Tomorrow my work partner and I go to give a bid on a treehouse. Our business is fences and decks, but why not go and take a look, right? The budget is $5000 and it’s to be for the 11 yr old boy. We are mostly concerned about safety issues and liability. So, any tips? Thanks.
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Replies
There's a guy in Cave Junction, Oregon who, several years ago built a bunch of tree houses for a bed and breakfast thingy.
They were all very well built in a grove of Oaks....but he ran afoul of the local building department and there was quite a dust-up over the course of three or four years.
In the end, there were compromises and modifications....but he prevailed and his tree house bed and breakfast is currently in operation (at least as of last Sept. when DW and I were in the area).
He has a website....I'll leave it to you for the search; try Cave Junction, Oregon tree houses.
Have fun
Hi Notchman ,
The name is " Out And About Tree Houses " it's like you said in Cave Junction . Their are links to building tree houses and general information that is really interesting , I think the OP will find it useful .
I think his name is Michael Garnier , he is a colorful individual to say the least and has created a whole environment like a Hobbit land .
regards dusty
I've been wanting to check the place out...we head down that way on occasion....spent DW's birthday last Fall at the Oregon Caves Lodge....
The tree house guy must be a character; I remember he took a pretty solid stand against the bureaucracy over his tree houses....it's to his credit that he prevailed.
Where in Rogue Valley are you?
The tree houses are at http://www.treehouses.com/
There are a surprising number of web sites and even books about tree houses. Do a Google search and you should come up something. There have been several threads on Breaktime over the years but it has not reached the numbers of favorites such as "what is the diamond on my tape measure" or some others. You might get lucky with a Breaktime search, however. I did a search on Amazon.com books and it looked like at least the first two books might actually be useful.
One of the most entertaining jobs I ever had was building a couple of treehouses. For inspiration the fellow whose kids I built them for gave me a book by a guy named Nelson, if I recall, (this was some years back). No plan, no permit, no building department, just wingin' it. Enjoy. I'll post some pics of that thing just for fun.
As a an arborist professionally (just a FWW crossover) I think about the health of the trees you are building around (or in). If you firmly fasten the tree house to the tree eventually (5-20 years) WILL show signs of decay and potentially premature failure.
My suggestion would be to build it like a deck with footers and such and incorporate the trees into the design not as a support. you can build kid stuff into the design to make it look less like a deck.
OR maybe use galvanized threaded rods through the tree trunks and fasten the joists to the threaded rod with bolts and washers to allow for future trunk diameter.
something like this:
http://www.arborist.com/Detail.tpl?rnd=5425&cart=52D2A8CC-65AB-4FDA-884F-39F0DC494357&sku=R180024-06
Not to bore you with details but i would use the 1 inch rod in the link, bigger is better. Drill a 1 1/16 or 1 1/8 hole through the trunk.
Pass the rod through the trunk. Put a washer against the trunk on either side, then bolts and tighten down, double nut if you feel its necessary to lock it down.
I would leave about 3-4 inches on each side for trunk growth before the joists. Then build. You can level the floor because the joists probably are not going to be.
Also remember trees move... a lot.
I hope this is clear if not email me [email protected] and i can try and explain more clearly.
Steve
Edit: Not an associate of the website listed
Edited 5/18/2007 10:16 pm ET by treeguy
Thanks treeguy,
I appreciate the your advice on how to work with the tree. I've been considering the idea of building around one of the large, old growth trees which live on a building lot I have New York's Catskill Mountains. I'm fortunate to have several species to choose from, both conifers and hardwoods.
If you were going to build around a straight old tree with a trunk of about three feet in diameter and a height of one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty feet, how would you choose a tree and how much movement would you allow for at a height of thirty-five to forty feet?
At that height of the tree the bottom 40 feet is not going to move a whole heck of a lot, but it will move. In you situation I would probably bolt the joists to the trees directly, using suitable galvinized hardware, in a cross configuration. Limiting pressures on opposing sides. Then build. At that size the trunks don't grow a whole lot each year allowing some time."I agree that the health of the tree might be compromized. I can only do so much though. After all it was a tree house for my daughter. Low budget you know."I wasn't trying to make you feel bad, he said he was going to do a quote for a customer and I just wanted to bring that to his attention. Steve
Edited 5/19/2007 6:23 am ET by treeguy
At that height of the tree the bottom 40 feet is not going to move a whole heck of a lot, but it will move. In you situation I would probably bolt the joists to the trees directly, using suitable galvinized hardware, in a cross configuration. Limiting pressures on opposing sides.
