spread throughout the house.
• It can make the job easier when building a loft if two people are doing the job.
• Be sure to be careful and wear safety goggles when using the circular saw.

[mmburke]

on 1/18/2009 Possibly the most unusable, incomplete, inaccurate, clumsy description with a high skill and knowledge level assumed.