I have been an admirer of bamboo ladders for quite some time now, but the price for those puppies is usually more than I would be willing to spend, so I figured I would try my hand at making my own. It can't be that hard, right?
I started out with three 6' bamboo poles from Michael's, which if you use a coupon, I think they come out to under $4 a piece. Make sure to buy the straightest poles possible! Mine were fairly crooked which does show with the finished product.
TIP: I had a hard time finding 3 of the same color, but you can totally buy different colors if you plan on painting the ladder.
You'll want to figure out how many rungs you want and then do the math to figure out the spacing...or you could do like me and enlist the help of someone who is actually good at math. Once you have that figured out, predrill your holes going all the way through each side.
Unfortunately, the bamboo split on mine. Eek! We just made sure to make that the backside. The front did split a little too, but not nearly as bad.
TIP: If the bamboo does split, you can drill a tiny hole at each end of the split and that should prevent it from splitting more.
Ideally, you will want the holes to look more like this =)
Next, cut the rungs. I made mine 12" long.
You will want to measure it all out and predrill a hole on just one side of the rungs, then screw it all together and you're done!
This is where the bamboo split on the front, but it isn't too noticeable with the rung covering it.
If you want to get all fancy, you can buy the vertical pieces a little bit bigger than the rungs and you can drill large holes into the vertical pieces and fit the rungs in. But if you are ok with a rustic look, you can just screws the rungs in on top of the vertical pieces like I did.
I'm not sure how long this poor ladder will last with my destructive 2 year old around. I really hope he doesn't attempt to climb on it. Knock on wood...er, bamboo. Ahhh, who am I kidding. No amount of knocking will keep him off!
I'm honestly not quite sure what I will do with it yet. I got this safari hat from a local party supply store for $2. I might leave it on and pair it with some old (I think WWII era) binoculars I got off of ebay. Or maybe I will use it to hang blankets during the chilly months.
What would you do with a bamboo ladder?
6 comments:
Hi Ali! I just came over from Angies at Treasures and I'm going to love checking in here! This ladder is wonderful and now I'm thinking up all kinds of things I can do with bamboo! Your work is so fun and different! Great to have found/met you =)
Your ladder is so pretty! I love how it looks with the hat hanging on it, too! :)
I think I would just lean a lovely ladder like that against a wall. I think it would look great with some white linens draped on it. I hope you can keep it save from the little one!
Maybe it's my brain this a.m., but did you use long screws and have them going through both layers of the vertical through the horizontal? :P. I like your safari theme idea, plus you can never go wrong with hanging blankets/quilts. Nice job.
Great job on your ladder. Looks awesome.
Right, that's it! I'm your new Follower!!
You're ideas are cool, stylish and well-explained. Don't you love finding new blogs?
Post a Comment