Replies

1. 
   andybuildz | Apr 15, 2007 05:42am | #1

   Set her up in front of Google's SketchUp and let her play around with it (with you) designing it.

    

    You know, not to generalize, but the 29% of people who still support President Bush are the ones who love to pronounce themselves more patriotic than the rest of us. But just saying you're patriotic is like saying you have a big one. If you have to say it, chances are it's not true.

   http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM                                 

    
2. 
   zak | Apr 15, 2007 06:15am | #2

   Have you gone to the library for the 2 or 3 treehouse books by Peter Nelson?  They're great, lots of pictures of very cool treehouses, many of them full time residences for their adult owners.

   http://www.treehouseworkshop.com/books.htm

    

   zak

   "When we build, let us think that we build forever.  Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin

   "so it goes"

    

1. 
   Hudson Valley Carpenter | Apr 16, 2007 07:26pm | #7

   Thanks to Jason for the question and to Zak and others for the resources and recommendations.

   I have a two acre lot way up in the Catskills with a lot of old growth, both conifers and hardwoods.  I've been intrigued by the idea of building a tree house, high enough up to catch a view.  The question which arises is; is it possible to build a house, surrounding the tree, without attaching it in a way that injuries the tree?  It seems straight forward, just use some kind of flexible bumpers against the tree. 

   I wonder if any of you have worked on a tree house with that stipulation?

1. 
   JMadson | Apr 16, 2007 08:13pm | #8

   I know the treehouse I posted in #7 above is very small, but it does follow your criteria of no damage to the tree.

   I made three supports that are hanging from three points in the tree (I could have made more with a bigger tree or a second tree). You could make supports like these off of 3-4 main branches and go all the way around the tree. Just connect the supports with cross beams and build up from there.“The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume

1. 
   Hudson Valley Carpenter | Apr 16, 2007 08:36pm | #9

   Nice idea, hanging the floor that way. 

   My theoretical engineering uses triangulated supports which rest on four piers near the base of the tree trunk and angle out at about twenty degrees to support the major crossing beams at the first floor level, about fifteen feet up. 

3. 
   JMadson | Apr 15, 2007 06:18am | #3

   I've got a small treehouse out back - about 5'x6'. It's actually hanging from a crab apple tree. Pretty simple design (and not a single nail in the tree)

   When the sun is out tomorrow, I'll get a pic of it and post it.

   “The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume

1. 
   JMadson | Apr 16, 2007 06:06pm | #6

   Simple and easy...“The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume

1. 
   hvtrimguy | Apr 18, 2007 08:09am | #11

   I like the cable idea. I was reluctant to attatch anything to the tree itself.
   I had figured putting some posts down to the ground but now I will have to rethink this a bit. How do you keep the cable from growing into the tree? Rubber hose maybe? Like they do when they are cabling a sappling tree on a landscaping application?"it aint the work I mind,
   It's the feeling of falling further behind."Bozini Latini

1. 
   JMadson | Apr 18, 2007 08:14am | #12

   I actually didn't do anything about that. All three sets of cables are in a crotch between two big branches. The tree might grow around them, but it shouldn't hurt the tree.

   The thing I liked about the cables is that I could adjust them as the tree grew - keep the tree house level. If the tree grows around the cables, that idea goes out the window though. “The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume

1. 
   hvtrimguy | Apr 18, 2007 08:25am | #13

   Did you use stainless cable? How thick (my kid is rough on stuff) do you think would work? One last question, Does the deck sway a bit because it is hanging? Thanks again for the idea of the cables (the wheels are already turnin')"it aint the work I mind,
   It's the feeling of falling further behind."Bozini Latini

2. 
   JMadson | Apr 18, 2007 08:57am | #14

   Did you use stainless cable? How thick (my kid is rough on stuff) do you think would work?

   I'm not sure of the strength but it's the plastic coated wire you can buy at Home Depot. The wire is rated around 100 to 200 lbs if I recall. Each corner has four wires holding it up. This isn't ever going to fall with just a 6'x6' base.

   Does the deck sway a bit because it is hanging?

   No it doesn't sway because it is leaning against the tree in more than one spot. It stays pretty solid even with my big a.. up there. “The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume

3. 
   zak | Apr 18, 2007 09:11am | #15

   I think it would be a good idea to put the cable through a section of fire hose or garden hose as it crosses the tree.  Those cables can really cut into a tree if they have much weight on them.zak

   "When we build, let us think that we build forever.  Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin

   "so it goes"

    

4. 
   KerrytheKiwi | Apr 15, 2007 11:08am | #4

   Hey,

   I spent a few months building treehouses for http://www.blueforest.com in England back in 2004. What a great experience! They are good guys and we built designs ranging from those for the children to elaborate ones like the one pictured below.

   I agree that the library is a good place to start. Pete Nelson does have some good books. I'd recommend "treehouses you can actually build" by David & Jeanie Stiles. It is aimed at children and has some neat simple designs that they would love to help you build. You could look for it on amazon I guess.

   If you stick with a simple structure then you can dress it up with the cladding or add fun features like rope pulleys (for Mom's lunch) or swings, slides, crows nests etc.

   All the best!

    

1. 
   Crash | Apr 15, 2007 11:29am | #5

   View Image

    

   "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography."  Ambrose Bierce

    

   Edited 4/15/2007 4:29 am ET by Crash

5. 
   JohnT8 | Apr 17, 2007 12:51am | #10

   Wish I had some pics, but when I was a kid an uncle built a series of tree houses through the trees that grew along a creek near their house.  Really neat.  Tree houses that stretched beyond different trees.   IIRC, the lower level was fairly easy to reach via ladders, but then there were higher levels that took more skill (climb a rope or such).

   And a rope or two setup to swing across the creek to the higher far bank.

   IIRC, they were fairly simple constuction, but rated high on the kid 'neat' scale.

    

   jt8

   "We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."
   -- Mother Teresa