Then build. At that size the trunks don't grow a whole lot each year allowing some time.
I should have mentioned that I'm thinking about a small, two story home, surrounding one of those big trees, not a lighter weight kid's tree house. The diameter of the upper, main floor would be perhaps twenty-four feet
So you're saying that I could bore at least four fairly large holes through the trunk, two of them perpendicular to the other two, without compromising the tree. Actually, I'd need to brace the first floor joists to a couple of points lower on the trunk, also perpendicular to each other. Would the addition of two more through bolts cause much more damage?
Previously I'd been planning not to drill any holes, rather pour an octagonal concrete footing around the base of the tree from which to support four to eight columns. Would a concrete footing pose any problem to the tree's health?
Edited 5/19/2007 11:19 pm ET by Hudson Valley Carpenter
The through bolts are the least intrusive. Don't put them directly in line, due to potential weakening kind of like nailing studs where you offset the nails. Crossing is definately acceptable.As far as building the house around the tree the best way to support the base would be with piers (least number possible) instead of a footer around the tree. With piers there is less damage to the support roots. A poured base around the trunk would be no good.Me personally would not build a house around a tree. Eventually the tree will have to come down making it a royal pain to do so. At this point I would recomend a certified arborist look at your idea's preferably one from the a TCIA accredited company.Do a search on TCIA and you will hopefully find one. I can only offer minimal advice without looking at the site and the tree. Also trees are like lightening rods. I would at least put a lighting protection in the tree. Because there is potential for the house to catch fire if a tree is struck.But if go ahead, through bolts are better than fastening directly to the tree. With a diameter of 3-4 feet i would be comfortable with 1.5 inch hole. Minimize root damage and don't overprune the tree, just deadwood.Steve
Thanks again for your thoughtful advice.
The tricky part for me was fastening three corners of the house to three different trunks. The fourth had to have a post to the ground. We live in Kansas and it is windy. The first thing I did was to prune back the trunks pretty severely so they caught less wind.
Then I let two opposing corners of the four move. They were supported but were allowed to move. If it really gets windy it will fail. To much movement.
Time will tell if it works. We are moving so I'll never know.
I started building it with my 12 year old but then she lost interest. It's partially completed.
I agree that the health of the tree might be compromized. I can only do so much though. After all it was a tree house for my daughter. Low budget you know.
The treehouses I built are ten years old and doing just fine. They're twenty feet up and the floors tie the seperate trunks of the oak trees together so as to move as one at that point. I did have to cable the two trees together so that they swayed at the same freguency when the wind blows, (it worked the suspension bridge pretty good otherwise), but cableing tree limbs is common practice around here; typically by lagging eye hooks into the trees. As a matter of fact, if another giant oak I worked under hadn't been cabled one of it's huge branches would have crushed a frame I was doing when it snapped off durng the night. (interestingly, oaks have a tendency to explode from time to time). As it was the cable caused the the limb to swing out and land in the front yard. Oak trees don't seem to have a problem with being cabled together at all. The tree grows around the bolts.
"Oak trees don't seem to have a problem with being cabled together at all. The tree grows around the bolts."As do most other trees, we use through bolts as a more common practice instead of lags. The problem with tree houses is that if a supports are built around the circumference at the same height it will most kill the tree in a number of years due to girdling/strangling the tree. Steve
Well, that's why you leave a lot of space around the trunk and cut back even more if in twenty years its getting close. That's my understanding anyway. I can't imagine placing a band around a tree as I've heard that outer layer is the nutrient delivery system. Lagging screws in I think is a different story. Many, many oak trees in the area I live in have been cabled on account of the threat of branches exploding. (and those things can be massive). Something about too much water weight, hot days, I don't recall exactly.
