Hi Everyone,
I am planning a fab bunk bed for my girls (4 and 1 1/2) and have been mulling over a variation of several plans. I want to create a bunk bed with a twin up top, and a lower twin extending out on the right side to create space for a playhouse area on the bottom left. The way I've meshed the plans together in my mind is to create a gabled roof on only one half of the upper bunk (similar to the beach hut design Ana has, http://ana-white.com/2011/03/beach-hut-bed), roof on the right, placing rails around the left half of the top bunk. And below that, I plan to frame in the left side with a door and window so it looks like a little house. Where the bed will be on the right, I want to frame out the opening with a mini wall pergola (like this: http://www.backyardamerica.com/wall-pergolas.htm ) to add some charm. I've got a "cottage-meets-Swiss-chalet" feel going on in my head.
I anticipate the front elevation to be a simple job; flat siding with cut outs for the openings and trimwork. A few bells and whistles like the pergola, maybe some decorative brackets near the railing, and shutters too of course!
However, creating a gabled dormer that attaches to the gabled roof is causing me some serious trouble. Trying to figure out all of the angles where the peaks meet is a real struggle. I have this "Swiss Family Robinson" vision in my head of my little girl opening the shutters and singing a tune from her loft window dormer while songbirds land on her shoulder.
And that's where I get stuck.
HOW IN THE WORLD do I build the dormer onto the roof??? I've tried googling it and reading instructions, but it just makes my brain hurt. I don't know how tricky the math is to line up all those angles and cut the pieces to fit, but someone has got to have an easy solution...PLEASE help me!
I would really like a solid plan to attack this dormer project before I start building since I will have to build this bed in stages to get it in the house.
Also, I don't know whether to keep the bottom of the dormer flush with the exterior wall or to bump it out a bit. I think that bumping the dormer out a bit from the front elevation would make a nice shelf for an alarm clock or what have you, or I could just put a sill plate in the window opening for a shelf...some other details I'm thinking about along the way.
Thanks everyone for your help!!
Jenny