Good work, and interesting tips from fellow members too!
We recently received two six-month old boys so I am following in your footsteps. I want them to have good play / climbing facilities but being a good DIY'er don't want to just buy something.
All I have done so far is wrap sisal rope tightly around a table leg and provide a floor toy with scratch material. I have fixed two old shelves, covered with carpet staggered up the wall above the sofa to get them started. Gus has already launched himself from the high shelf down to the sofa cushion - over 5' drop for a six month old "kitten" but fortunately a squashy cushion landing. Wow.
My inspiration comes from this chap on Instructables (
http://www.instructables.com/member/Bengt+Englund). I will be wrapping a PVC drain pipe in 8mm sisal using base plates and captive bolts to clamp between floor and ceiling, therefore giving my boys a 8' high, 5" diameter floor to ceiling climbing pole / scratch post. This will be positioned say 1' away from the corner shelf (which I've yet to fix but will be the highest platform)
We like the simplicity of a full-height post for our reasonably large kitchen with modern smooth cabinets. This type of design means I can re-position it too. Adjacent to this we can have some stylish shelves / baskets / ledges for them to enjoy. Google images has provided vast inspiration (for example there are suppliers of radius curved plywood - I think I can turn a gently curved piece of ply into a cool looking cat shelf for a fraction of the price of those designer ones I've seen)
I hope to have a work-in-progress version with a couple of weeks then gradually enhance it as my boys start to use it (and I find the time!) can't wait to get started
Questions:
1. Will the plastic drain pipe be rigid enough for Bengal full-on action or will it wobble?
2. Obviously wood pole would be better, but heavier to work with and install / more expensive
3. Should I install the full height post / top shelf combination yet (are my boys still too young and foolish to fall and hurt themselves?
4. How important are lips / kerbs to the high shelves to prevent slipping off (Max tends to twist and stretch on his back and falls off a chair doing this already!)
Thanks, Rob