Rope Ladder Directions
You can build a sturdy and functional rope ladder--suitable for a children's play area or for use by adults in areas where a solid-frame ladder would be impractical or unsightly--using materials purchased at home improvement and farm supply stores. A rope ladder of this design will safely handle a normal-sized adult male. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 1-inch diameter natural hemp, nylon or polyester rope (total length depends on length of ladder)
- Measuring tape
- Baling wire
- Electrician's pliers
- Hammer
- Gaffer's tape
- Circular saw
- 2-inch-by-6-inch fir boards (number of boards depends on length of ladder)
- Marker
- Power drill
- 1-1/2-inch diameter hole spade bit
- 16-penny bright nails
- Rotary tool with saw and rasp bits
- Tool-grip latex-rubber dipping compound
Instructions
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Cut two lengths of 1-inch diameter rope, allowing 17 inches of rope for every rung. For a 10-rung rope ladder, you would need two ropes, each 170 inches long. Add at least 3 to 4 feet of "extra" rope, for safe measure, before making your cuts.
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2
Seal the four ends of the ropes with three rings of baling wire each, spaced 1/4 inch apart. Twist the wires tightly with a pair of electrician's pliers, then pound the twisted "tail" over with a hammer until it is nearly embedded in the rope fibers. Wrap the ends of the ropes with gaffer's tape (a type of duct tape with a linen-cloth texture).
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3
Cut the necessary number of 2-inch-by-6-inch fir boards (clean, no checks or knot holes) 20 inches in length, one board per rung.
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Measure 2 1/2 inches in from the ends of each board and mark. Drill holes 1 1/2 inches in diameter through the boards in the centers of these marks.
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Measure up from one end of one of the ropes by 20 inches. Mark this 20-inch point with a small strip of gaffers tape to form a visual guide. Create a simple knot in the rope so the bottom of the knot occurs at this 20-inch mark. You may need to tie, and retie the knot until it falls at the 20-inch marker perfectly. This knot must be as bulky as a large walnut. Note: this "20 inches up" mark allows 20 inches of free rope on the ladder to use to tie the rope to an anchor element. Leave 20 inches at the other end of the rope also so you can test the ladder fully or if you would like to be able to attach the rope to anchor points at both ends.
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Thread the free end of the rope through the left-hand hole of the first rung board. Create a second knot--also walnut sized--right above this board, no more than an inch away from the board. Now the board is enclosed by the two knots. If the knots can slip through the hole in the board, the knots are not large enough. Retie the knot so it is larger than the hole in the board.
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Measure up from this first rung board 9 inches. Mark this spot with tape and form a new bulky knot here. Thread another board onto the rope and enclose it with another knot. Repeat this process until the last board is "strung" on the rope.
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Repeat the process with the other side of the boards and the other rope, trapping the boards between the big knots as you go.
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Reinforce the knots by hammering a 16-penny bright nail through the top of the knot below a rung hole. Use a rotary tool to cut off the sharp point and the head of the nail. Use a rasp bit to file the ends of the nail down a little. Dip each end of the nail in a can of tool-grip latex-rubber dipping compound to form a protective barrier around this manufactured "cotter pin."
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Suspend the rope from a suitable height. Tie the free ends of the rope ladder to a sturdy tree limb, for example, using a traditional slip knot.
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Test the rope ladder by putting your weight on each rung. But test only half of the rungs; after testing half the rungs (climbing up approximately 4 feet) climb back down. Remove the ladder and turn it upside down. Retie the ladder to the tree limb and test the remaining rungs. Once you're sure the construction is fundamentally correct and safe, you test the entire run of the rope ladder.
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Tips & Warnings
Climbing a rope ladder takes some strength since the rope is not solid and will twist and work against the climber. It helps to place your feet on the furthest sides of the rung boards against the ropes, rather than in the middle of the rung, and to grip the ropes firmly and to try to "steer" them from twisting.
Use caution when testing your ladder for the first time, obviously. Be certain you tie the rope to the anchor point securely with a good slipknot. If you don't have enough free rope to tie a good line, remove one or two rungs from the ladder to create more slack.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit douvres 3 image by Nathalie P from Fotolia.com
