How is it difficult to build a Debian package? I often make quick'n'dirty debian packages by hand.

In a directory (let's say /tmp/PKG) put all your files in the proper tree (/tmp/PKG/usr/local/bin, etc); then create a DEBIAN folder (/tmp/PKG/DEBIAN) with a control file in it. The control file structure is quite straightforward.

You can add preinst, postinst, prerm and postrm scripts as needed (in whatever language you fancy, sh, perl, etc) too. And that's about it, dpkg -b /tmp/PKG mypackage.deb.