So in my last post I got through the construction of the base of the addition to my lookout, and now I’ll conclude. As I said before, the original lookout was built for my kids because they liked Paw Patrol. My second observation about Paw Patrol (I’ve watched a lot), is that for a group of (mostly) pure-bred dogs, they really stay on message. There was one episode there rabbits infested farmer Umi’s fields, and the solution of Chase, the police dog, to the presence of undesirable animals in their area is to round them up, cage them, and then relocate them. Chase is a German Shepherd, you see, so I guess that the writers didn’t think the whole ‘Purebred German Dog rounds up, cages and relocates animals that he doesn’t want around’ narrative.

The Bridge

Once I had the two back posts up, I put in the first span of the bridge to the tower. This served to make sure I didn’t brain myself with a falling 4×4, and it also served as an extra pair of hands. Whenever I do one of these projects, I aim to do it with just one person, so I spend a lot of time planning how to safely build things. Any tool or fastener that I can install one-handed is key, hence the RSS screws I use, and clamps. Lots of clamps.

Once the bridge was up, I installed the rest of the base, leveled it, and installed the other two posts. Then I could get to the fun part. One other key technique is the use of one-handed clamps, and a key piece of equipment to have is a cool tool belt. I really began to feel like I was a dad when I got a tool belt so I could carry around a ton of tools. I’ll really feel it when I get some suspenders so that I can carry extra load.

 

Once I had the four posts up, I built the framing that would support the deck, added the second bridge span, and built the bridge deck. I used leftover Trex decking from building our back porch, which is a great material – weather and stain proof. It also installs with great hidden fasteners. I had two 16′ boards left, and they were totally getting in my way as well. From there, we moved on to building the tower.

The Tower

Once that was done, I put the tower deck in, installed the railing, and started on cladding the tower. In the picture to the left you can see the alignment I sought when I designed it – the railing is plumb with the frame of the deck, which is also plumb with the lower base, so I could put one board from the bottom to the top without awkward spacers.

For the cladding, I used cedar planks that were only sanded on one side (S1S). I leave the un-sanded side out, and that gives the play area a nice rustic look, and it also has a nice cedar smell when it rains, which reminds me of summer camp.

I decided to do crenellations for the bridge cladding, so break up the straight lines and give the play area a castle feel. At this point, the kids began to circle. I added in a ladder at the back, and began to build the lower deck, too. I recycled that decking from the platform that had formerly occupied the space. The lower area was designed to be a jail cell. My son has a friend named Jojo who it seems is going to take over the world, and my son is going to be a police officer in order to stop it, hence the need for a jail cell. My wife and I were skeptical of Jojo’s plans at first, but we found out they were for real at my son’s birthday party a few weeks ago.

My son had wanted a police/scientist themed party, sort of like Breaking Bad, and we were lucky enough that a friend of ours in the MPD was able to ask a K9 officer to come by and show the kids a real police dog. When the officer asked the kids if they were ‘good guys’ everyone but Jojo raised their hands. Jojo then proclaimed to the officer and his dog that he was going to be a bad guy. Well played, Jojo.

So I continued to put cladding around the tower, and here you see how that looked.

Finally, it was just about done. In the open space in the photo above went a climbing wall (left) and you can see to the left my daughter in the jail. I added roof framing, and when I have a chance I’ll add in a fabric roof to give some shade.

 

 

 

Finished

Overall, this worked out pretty well. The kids love it, and it tires them out, especially when they have friends over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, maybe some more projects, or some more software writing…