Nine days, over $500 of lumber, and a river of sweat later, the treehouse is finished. This morning I finished up the railings and made an outside ladder for the big kids. Since I last updated the treehouse saga I also added those diagonal bracings at the top of each post that connect to the upper deck (don’t know what they’re called, just know they are useful for stability). I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out. There’s not a major piece of wood on this thing that doesn’t have about 5 three-inch screws in it. With the exception of a few floor joists where I nailed in huge nails, the whole thing is put together with heavy duty screws. This thing is probably tornado proof and we might end up out there when the next one comes our way.
So, what has SirMuddyKnees learned by doing this project? 
He’s learned that you never quite forget those things you learned a long time ago, like how to swing a hammer, how to make four posts level, etc. He’s also learned you can do a lot with just a circular saw and a jig saw. He would love to have a table saw, a chop saw, a radial arm saw, and all kinds of other cool tools, but you can certainly accomplish a lot without all these things. What did the pioneers do before power tools? Well, I guess they were too busy to worry with building a treehouse, that’s for sure. 
In the end it’s been a fun time building this little treehouse.
I would recommend it to any Dad who wants to build something that will last for his kids. Oh yeah, it’s also a great workout. I’ve never been a big fan of the gym–all this exercise just for the sake of exercise. I prefer to get my exercise by doing something useful outside that comes with an end-product that creates a sense of accomplishment. You can’t get that on the treadmill, I don’t think. Besides, at the gym, your knees do not get muddy and that, to me, is a bad sign.
