Down (or Up) the Hatch!

For the last year I've been getting into our ceiling crawl space (to check insulation, open the house fan, and wage bloody war on squirrels) by emptying the closet in our bedroom, removing the shelf and clothes rod, taking out the ceiling panel, extending a ladder into the overhead recess, and climbing up to the crawlspace.

I even installed 50 feet of 18" x 24" plywood sheets to make a catwalk down the length of the house using this entrance.

No more!

I just completed a new access to the crawlspace from the other end of the house, where a loft exists that sits just 4.5 feet below the ceiling. There's still ladder climbing involved, but it's a fixed ladder that's part of the decor, as opposed to one I have to lug in from the garage. And I only have to remove a 21" square panel, as opposed to a hundred pounds of clothes and an awkward piece of drop-drywall in a closet.

I even framed the hatch (with wood salvaged from our living room ceiling project of last summer--thanks again, Josh and Christopher) to match the trim in the rest of the house: clear-coated white pine. Here are a few pictures to celebrate.

Homeowners: 4

Powers of Chaos and Disorder: 0
(for anyone who's keeping score)

View from the crawlspace:

View from the loft up:With the hatch in place (as yet unpainted):
From the ladder (Escher View):
From the second floor (can you tell the trim is new?):
~ emrys