I'm going to show you how to frame and install an attic ladder. The tools I require are the
attic ladder itself, the instructions that go with it, some framing timber, some peckers,
a hacksaw, a level, a circular saw, a tape measure and pin saw, a plasterboard saw, a
hammer, a setsquare, some screws, a drill, a saw, a reciprocating saw, a nail gun, my
safety gear, some saw horses, and a ladder. In the ceiling, we've got a hole from an old
access panel but our new attic ladder is not going to fit there so I'm going to have to
cut the hole bigger. If you don't have an access panel or hole in your ceiling, you'll
need to drill into your plasterboard from scratch. If this is the case, please be very
aware of any cables or pipes that could be up there. We suggest you get an electrician
or plumber out to certify this.
So this is my attic ladder. To get a measurement for the ceiling, I'm just going to measure
the width and the length. The next step is to measure the center mark in the hallway.
The reason we want a measure of the center is so we can make sure the attic ladder is
in the dead center of the hallway. Next up, I need to measure half the width of the attic
ladder from the center line to one side. The reason for this is I know where one side's
going to be. Now, I've done that, I need to do the exact same thing down the other end
and then I can get a clean line of where the edge will be. Now I've got two marks, I'll
use a level to make a nice clean line. Now I've done that line, I'm going to repeat the
exact same on the other side.
Now that I've gotten the two length lines, I need to determine where the ends are going
to be. The easiest way is to find a joist in the ceiling and start back from there.
I'm just going to see my tape through to one of the joists and then measure back from there.
Now I've got that line there, I can draw another line on this side and then I can measure from
here right down to the far end. Now that we've got our lines marked out, I'm ready to cut
it using a plasterboard saw. Just make sure you wear some safety gear like some goggles
and a mask, and again double check that there's no cable about. Now that we've got our plasterboard
cut out, we're ready to do the framing.
Because I still have some joists left there, I'm going to have to cut them out. I'm going
to need a reciprocating saw. Before cutting any joists, you need to establish whether
they are structural or load bearing. To do this, a builder or an engineer can determine
this. Now that I've used the reciprocating saw to cut off the bad ends, I'm ready to
cut the joist. Because these joists run this way and finish on this wall, I'm only going
to have to make one cut. What I'm going to do is mark through my setsquare where the
plasterboard meets the joist and then get up into the ceiling, make a mark 35mm back
from there to allow for my noggin and then make a cut up there.
Now that I've made that cut, I'm just going to use a handsaw to finish cutting it off.
Now that I've cut those joists out, I'm ready to measure. Now I've got a measurement between
my joists, I'm ready to make a cut and then nail that noggin in. Now I've got the first
noggin in, I'm going to do the exact same thing on the other side. The next step is
putting the attic ladder up into position and temporarily bracing it. For that, that's
a two man job. So I'm going to ask my friend John to come give me a lift. Before you put
it up, a handy tip is to get a scrap piece of timber and nail it at one end sticking
over the edge. This will mean the unit will sit on top of this and will make it a lot
easier for you to hold.
Now we've got the temporary block nailed at the other end, we're ready to put the attic
ladder on. I'm going to get John to help me lift it in, we're going to put the far end
in first sitting on that temporary block and then lift the whole unit in. Once we've got
it in, we're going to nail another temporary block at the far end. But at this end, it's
really important that the block only covers the frame and not the door. Now that the attic
ladder is temporarily secured up there, we're ready to start moving it around to begin fixing
it. We'll begin by attempting to put the attic ladder against one of the noggins and checking
if it's square. So we're got that hard against that noggin there and the door frame is square.
So I'm now going to open the door, climb up there and then I can screw into that side
of the noggin.
Before I open the door, it's really important to clear anything from underneath and make
sure no one's standing underneath it. The worst thing would be it moves and it falls
and hurts someone. Now I've got that open, I'll just climb up on my ladder and I can
screw that in. I'll need to predrill these as I'm going into hardwood. The screws I'm
going to use are 75mm wood screws and I'm going to use three for the length. I'm going
to put one 100mm from each end and one dead in the middle. Now I need to peck the side
that we haven't fixed yet. I'm just going to snap some peckers roughly the width of
the attic ladder cap]. When pecking the side, it's really important to
make it nice and tight.
If it's too loose, when the screw goes in, it will pull the frame out of square. Now
that I've pecked that, I'm ready to predrill and screw that side as well. Now that we've
got both sides fixed, it's time to cut the feet of the ladder. To do this, I need to
measure from the ladder towards the ground and then cut that amount off the bottom's
tip. Now I need to transfer that measurement from the join down. Now that I've marked that,
I need to use a handsaw to cut that off. Make sure when you're using a handsaw to wear gloves,
goggles, and a mask. Now that you've cut that, you can put the feet that came with your attic
ladder. Just make sure you still wear your gloves because there could be some sharp edges
on there. I couldn't access these last two screws as the folded ladder was in the way,
but now we've got the feet cut and I can climb up here, I can put them in.
Now we just need to check that it closes OK and it's looking square and once that's done,
we can take away our temporary blocks. It's looking great, I'm just going to take the
blocks off now. When you go to do your finishing, you would put some architray around this but
other than that, that's completely done. As you can see, it's a bit of a messy job but
it's really rewarding now you've got all that space you can use up in the attic. And there
we go, that's how you install an attic ladder.