Tips on How to Build a Safe Treehouse

Tips on How to Build a Safe Treehouse

Here is a reprint summary of tree house building tips from an article that appeared in the Wichita Eagle (07/29/2006).

Walking on AIR
By Annie Addington
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

HOW TO BUILD A SAFE TREE HOUSE

Follow these tips for building a tree house that's safe, sturdy and long lasting:

• Use single, large bolts for main supports.
• Don't use nails for main supports. They are much weaker than bolts and can work loose easier. You usually need many more to do the same job, which will cause more damage to the tree.
• Treat the tree as a living thing. Allow for future growth as you build.
• Don't cut away excessive amounts of bark or wood.
• Don't use cables or ropes wrapped around branches for support. These wear away at bark and sensitive layers below, and as the branch grows it will cut off nutrient flow to the rest of the branch.
• Don't let any part of the tree house touch the tree directly -- it should all be resting on your support system. This stops friction burns as the tree sways in the wind.
• Children's tree houses are safest near the ground -- 10 feet up or less -- to minimize the danger from a fall.
• Tree houses in high-wind areas should be in the lower third of the tree, where wind speeds are lower and the leverage of the force on the tree is reduced.
  

A Treehouse Grows in British Columbia by George Dyson

A Treehouse Grows in British Columbia by George Dyson

Article Summary:

A Treehouse Grows in British Columbia
By George Dyson, MAKE Magazine, Volume 05, p.190

In 1972, George Dyson built a treehouse 95 feet up in a Douglas Fir tree on the shore of Burrard Inlet, Belcarra Park, British Columbia.

George tells the story of how the boat he was travelling aboard hit a large cedar log and towed it into harbour. He then began to split the log into shakes and dream of building a shelter with the wood.

Squatting on Crown land was a blurry issue at the time and few people took notice of his chosen location in a tree right on the shore. Dyson talks of the stunning views and the microclimate pockets that he discovered high in these trees. Winter weather was managable largely due to increased sunlight exposure and being above the dampness that blanketed the ground.

George salvaged nearly all the materials for the home and incorporated 14 living branches into the structure. He installed a small wood burning stove and insulation reclaimed from packaging waste. The home served him quite well even during intense storms that cause the structure to gyrate 8 feet or so.

The article is an inspirational story about George's experience living in a tree house for three years. I recommend checking out the full piece as published in MAKE Magazine.

Tips On How To Make A Custom Treehouse For Kids.

Tips On How To Make A Custom Treehouse For Kids.

Here is a repost of an article found at The Independent Weekly about designing a treehouse for children.

I like the ideas Frank raises about efforts to maintain a theme of design, to define some character and identity, in the structure.

Many of these ideas are applicible to large scale tree houses and particularily the piece about support posts (avoid if possibile!) and how to minimize their impact if deemed structurally necessary.

One point I'd like to add is that many regulatory bodies, such as municiple governments, town councils, and taxation agencies, consider a building to be any structure touching the ground. A treehouse can avoid many laws, building code regulations, and taxes simply by being entirely supported by a tree. Check with your local laws -- this loophole varies from place to place.

Photo Credit: Lissa Gotwals. "Anneke Dekker walks the stone path in front of her Japanese-themed treehouse."







JULY 19, 2006

Treehouse Tips: How to make a custom hideaway for the kids (or the grown-ups)
BY FRANK HYMAN

For a treehouse to be memorable, well-used and even loved seems to require some--though not all--of these basic ground rules:

1. Get some ideas from the kids (and adults even) who will use the treehouse. A treehouse should fit a kid like the glass slipper fit Cinderella. But you won't know the shoe size if you don't ask.

2. Give the treehouse some character, an identity, a theme--something that sets it apart from mass-produced, off-the-shelf play structures. A treehouse resembling a boat, for instance, can spark some pirate play and also serve as a mountain top or a race car.

3. Keep the ceiling at kid height. If an adult can stand up inside, the proportions will be off. This isn't just bad from an aesthetic sense. A too-tall interior won't have the cozy feeling of a hideaway, a secret headquarters, a cave.

4. Is it really a treehouse if it's not suspended in a tree? That depends. If even one post has to touch the ground, something is lost. That something can be recovered, though, if the posts somehow reinforce the treehouse's character. For instance, I used 5-inch diameter timber bamboo as a sleeve for 2-inch galvanized steel pipes that supported a treehouse with a Japanese look.

5. Have more than one way to get up or down from the treehouse by choosing two of these: wooden ladder, firepole, steps cut into a log, rope ladder, knotted rope, climbing rocks bolted to a tree or post. This makes the treehouse part of a circuit of travel in the backyard, rather than a cul-de-sac (that's French for dead end).

6. Details, details, details. These can be simple or complex, scavenged from a junk shop or bought online. Try secret chambers in the floor, bells, mailboxes, steering wheels, levers, propellers, doorknobs, working shutters, spigots, flags and pulleys.

7. Finally, the two books I have found most useful are Treehouses You Can Actually Build by David Stiles and Jeanie Stiles and Home Tree Home by Peter Nelson and Gerry Hadden. Both books and much more can be found at Nelson's Web site: www.treehouseworkshop.com. These sources cover ideas, construction, tree choices, safety and regulations. Consult them before starting your own treehouse.

And remember to have fun.