Lumber for Slumber, Part 1

Last weekend was the one weekend I look forward to every year: Family Camp weekend. Our church has family camp every year with attendance around 450. There are lots of fun activities for children and adults and great food and exceptional teaching and everyone comes back having a blast. But we never go.

Instead, I view it as the one Sunday a year I get to sleep in. Man, living the life of an atheist is pretty relaxing! No yelling at the kids, no stress selecting their clothes (and yelling), no rushing to get them breakfast (and yelling)… Just peace and quiet. My kids even discovered there's actually cartoons on tv on Sunday mornings too! And did I mention east coast NFL games?? Ahh, such a tempting lifestyle as we sample the path toward delinquency.

So what to do on this totally free (and stormy) weekend?

This was the weekend I decided to embark on my most ambitious woodworking project thus far: a loft bed. Or rather a loft with a bed. So instead of building kid furniture, I'm going to attempt to build a structure for the very first time!

After inheriting scrap lumber from numerous friends throughout the year, my garage was getting full. I needed to build something, anything. And with the boys growing older, they'll eventually outgrow the room they share and need more separation of personal space. I had been combing craigslist for months trying to find the perfect loft bed/bunkbed, but none worked the way I wanted it to work. So with the stockpile of lumber and machinery in my garage coupled with inspiration from a friend's recent loft bed project, I decided it's best to do it my way. Yep, I am the master designer!

The bedroom is an unusual shape with a pitched ceiling going up over 13 feet. What's even weirder is that there's a 16" ledge on top with electrical and cable tv outlets (like anyone would want to crane their neck upward to watch at such an awkward angle). I saw this as premium usable space. I wanted a loft that not only fit a twin mattress, but also have a little area to sit and play games.

The whole project is a like a plan-as-you-go kind of thing. I was figuring out how to do things as I progressed. Even my wife was a little skeptical wondering if I knew what I was doing. I had to gently reassure her with some kind words, "Don't doubt me woman!" The main objective was to avoid having a center support beam in the middle of the room.

Once the platform was secured, the kids couldn't wait to get up there! Just like magic, we instantly gained over 50 sq. ft.! They treat it like a little clubhouse and are already demanding I add more "features" to it. I need to work on the ladder asap because Dustin is dying to sleep (and play) up there. The ladder will be another plan-as-you-go thing as I've never built one before. Stay tuned.

Next week, part 2, when I let you venture into my most private space. Ooooooh.