Okanagan Loft Ladder

THE STORY

The Okanagan loft ladder is another example of a bespoke ladder that was inspired by our client sharing their vison with us. Our client wanted a heavier looking ladder that was made of walnut. This wasn’t a problem as we had already built the Muskoka loft ladder. The key design element with the Okanogan loft ladder was to have the fronts of the steps recessed from the front of the ladder. To do this we needed to use techniques that were new to us and create new tooling as stopped dadoes on the front of the ladder required precise work. The front of each step had to fit into a perfect, gapless, rectangular dado pocket on the ladder side rails. The ends of the front face of each step needed to be rectangular while the rest of the steps front edge needed to have a nice smooth round over on it.

This ladder also required custom metal handrails. The clients home has a sloped ceiling, they wanted to be able to use the ladder in the middle of the loft and to roll it to the left wall for storage, so we made the right handrail longer, extending into the loft and the left handrail shorter, so it wouldn’t make contact with the sloped ceiling. To do this we worked with a local red seal welder who designed the handrails with us and then fabricated them. Our paint shop then painted the handrails a matt black. A totally custom ladder and handrails, both made locally!

The Okanagan loft ladder is now a style that we offer to all of our clients and has become very popular.

Inspired by this ladder?

Every ladder we create is the result of a collaborative process that starts with your vision. We can build ladders of all heights and slopes with different types of wood and a choice of finishes like stains or paint. Contact us to discuss materials—including your preferred wood and hardware style—and we will provide a quote for the price of the ladder plus shipping.