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Started By
Message
Anyone built a treehouse?
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:16 am
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:16 am
My girl is on this treehouse kick for some reason. I don't know if one of her friends has one, or where it is coming from. She mentioned it over the weekend. And last night she talked about it again. She wanted me to "order her a treehouse" like it was something you could just have delivered. I told her I'd build her one, but we were not going to order one. So we looked at pictures online of several different ones. I think she wants one with an actual roof and walls, she said she wants to be able to "go inside it" and have room for her sleeping bag. I have 3 trees that would be good for it. An Oak in the middle of the yard, and a couple of older thick pines at the edge. I'd have to delimb the lower portion of the Oak for it to work, which would be fine, but the Pine would be ready to go.
I'm thinking something maybe 8x10, so she would have room on one half of the tree to have a 4x10 section that she can go inside of, and just deck rails around the other side, and either a rope ladder up to it, or build a ladder onto the trunk. She has mentioned me taking her camping before, so I'm going to set up the tent in the backyard one Friday night and see how she does with that first. I'm guessing if she ends up not liking it then a treehouse probably won't be so high on her wish list after that.
Is it as simple as framing out the floor, and then attaching it with some 2x6 or 2x8 boards to the trunk? I guess it would need to hold about 500 lbs total. Would it be better to get some 6x6 posts and put one on each corner, and have them anchored into concrete in the ground?
And if I use one of the pines near the house, I can run some power to it and install a small light inside, and just run an extension cord to it from the plug on my deck when she wants to turn that on.
I'm thinking something maybe 8x10, so she would have room on one half of the tree to have a 4x10 section that she can go inside of, and just deck rails around the other side, and either a rope ladder up to it, or build a ladder onto the trunk. She has mentioned me taking her camping before, so I'm going to set up the tent in the backyard one Friday night and see how she does with that first. I'm guessing if she ends up not liking it then a treehouse probably won't be so high on her wish list after that.
Is it as simple as framing out the floor, and then attaching it with some 2x6 or 2x8 boards to the trunk? I guess it would need to hold about 500 lbs total. Would it be better to get some 6x6 posts and put one on each corner, and have them anchored into concrete in the ground?
And if I use one of the pines near the house, I can run some power to it and install a small light inside, and just run an extension cord to it from the plug on my deck when she wants to turn that on.
7
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:19 am to TU Rob
take a loan out on your house and call this guy
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:19 am to TU Rob
I built a doghouse Sunday and that almost killed me. Good luck with a treehouse.
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:22 am to TU Rob
Id make sure its quite sturdy...or youre going to have a treehouse sized missile during the next hurricane.
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:23 am to TU Rob
just remember whatever you build will either stay there or have to come down, when your kids get to middle school age
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:24 am to tiddlesmcdiddles
quote:
take a loan out on your house and call this guy
Ha, I saw those last night when I was looking around.
I was thinking something along these lines, but without glass windows. But it would be more half enclosed/half open. And no door, just a doorway. And not nearly as tall. 6 feet max height inside.
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:24 am to SuzukiGoat
quote:
Id make sure its quite sturdy...or youre going to have a treehouse sized missile during the next hurricane.
We get more tornados here than Hurricanes, but good point.
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:25 am to TU Rob
Build a badass deer stand, she'll use it for a playhouse for a few years, then take it to the deer lease and profit 
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:25 am to TU Rob
Start watching that show and you will learn some before you build.
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:26 am to Broke
I would build it on posts next to the pine trees.
Have it high enough for you to walk under but not much more - like 7 or 8 feet tall max. You can use the bottom portion as a small shed in a few years.
We had one growing up. Its probably 10 x10 enclosed with a small porsh on the front. Ladder on one side of the porch with firemans pole on the other.
I'm about to start going through it and make sure everything is safe and clean the brush out from under it so my 4 yr old can play in it now at his grandparents.
Have it high enough for you to walk under but not much more - like 7 or 8 feet tall max. You can use the bottom portion as a small shed in a few years.