I'm working on a treehouse for my 8 yr old boy & 5 yr daughter. I've got the design mostly worked out and hope to have footings in this weekend. A buddy is visiting next weekend and I hope to have everything in place to finish most of the construction. We ended up going with a playhouse next to a tree - cantilevered the deck against the tree so it will have more of a treehouse feel, but don't have to worry about fastening or harming the tree. I've attached a copy of the plans. The big green blob is the tree trunk and the hatching is the roots I need to avoid with posts. The entire platform is 8x10 with a 6x8 house and 4x8 porch. The outside will be T-111 stained green, with trim stained red.
I built a treehouse with my Dad about 35 years ago in Pleasant Hill Ca. The tree was a Coast Live Oak, Quercus agrifolia. The trunk was 28 feet in circumference 4 feet above the ground. We spent some time studying the tree and built the floor up on girders set in on crotches. There were no fasteners into the tree. The girders were in an X configuration. We built it up from there. It was basically about 120 SQ FT deck with built in bench seats at the perimeter railing. The entry was a trap door that had a ladder up from the ground. I remember having 20 people up there for a party. I used to sleep there when we were building a house on the lot.
Someone else bought the house and locked the trapdoor and eventually demoed the structure. The tree is still there and very healthy.
just remeber not to leave any decks without a fence and where the treehouse meets the tree make sure a foot can't get stuck in a crack. Also check and see if the kid want's to help.
What ever you do you should use 'Garnier Limb' bolts. I also highly recomend Pete Nelson's book 'Treehouses of the World'. Good info and lots of cool photos.
http://www.treehouses.com/treehouse/construction/bracketree0.html
http://www.treehouses.com/treehouse/construction/parts.html
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/gardening/2456277.html?page=6
http://www.treehouseworkshop.com/gl.htm
found this on flickr.com (unfinished treehouse)
"I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun."
Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
another from flickr.com
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treehouse
2006
Alnwick gardens - Northumberland. it claims that it might be the biggest treehouse in the world...... it houses a lovely restaurant/cafe
<a href="http://www.alnwickgarden.com/about_the_garden/features_treehouse.asp">www.alnwickgarden.com/about_the_garden/features_treehouse...</a>
karenwithak
karenwithak
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Alnwick gardens - Northumberland. it claims that it might be the biggest treehouse in the world...... it houses a lovely restaurant/cafe"I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun."
Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
...and another
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More info at http://treehouse.gusick.com/. "I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun."
Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
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More info at http://treehouse.gusick.com/. "I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun."
Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
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View General Custer's map
Taken in Allentown, Oregon (See more photos here)
42°1' 60" N, 123°37' 39" W42.033324-123.627455<!--
Treehouse bridge
2007
At the "Treesort," Cave Junction, Oregon
General Custer
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At the "Treesort," Cave Junction, Oregon "I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun."
Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
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A "treehouse" restaraunt in Okinawa. "I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun."
Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
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Treehouse by Prenn Waterfall, DaLat Vietnam "I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun."
Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
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this is a treehouse in someones yard in St. Louis Park. Pretty awesome huh? "I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun."
Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
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treehouse
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A well-built and very comfortable-looking (doubleglazed!) treehouse near my junior school in Don Mills.
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A well-built and very comfortable-looking (doubleglazed!) treehouse near my junior school in Don Mills. "I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun."
Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
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I love this treehouse at the Chattanooga Nature Center. It has a nice porch swing inside of it and I love sitting there, if I can get rid of all the spiderwebs. :) "I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun."
Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
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View marc50's map
Taken in Irmo, South Carolina (See more photos here)
34°2' 53" N, 81°11' 45" W34.04793-81.195874
Found this treehouse while hiking on the southern side of the Saluda River downstream from the Lake Murray Dam. Not certain if it has internet access. Don't know the owner, however someone went to a lot of work. You can check it out with the map location in the Additional Information area to the right below. "I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun."
Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
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View phitar's map
Taken in Kottapadi, Kerala (See more photos here)
11°36' 36" N, 76°4' 32" E11.60986676.075515
we may be crazy to go there (India, I believe is what he's referring to - Huck) with young children... but we all are, that's why we dream of going into treehouses. we went there to celebrate my 40th bday. "I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun."
Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe
Thanks for all the fascinating photos, Huck. They're all worthy of study.
The ones from Asian countries reminded me that lashing bamboo together is their main way to build scaffolds and many kinds of temporary or semi-permanent structures. Did you say you visited India and that tree house?
no, the pics are from flickr.com, great site for photo sharing, brownsing, etc."I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun."
Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe