Jan 5, 2015

Several Hints on Building a Perfect Tree House



Can you pinpoint the exact moment you stopped referring to the house you grew up in as “your house” and started calling it “your parents’ house”? This transition happens all the time and is just one of the signs you’ve grown up and left the family nest. Of course, you’ll miss so many things from that nest, such as your first bed, your seat at the dining table or favorite toy. If your father or grandfather were extra skillful too, they might have even built you a tree house that you’re going to miss! If you want to minimize this longing and homesickness and build one for your own children, we have some dos and don’ts for a more successful job.


The What and the How
First of all, what do you need? There are three essentials for this project: building materials, an idea and a lot of imagination. Call your local hardware store, find out which type of wood is the most durable and adequate, and order enough lumber, tools and other necessities, such as various nails and machines for drilling and sawing. You can even pay extra and your wood will be prepared, processed and ready. Also, secure yourself and your children – they truly are the best work crew you can find – and make a safe working environment.

Location, Location, Location
Now, begin! Let’s imagine that you already have a big enough tree that will support the weight and capacity of a tree house, but how to find the perfect spot? Try to work together with your children and meet them half way – they can suggest where they wish the tree house to be and you can decide which suggestion is the most sensible.

Naturally, being an adult, it’s up to you to figure out which part of your tree can support the entire platform, provide safety and accessibility. In addition to that, please be sure to pick the spot that will not bother your neighbors, block your own view or, and this goes without saying, make you cut vital branches. If you want your tree house to be there as long as possible, you have to keep the tree itself healthy.

Building 101
Knowing the challenges of this project, there are basically two ways of building a tree house: the hard one and the even harder one. You can decide whether you want to build everything on the ground and then erect the construction, or climb into the tree and place lumber directly between the branches. The first one is easier as you can work in your garage, have all parts in front of you and just combine them into a whole, not worrying about falling down.


However, the second one is more practical and hands-on, since you’ll be able to see what’s actually going on while you work – when on the ground, you can never know if a particular part of your tree house will collide with branches or knots. According to the people who work at my local tree service, both methods are good, but their combination may even be the best and that’s just what I did, building the platform directly on the tree, and then building walls and roof on the ground, connecting them onto the platform later.

Moving in!
Once your tree house is complete, there is an important issue you have to address – as it is for the children, it cannot be too serious or plain because they’ll be bored very quickly. So, tell them to add the details, do the painting, take their favorite toys and decorate the tree house according to their preferences. In the end, make a celebration and an official moving in party for your children and all their friends – if the construction holds, you, sir, have done a great job!

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