The first thing we had to do was clear most of their room of the stuff they have. Then we got to take apart their bunkbeds and bundle that up for storage until we decide what to do with it. Next up was some general measurements marked on the wall to give the girls and I a visual representation of heights and such (we do much better when we can see things). Once supplies were purchased, construction began! It was decided that the loft floor joists would sit upon two walls Mr. Man would build to provide extra support. Additionally, these walls can hold shelves for more storage! This was as far as we got the first weekend we worked on it.

The following week and weekend, Mr. Man got the plywood on the joists and cut to fit in place (because the walls are not perfectly square, this took some fine tuning). Then the plywood was nailed down (see the girls hard at work). Once that was done, it was sanded and painted. At this point, the girls were able to sleep up there; a ladder was put in place temporarily for them to use. In order to go any further, we had to get the wood primed and painted, and that's what I spent a week doing, plus Christmas was in there, so we took some time off. Once we got the platform built, we also looked at other options for bookcases/ end of the unit area. We decided the bookcases we had put into the girls' closet a couple years ago (with the office remodel) would go great there as a way for them to have storage and make it like a little sitting area underneath (as the step from when the twins were under a year old is still in use in their room). We also moved the third dresser out from the closet (giving them more space in their to hang clothes plus make the rest of their clothes more accessible). We also put in a new ceiling fan- enclosed blades with a light. It's amazing how much easier it is to change a fan when you can reach it!

    

    

Over the week, Mr. Man worked on some electrical changes- adding outlets up in the loft area and adding a couple to be accessible under the platform. The girls are thrilled because the outlets have USB chargers built in. Once the painting was done and the bookcases moved out, a piece of plywood was put on the back of the bookcases (having been painted with chalkboard paint the week before) to hide the cardboard from the bookcase backing. This at least doubled the chalkboard wall area they had, which they like a lot! It also gives a little corner area where we can put shelves for bigger items (like karate and dance bags). Because I was nervous about girls falling off, railings were put in at the end and around the ladder. Mr. Man has also built bookcase/ shelves for between the beds and headboards for them (slight lean to them). We will be finishing these with a hinge so they will open for a small amount of storage (e.g. blankets during the off season). We also built a ladder. Handles like we have on the playground have been added to help them climb up and down. We have a couple more to add, and we are testing whether spray painting them will be 1. doable, 2. helpful, before we spray all of them. Ignore the messy bed, I didn't give any warning before I took the pictures.

    

The next weekend we worked the focus was underneath the platform. The joists were painted glossy white so the light will reflect around better as it was pretty dim there since there was no lights underneath and their window is away from the sun's path. Mr. Man and the older two then hung the light strips in each bay (well, kids hung them and did some of the wiring while Mr. Man finished the wiring). The underside of each joist was painted black (to match the other trim), and the walls were primed after being scrubbed. This will make it easier when we go to paint the different cubes to match their other set of cubbies.

I will continue to add to the this page as we continue with the project.

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