We had one growing up. Its probably 10 x10 enclosed with a small porsh on the front. Ladder on one side of the porch with firemans pole on the other.
I'm about to start going through it and make sure everything is safe and clean the brush out from under it so my 4 yr old can play in it now at his grandparents.
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:26 am to NYCAuburn
quote:
just remember whatever you build will either stay there or have to come down, when your kids get to middle school age
Well she just turned 6, and I have a 10 month old Boy. So by the time she's tired of it, he'll get to use it a few years. If I get 8-10 years before I tear it down, I don't mind putting in the work to build it. She also mentioned wanting a slide on it, and rather than just buy one of those big playground kits, I'd rather build her something. She does like to help me work, and would be willing to hand me tools and screws, and she can help paint. We just did a bathroom renovation and she did some basic wall painting that turned out fine.
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:28 am to Chris4x4gill2
quote:
I would build it on posts next to the pine trees.
Have it high enough for you to walk under but not much more - like 7 or 8 feet tall max. You can use the bottom portion as a small shed in a few years.
We had one growing up. Its probably 10 x10 enclosed with a small porsh on the front. Ladder on one side of the porch with firemans pole on the other.
I'm about to start going through it and make sure everything is safe and clean the brush out from under it so my 4 yr old can play in it now at his grandparents
I'm leaning that way. The pine is about 6 feet away from my deck, and the way my yard is slanted with the hills, that end of the deck is about 6 feet off the ground. I could build it close to the height of the deck, and it isn't an area I would walk under anyways. But I like the storage idea.
Fireman's pole is another good idea.
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:29 am to TU Rob
quote:
She also mentioned wanting a slide on it
Put a zip line on it, kids will like it more than a slide or do both
quote:
Well she just turned 6, and I have a 10 month old Boy. S
then you will get some use out of it. I just see folks build these for their 6-8 year olds and dont realize the kids will out grow them soon
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:32 am to NYCAuburn
quote:
Put a zip line on it, kids will like it more than a slide or do both
This would work. I live in Birmingham, actually in Vestavia, so the hills are all over the place. My yard is slanted so that looking at the rear of the house, the ground is a few feet higher on the right than the left. And it slopes downhill away from the house as well. So the zipline could run the length of the yard and anchored into a big oak that is at the back. Probably 60 feet easily.
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:34 am to TU Rob
Damn, I built mine with a bunch of scrap 2x4s and some junk pieces of particle board my mom had covering a huge ant pile. Times have changed.
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:41 am to Hammertime
Anchor to the tree on the back, and put two 6x6 posts on the front corners. Build a ladder on the front using one of the 6x6 and 4x4. That essentially will give you three posts on the front, and connected to the tree on the back. Do like a deerstand and just cut a window that's on hinges(like shutters). And if she plans on sleeping in it I would put a door to keep out the mosquitos. This is how we built one for the kids to play in at our old deer lease. It will last a long time if you use the posts on the front.
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:45 am to Hammertime
quote:same. we're still pulling nails out of tires 20+ years later
Damn, I built mine with a bunch of scrap 2x4s and some junk pieces of particle board
Posted on 4/8/14 at 9:53 am to Flair Chops
The frame was nailed to the tree(about 20ft up), but the floor was free to move around. Those boards and plywood were used as a bicycle ramp when they weren't supporting our lives up in a tree
Posted on 4/8/14 at 12:03 pm to Hammertime
quote:
Damn, I built mine with a bunch of scrap 2x4s and some junk pieces of particle board my mom had covering a huge ant pile. Times have changed.
Well I only have a couple of 2x4x8s left, so I'd have to buy some lumber either way. And I doubt my 6 year old girl is capable of climbing a ladder and swinging a hammer.
Posted on 4/8/14 at 1:32 pm to bonescanner
quote:
Build a ladder on the front using one of the 6x6 and 4x4.
Dont use one of the corner posts for the ladder. That will make the ladder completely verticle (harder to climb) Make it seperate nad put it at as much of an angle as you can. Especially with younger children. The more "stair like" you make the angle the safer it will be for them when little.
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