Book case ladder

[Gad-Westy]

I've built a book case as part of feature wall in a bedroom with a vaulted ceiling. So it's pretty high. Approx. 3m from floor to top.

Always intended to ultimately fit a permanent ladder to it but when the ladder is not in use it will need to fit flush to the bookcase front so as not to stick out into the floor area. That and the floor being carpeted means I can't really fit one of those cool, wheeled sliding ladders what posh folk have!

Just want to sense check my idea and maybe see if there are better approaches before I start buying bits

My thoughts are to fit a robust horizontal round bar across the the span of the shelves about 3/4 of the way up. Then get a nice wooden ladder about that height and fit two sets of hooks to the back of it. One set would be for storing it and the other set would be slightly lower down to create an appropriate angle for climbing.

[zbc]

I like it as a solution and when you've finished yours I need one too . My only concern would be weight. If you think that you will be moving it regularly then you really need to keep it light. It's a big piece of wood and won't be light to move around. If it's something you think you'll move one a month, less of a problem. I think the other solution for me would be to have a bracket that the ladder slides can slide through, a bit like a normal extending ladder but with two limiting stops at the ends of where you want it to move to when it's up or down. It's a more complex solution but you wouldn't need to hook/unhook it so should be easier to move.

[biggiles]

I can't think of an obvious better solution, but I'd just say that every child is going to want to climb that ladder when it's in the "storage" position, so perhaps make the hooks and bar much stronger, just in case?

Which then leads me to suggest - is it possible to keep the ladder vertical all the time? Fit some "secure" rollers instead of hooks, so it can slide left/right? Maybe with two bars (top and bottom) it would be strong enough.

[JimM169]

Just to throw another idea into the mix how high up do you actually need to climb? Would one of those chairs that convert to steps be enough, would save the hassle of the ladder and potentially be a piece of furniture that is useful when not used as steps?

This sort of idea

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/147211991489?chn=ps&amp...la-2448983077365&abcId=10587197&merchantid=694118667&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23482855586&gbraid=0AAAAAD_Lr1cajxvSs4ksRzD3DPup9ACYw&gclid=CjwKCAjwspPOBhB9EiwATFbi5BnZ0rPwk0BWmWtgAvXlfWg4uN5mCSDA4YY73awNF-50b7EJkM8wMhoCBakQAvD_BwE

[Huzzah]

Why not just get something purpose made for the job?

[Gad-Westy]

zbc said:

I like it as a solution and when you've finished yours I need one too . My only concern would be weight. If you think that you will be moving it regularly then you really need to keep it light. It's a big piece of wood and won't be light to move around. If it's something you think you'll move one a month, less of a problem. I think the other solution for me would be to have a bracket that the ladder slides can slide through, a bit like a normal extending ladder but with two limiting stops at the ends of where you want it to move to when it's up or down. It's a more complex solution but you wouldn't need to hook/unhook it so should be easier to move.

Cheers. I do need to be wary of the weight. Though as long as it's not crazy heavy, it is unlikely to be used too frequently. I think the reality will be that the least read books will end up at the top gathering dust. In fact, dusting might well become the main use for the ladder! I think I'll probably aim to avoid a sliding joint etc just because I'm trying to keep it looking fairly rustic.

[Gad-Westy]

biggiles said:

I can't think of an obvious better solution, but I'd just say that every child is going to want to climb that ladder when it's in the "storage" position, so perhaps make the hooks and bar much stronger, just in case?

Which then leads me to suggest - is it possible to keep the ladder vertical all the time? Fit some "secure" rollers instead of hooks, so it can slide left/right? Maybe with two bars (top and bottom) it would be strong enough.

Thanks. Good point on the climbing thing. I should maybe make sure that the ladder just touches the floor even in storage position to make sure most of the load goes through the floor and not the rail.

I actually really liked the idea of a rolling vertical ladder but I wondered how practical it would be for actually climbing, especially one handed with a book or two in the other hand. The other thought there was that it would have to sit quite a long way off the bookcase to give some foot room. Might explore that idea more though.

