Unemployment Project II: Cat Tree: Level Two

Next I thought something round was needed. I decided some kind of tube was in order. I researched on the Interwebs and found that other people used Sonotubes, or Duraforms, which are cardboard tubes used to pour concrete. I went to HD and got one. It was four feet long, so first I cut it in half. Then I cut two holes in it by tracing a bowl or a coffee can or something.

Then I glued carpet around the outside and cut out the holes:

Since this was a load bearing tube, and I needed a way to attach it properly, I decided to put some struts inside. I traced and cut out carpet where it was going to go on the platform:


Then I marked out areas around the circle where the struts would go and drilled a hole in each area. Then I placed the tube over that.

Now I could place the struts inside and mark lines on the tube so I could glue them on. I made them only half the height of the tube because I had the ambitious idea of a level inside the tube that kitty could rest on.

Next I cut a piece of plywood using the jigsaw I'd bought from HD (and would later return). I cut it the size of the inside of the tube and then cut out a smaller hole from that, so I was left with a crescent moon shape. I placed this inside the tube and glued it down on top of the first struts.

Kitty decided it was break time.


Next I repeated the process, gluing in struts on top of the "level" inside the tube, and cutting them off even with the top. Then I proceeded to carpet the inside by gluing a piece to the struts. After that I cut, measured, recut, remeasured, recut (you get the idea) til I had a piece that would fit the crescent shaped "level" on both bottom and top. Then I glued a strip to the sides. No cuttin' corners here, dammit!


Finally, I glued strips around the outside of the holes and used my "glue and pinch method" to hide the seam some.


Making the tube from start to finish took an entire day. I'm talking about starting at 10am on a saturday and finishing at like 11:00 at night, only stopping to scarf down some tacos. I have learned the meaning of labor intensive. But I was in this now. No turning back.

Next I attached the tube. Later I would realize something terrible that would cost me several hours of dismantling to fix, but for now it was on there.

Now the topper. I already had a carpeted round, so I placed that on top of the tube and traced and cut the carpet off it to make a lid.

I cut a circle out of this, making a "lip" that could be attached to the top of the struts. Then I carpeted the rim.


Now kitty had another level to play on, and he could go from the bottom hole all the way up through the top, and sit on the level in between inside the tube.



Or, he could just hop right up there from the outside and....sleep.


Next Up: Level Three