Well, it’s a little more than a year since I stood out under their maple tree in a steady downpour, but the Bond’s treehouse is done.
Cue the cherubs.

Morning sunlight filters through the maple tree canopy and passes by the bow of the Bond's pirate ship treehouse at the start of the final day of work at the site.

This week on site has been all about scratching items off the punch list. Cannon ports. Check. Block and tackle for side rigging. Check. Custom mounts for solar lanterns. Check. Fresh paint on all cut trim edges. Check. And so it goes.

By Wednesday morning the only task of great consequence that remained was installing the water-resistant collar and shroud around the tree branch that penetrates the roof of the cabin. The wooden collar was fashioned in advance from three layers of three-quarter inch exterior plywood. The oval ring was about 1 1/2-inches thick and 2 1/4-inches tall, and completely waterproofed for action. Putting this task to the end of the list was done as I searched for alternatives to the standard truck tire inner tube shroud that most treehouse builders rely upon. In the end I found an interesting option; a commercial-grade HVAC unit cover made from a translucent gray material. Manufactured to cover drum-shaped roof cooling units, it was easy to modify to fit around the tree branch and anchor to the custom-made roof collar. While it doesn’t allow a view of the leaves above, it does let light glow through and help the interior of the cabin feel warmer.

Capt. Jack Bond told a local newspaper reporter that he named his pirate ship treehouse "Serpent Slayer" because it had a bow sharp enough to slice through the mythical beast.

With the roof system finalized, all that remained were the “ups,” namely touch-ups and clean-up. Gold and red trim were given an inspection, and all cut ends or construction scratches were tickled with a wet brush. A few late steps in the project – namely Jack’s requested emergency cabin exit and some upper rail extensions made necessary by our mid-winter expansion of the upper cabin – required a little extra time. Still, in a few hours the lid was slapped down on the can of black paint and the last nail head had been drown. Work on the treehouse was over.
That other up, clean up, was next.

As I work I save every potentially usable scrap. As the project progresses, I make sure I take full advantage of the resource, whether as a replacement for new supplies or as an addition to the project that adds a special touch. A case in point this week, when Ed brought home a box of solar lights and asked if they could be mounted to the treehouse cabin, we didn’t have to go back out for wood or hardware. A small stack of five-quarter “off cuts” provided the lumber, and some screws backed out of temporary boards used in the construction process took care of the rest. A little cutting, routing and drilling and we were there — with less cost and more efficient use of our materials.

The view out from under the treehouse shows just how completely the maple tree surrounds this pirate ship.

Being committed to using scrap means work often ends with a world of wood still hanging around in piles.
Here, Ed jumped in to help things along. Buoyed by his work helping with various parts of this project, Ed has decided to tackle a few smaller tasks around his home with his son, Jack. Even scraps that could be used for anything as small as model building now had a new value. I sorted the scrap stack and moved it inside the Bond’s garage (really Amy, that’s where Ed told me to put it), and used a snow shovel to scoop up the rest into a few heavy-duty bags. A few big toads we found in the scrap pile were escorted back under a nearby deck, and we were done.

With the end of work on Aug. 13, the Bond's pirate ship treehouse project came to a close. The good times for Capt. Jack, Liam and the clan, however, are just beginning.

With the treehouse site cleaned up, the work area swept and all the tools packed into my truck, it was time to say goodbye. For more than 12 months, the Bonds and their maple tree played host to this designer and builder, and always with grace. I’ll head back in a few days for some pictures (remember to check the photo gallery for those images), but then it will be time to leave a good family to the great treehouse they helped create. I’ll see them every spring during Peacemaker Treehouses annual inspection –- that’s a free service included on every project — and I hope they have lots of stories, pictures and memories to share of good times the entire clan found in the peace of the trees.