[Gad-Westy]

JimM169 said:

Just to throw another idea into the mix how high up do you actually need to climb? Would one of those chairs that convert to steps be enough, would save the hassle of the ladder and potentially be a piece of furniture that is useful when not used as steps?

This sort of idea

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/147211991489?chn=ps&amp...la-2448983077365&abcId=10587197&merchantid=694118667&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23482855586&gbraid=0AAAAAD_Lr1cajxvSs4ksRzD3DPup9ACYw&gclid=CjwKCAjwspPOBhB9EiwATFbi5BnZ0rPwk0BWmWtgAvXlfWg4uN5mCSDA4YY73awNF-50b7EJkM8wMhoCBakQAvD_BwE

Unfortunately I think these would generally be a little too low. We have a little aluminium step ladder near it at the moment and it's probably about the same height. I can reach the top shelf at full stretch but I couldn't really see what I grabbing. My other half cannot reach. I must admit, I have always liked these things though. Very neat idea.

[Gad-Westy]

Huzzah said:

Why not just get something purpose made for the job?

Cheers. Yeah, I came across these when looking at ladder options but I don't think they really work for us because as I mentioned the main priority is to be out the way the vast majority of the time when not in use. And I also think that as with chair/step suggestion, they would not be high enough unfortunately.

[Gad-Westy]

It's finished! Took a while. In my defence the book case itself has actually been finished for ages. Just took me a little time to find a suitable ladder.

I ended up routing a 10mm channel on the top shelves and then 3D printing a pair of storage brackets and a pair of angled brackets. The storage brackets keep the ladder just above the carpet to avoid leaving a dent. The angled ones sit it at 75 degrees. Really pleased with how this turned out. Nice and simple and feel very stable.

Edited by Gad-Westy on Sunday 31st May 18:52

[jimmyjimjim]

Very nice, like that a lot.

[sherman]

It looks nice.
I know Im late to the party but heres what you described in the OP post for sale
https://amzn.eu/d/0hmlFTs8

[Gad-Westy]

Cheers both.

Those sliding ones really need a hard floor I think.

[Paul Drawmer]

Bloody good.

[craigthecoupe]

Nice job! Was the ladder used, or did you find a new wooden one? i imagine they're not so easy to find these days?

[zbc]

Great project completed. Have you got time to do mine now please?

[Gad-Westy]

craigthecoupe said:

Nice job! Was the ladder used, or did you find a new wooden one? i imagine they're not so easy to find these days?

Thanks. You can just buy a solid wood ladder. Even ones specifically for home libraries but they're quite pricey and I wanted to be able to play around with options a bit before committing to a length. I wasn't actually going to do it full length but it occurred to me that we didn't have a smoke detector in the room and having a full length ladder means I can reach the ceiling there to change batteries. My wife found someone local selling a wooden extension ladder on facebook so we grabbed that for £40! It did need a lot of sanding and treating etc and obviously cutting to length (I did a curved cut with a router guide to match the bottom). I still have the other half intact to do something with. It would be a brave person who would use those ladders at near 8m full extension. Even the wider section I've used for the shelves feels far less stable than modern aluminium or GRP ladders.

[Gad-Westy]

zbc said:

Great project completed. Have you got time to do mine now please?

Ha, I did actually quite enjoy this little project. What's perhaps not that obvious on the pics is that the entire room is built around the bookcase. There was no wall or doors there before, just a big open space. Now an ensuite and wardrobe behind there. I played around for ages on CAD trying to get the proportions right. Ended up modelling every single stud and noggin including the floor support below!

One other complication aside from the ladder is that I'd already determined that the fully assembled bookcase was going to weight over 70kg so I ended up building it in two halves then trimming over the joint. It actually worked out better that was as it allowed me to put screws into both sides of each shelf so it feels rock solid.

Edited by Gad-Westy on Monday 1st June 09:19

[Vincecj]

Excellent solution

[Simpo Two]

A nice piece of design. Now of course you can't get the books off the middle shelves because some damn fool's put a ladder in the way