Stairway to heaven

So last week home we decided to take on a giant construction project.. It was actually the last phase of framing inside the house for it to be complete.


We had several different ideas for a loft above the kitchen.. the ceiling is 5 meters high in the living room and kitchen so it was good to capitalize on all the airspace. We ended up making a 4 by 6 meter loft along with a landing above the hall and a stairway. The ladder that came with the house was getting a little cumbersome after 6 months of climbing.

Luckily enough I have a good friend Chris who is an ex-framer who worked on many prestigious builds around the city of anchorage, he just happened to get suckered into a hunting for framing trade that worked to our advantage.

Step 1 = Rewire the janky wall lights to accommodate more modern lighting in the kitchen ceiling.

Step 2 = Build the Ledger.. this is the perimeter of the floor structure

Substep 2A= drop drill while lagging bolts in the wall and destroy a brand new windowsill.

Substep 2B = apologize to Amy Victoria

Step 3 = Span a beam…. Or in our case 3 very scientific… very engineered LVL beams.. this means Laminated Versalam Beams.. Basically wood with a lot of epoxy in it.

Step 4 = Install the Joists…

Step 5 = Sheet the floor

Step 6 = build the upper landing and the wall for the underthestairway closet.

Step 7 = Build lower landing and upper stair stringers.. This is probably the hardest step to lay out stairs that work perfectly with the house.. the science that is involved in this process is bewildering.

Step 8 = Put the treads on the stairs

Step 9 = Enjoy

The new couch fits in its place as if the stairs were built to accomodate it.