The Dummies Guide To Building A Treehouse
June 19th, 2010***
As a child, nothing seemed simpler than building and the innate need for a treehouse but a few planks of wood, some bent nails, some rope and a trip to A&E later puts you in your place. Realistically the job falls down to any willing adult who is responsible enough to construct something to safely hold a group of children ten feet up in the air.
The first step is to choose your tree, preferably on your own land and out of view from the public to avoid any unwanted lawsuits. It’s pretty simple, bigger is better, make sure the tree is not rotten inside and try and chose one with several large branches within reach. If you can find two or more trees close together you can build between them, reducing the amount of struts you will need to use.
You will obviously need the materials but make sure you have some decent tools, either invest in some or borrow some from a willing friend/relative. Judge the lengths of material you need based on the tree and how big you really want to build it. Consider the maximum dimensions and have at least four pieces of wood at this length (depending on your design). This will form a base and other materials can be mounted on top.
The first stage is to mount supports, nail a horizontal length of wood at the height you want the treehouse, then two supports running from the end of the wood down to a base point lower down on the tree creating a right angle triangle. This will give the structure strength and rigidity; do this several times and more if you are thinking of having a party up there.
Design and construct a platform in whatever shape you want as long as it can fit around the tree and mount onto the supports. You’re not expected to be an architectural guru but use common sense when it comes to the size of the platform, if it is too large, the supports may not be able to deal with the stresses of someone standing on the very limit. Make sure your supports reach the furthest parts of the platform and that they attach to the tree at no greater than 45 degrees. Its basic treehouse physics 101.
Make sure the platform is supported to the trees and supports with galvanised nails, feel free to go overboard on this, the more secure the better. The platform will not be secure and will wobble unless diagonally braced; this can be attached on the underside of the platform and is pretty straightforward. Once the platform is in place and completely secured, deck it out so it can actually be stood on. Feel free to add a safety rail, walls, roof, ladder or any other accessories you feel like. But be conscious that the more weight you add to the structure the more supports you will need. Finally test it with a couple of adults, if it can hold adults it can hold children, preferably chose close friends that wont sue you if it all goes wrong.
When buying wood, your local or should be able to advise you on the best wood to use for your design and the tree you are using.
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source to this post: The Dummies Guide To Building A Treehouse
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