Loft Ladder

Enthusiasts can attest that there are parts of a tiny house that stir emotion.  Many hours--too many to count, in fact--are spent pondering these parts.  Tiny house owners doodle them, pour over images of them on the Internet, and drive their loved ones mad talking about them. Very often, how to access the loft, is one such part.  Before describing our loft ladder, I want to tell you about the alternatives we considered.

Early on I decided to not install stairs to the loft.  Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against stairs in a tiny house, I have seen the gamut, and most are beautiful creations.  There are stairs with alternating treads that require the climber to use a specific left-right foot pattern.  There are extremely narrow staircases, stairs with built-in drawers, and bookcase-shaped stairs.  There are space saving circular staircases, and the rectangular ones that want to be circular but end up just being triangular.  Maybe I am not handy or creative enough, but I was unable to convince myself that a staircase is a good use of very limited space.

Other ideas were a rope ladder which could have been easily tossed up into the loft when not in use.  We decided against that one for safety concerns.  We played with the idea of using an attic ladder which would have folded up nicely and can be had under $100.  Unfortunately, off-the-shelf attic ladders are too big--length, swing, and folded--for our small space.  If you are really handy with a saw, that might be the way to go.  Eventually we decided to use a basic ladder because of its tiny footprint.

The ladder will improve the support of the loft.

The hatch, not shown, will serve as a workspace for loft occupants.

How does one figure the dimensions of a tiny house ladder?  Naturally, the height of the loft dictates the height of the ladder.  After measuring the shoulders of an arbitrary friend, I decided the opening needs to be 22 inches, but I rounded that up and made it two feet square to keep it simple.  We went with a 15-inch tread, just wide enough for two large feet.  Boots will be prohibited in the loft anyhow.

While some folks use either larger or smaller lumber, we decided on the standard 2x4 kind with glue and nails to keep it all together.  The uprights were notched for strength which narrowed the treads by half an inch.  The floorspace permitted a slight angle.  Angling the ladder makes it easier to climb.  For the treads we could have used dowels, but I preferred flat ones.  Flat treads are easier on the feet.

For many months I had wanted a library-style ladder, one with wheels at the bottom and top, to roll along a rail on the front of the loft.  A library ladder would have looked cool and been convenient to move side to side, as required.  Unfortunately I found the prices of library ladder hardware--even the hardware without the ladder--were outrageous.  If you have your heart set on one, prepare to spend hundreds of dollars.  I also investigated barn-door hardware which would have looked cooler, but just wasn't meant for ladders.

Other ladder options were top hooks which would have permitted the ladder to be moved about.  I especially like the simplicity and affordability of the sailboat ladder attachment hardware.  But, once assembled, it became obvious that our ladder could provide some extra support to the loft.  We want our tiny house to be kid friendly, and having a free moving ladder also seemed hazardous.  (Think of teenagers floating down the river on a ladder.)  So, the ladder will be happy bolted to the loft above and floor below, and I am happy to have the loft access part of the tiny house behind me.