After living in our home for a couple of years it was time for a deep spring cleaning. Things went fine until I attempted to clean off the dust and cobwebs from our vaulted ceiling in the entryway and living room. I lashed together a couple of ladders and managed to get things cleaned off but I swore it wouldn't happen again soon.

After that experience and our desire for more space for our furniture, it dawned on me that I could put a loft above our entry way and kill two birds with the preferable 1 stone. Without going into too much more detail, here's the story in pictures. Note: it took another two years to start the project because I really fretted on cutting a 2 foot hole in the middle of our house. However, we were on the verge of taking out the carpet and replacing it with tile which provided the perfect opportunity for making the hole shown below.

First Day!
Demolition
Prep for floor beams
Awsome tool
Drywall demo complete
Need hole in floor
Footing Dug in
Marking Beam Support
She's done!
Tied into column
Tricky transition
4x6in wrapped w/Red Oak planks
Tied into base of stairs
Tied into Handrail
Flooring down
Bannister and carpet
Bannister tied into stairway
Tied into wall
Drywall done!
It's all done.
All done
Now for the tile work