It was made pretty easy with some pre-primed MDF that I got from Home Depot. Ashley made it pretty with letters that spelled out the girl’s name (not shown). In the end, I liked it much more than the one we saw online and the kids seem to really like it too.

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My oldest is now 7 and I figured it was about time she was able to climb a vertical ladder without problems. So I set out to make one…

During lunch one day I headed to my local Lowes and grabbed the following materials:

• 1″x3″x6′ Aspen (2)
• 1″x3″x4′ Aspen
• #6 1-1/2 inch screws (8)
• Total cost = $14.80

I started out by cutting the 6′ boards down to 5′. This gave me an extra foot of board to use for a ladder rung. It also reminded me of why I need to put a Miter Saw on my Amazon wish list this year. Using a heavy circular saw for everything is not ideal (see picture)

After cutting the 5′ pieces I decided that it would be safer and more secure if I was able to notch out where the rungs would be attached to the rails. I proceeded to lower the depth of my saw,clamp down the pieces of wood and draw out my rung lines. I then took a few swipes at the area with the saw, breaking out the remaining pieces and using my dremel to make it all smooth. By they way. Every man should have a dremel. Best tool ever. A tablesaw would have been a much better tool for this task. Amazon wish list. Check.

After getting my rung notches perfect, I cut out a few more 1′ pieces from the remaining 4′ board that I bought. I only needed 3 but I ended up with 5. I took the 3 that had the straightest line (see above picture of my great cutting) and proceeded to sand them down.

After all sanding was complete, I assembled the rungs to the rails using small pilot holes to prevent splitting. (a tip I learned from my Dad years ago at a 4-H meeting. See Dad. I do listen!) Once the holes where drilled, I grabbed a larger bit in order to be able to sink the screws below the surface without damage to the wood (another tip from Dad). I screwed the entire thing together, put on the bunk-bed clamps and brought it upstairs to try out.

The girls loved it and I am pretty proud of the end result myself. It took about 3 hours total, spread throughout the day.