Gonna build a loft for my elementary school students. Since there

>>1205127
Contact the insurance company too. They should have specific regulations for that sort of thing which will help you design it.

>>1205130

The school's insurance company? I feel like they'll just tell me to fuck off and not build it at all for safety reasons.

>>1205131
The point is to make it safe. If you build it to be safe then they won't have a problem and no one will get hurt around it. The alternative is that you do this half assed, get a kid hurt, and lose your job.

>>1205131
>The school's insurance company? I feel like they'll just tell me to fuck off and not build it at all for safety reasons.
oh right well better just not tell them then, they will be absolutely fine with that YOU FUCKING MONGOLOID NO THEY WON'T THEY WILL FUCKING DRAW AND QUARTER YOU AS WILL THE SCHOOL FOR INVALIDATING THEIR INSURANCE!

>>1205131
>>1205131
From a liability viewpoint they may be right. Also stairs and rails must conform to building codes!

Maybe come up with a different cool project. Kudos for being a motivated teacher. You matter way more than you know.

My former science teacher (I'm old) wrote a book I'd like every teacher to read. The style is dated but I guarantee you'll learn a lot. Abebooks etc have used copies and it may still be in print.

http://www.nea.org/home/41892.htm

>>1205142

Calm down bitch. I'm going to get it approved by admin. If there's something that needs to be done with insurance they'll know.

Also I meant to put this in OP for proper context but I was distracted because I was fucking all your mothers.

There already are several lofts in my school like the ones I plan to build, owned and used by the school. So I don't think there is a problem with me building one.

>>1205271
>There already are several lofts in my school like the ones I plan to build, owned and used by the school.

So you actually made a thread just to ask what sort of cheap lumber your local lumber yard sells?

>>1205328

No, more like "what's a type of wood that would fit this project well". I'm thinking oak as it's kind of a standard for decent furniture but I'm no expert here.

>>1205127
>elementary school students
You should treat them as retarded. They can do stupid things at any time so a loft like in the pic is a no

>>1205405

You clearly don't have a clue what you're doing. You really want to get fired after you and your school sued with your incompetent woodworking as soon as one of them pulls a splinter?
Don't you have lesson plans to make up, why even fuck around with woodworking?

douglas fir or southern yellow pine. Available at all american lumber yards indoor or outdoor as "construction wood." Its the cheapest wood you can find outside of knowing a retiree with a sawmill. They build houses out of the stuff, so it'll hold up under childred so long as you build it well. Learning how to do modern framing is one way to do it, and learning woodworking joints will improve the solidity of your work at the expense of time and complexity. It'll also potentially look way better with proper joints.

>>1205127
>pic

That ladder-step thing is terrible. No railing and no anti-slip stuff. It is just smooth and sealed.

>>1205420

yeah this. hardwood not necessary. just build it how you would build a house deck.

>>1205406

I don't think you realize how widespread these things are in classrooms, including THE ONES IN MY SCHOOL.

>>1205419

I know what I'm doing. I'm just accessing the wisdom of the crowd so I don't end up going through with the whole build and then go "shit, why didn't I use [wood] instead?"

>why even fuck around with woodworking?

/diy/, folks.

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>>1205420

Thanks for the advice. I've seen people online using just a bunch of studs from Home Depot (in fact the plan that I'm adapting does) but not being a structural engineer I figured it would be good to overengineer it to be safe. Pretty settled on the structural joints which will be pretty damn strong, see pic related. That is a good point about the house framing too.

>>1205424

I agree. The one I'll make will just be a carpeted staircase with integrated storage compartments on the side, so no lips or open risers.

>>1205439

that design is stupid. like the other anon said build it like a floor plate or deck with hangers. want to waste your time doing fancy joinery for no benefit?

>>1205406
oh give me a break anon. if anything the modern playground is too safe. kids need to be able to take risks, fall, scrape knees, get bruises, even break bones. it's an important part of their development.

>>1205439
douglas fir or southern yellow pine are what they often build decks out of as it is cheap and gets the job done. But I am sure there are better woods out there at higher price ranges.

My bigger warning is that these woods are often treated with chemicals for outdoor use. Chemicals so nasty it is recommended you at least hose the deck down and not use for several days out of health concerns, not that many builder bother. But a confined indoor space with that kind of treated wood would defiantly freak someone out. They probably have untreated versions if you look around.

But honestly I am in the group that think our messed up world of PC and Safety makes this a bad idea regardless of how good you are.

May want to look at deck building codes as they are easy to find and cover many of these problems.

>>1205445

>why do a nice looking secure joint

Are you trolling me at this point?

>>1205449
All big box hardware and lumber yards sell both treated and untreated lumber. Treated limber is a sort of green color. Very easy to differentiate the two.

>>1205449

Definitely aware of the chemical nonsense, thanks for bringing it up. I'm not going to paint it for that reason; still mulling options like oil + wax or maybe some kind of hippie zero VOC varnish.

>>1205453
Those are only the one that use copper based treatments there are many other treatmant types, some of which are harder to tell apart.

>>1205461

They are clearly labelled though. You'd have to be blind to buy treated wood accidentally.

>>1205127
Use balsa wood

Lol no I'm not helping you with your rape dungeon

>>1205439

a mortice and tenon joint is a very strong joint when secured with glue, but is one of the more complicated joints to make without some practice and tools. Traditionally done with chisels and gouges, they are even today difficult to do well without still finishing with hand tools. Securing a mortice and tenon with a bolt is certainly stronger than just bolting together butt jointed studs, but without glue its a bit more work than its worth if you're securing it with just a bolt. Metal is so much harder than wood that the bolt will wear out the joint and make your structure wobble with just a few short months of use. Besides, the point of the bolt is to allow for disassembly, not so much strength, and I suspect you do not intend to disassemble this loft too often.

With a mortice and tenon, glue alone is sufficient to make an incredibly strong joint. There are videos by Matthias Wandel on the youtubes where he destructively tests the strength of various kinds of joints, and you can see just how good wood glue can be when used on proper joinery. If you must use a fastener, stick with wooden dowels/pegs and nails. Screws shear and snap catastrophically while nails just bend--a prefered failure mode for vertical loads over the sudden total break of a screw. Using bolts will be like installing gremlins in your loft. The exception being side loads like on a railing--you don't want to use fasteners that can be pulled out by someone leaning on your posts.

My advice overall is to keep it as simple as possible, especially if you've never built something like this. Creativity is the enemy here--the last thing you want is your kids pushing through the loft railing and falling because you decided to experiment with something. Go to the other rooms and copy the designs that feel sturdy to you.

>>1205439

The cool thing about construction lumber is that if you get yourself a nice tablesaw and rip yourself neatly dimensioned boards, plane/sand them, and apply a nice finish, you can get some really professional looking woodwork on the cheap. The only thing about using these softwoods is that they will dent and scar easily, but honestly It is better that the wood be damaged than have the wood damage your kids.

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>>1205445
>fancy joinery for no benefit