20/04/14 21:52 How to build a treehouse

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This particular design requires two or three trees (or branches) in close
proximity. It was made over the course of several weekends using new,
pressure-treated wood for the support structure and floor and an old fence was
recycled for the sides. The roof is a camouflage-pattern tarp. It's not weather-
proof, but it stays pretty dry inside: a three-season treehouse, but best for
summer! It was made with my 4, 6 and 8-year old children in mind, but has been
a hit with visitors of all ages.
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Step 1: Pick your trees
There are definite advantages in using more than one tree for your treehouse -
the treehouse can be bigger, and you have to use less bracing. The tree(s) you
see here (behind the magnolia!) are a very tightly grown group of three trunks -
they all touch at the base, and splay out somewhat as they grow upwards. At the
height of the treehouse - about 9 ft (2.7 m) off the ground - one pair of trunks are
still almost touching, and the other one is about 4 ft (1.2 m) away. This means
the design has been based on one for a close-spaced pair of trees, rather than
for a group of three. The trees are Garry oaks, and they don't grow much further
north than this (southern Vancouver Island), so they grow pretty slow here. A
solid gnarly collection of old trees, each about 1 ft in diameter at 9 ft up.
Start by figuring out how high you want the treehouse. 9 feet is exciting for kids
but not scary. You can of course go higher, but you'll have to take more account
of movement.
Step 2: Get your materials
For this treehouse, I bought:
2 x 10' lengths of 2 x 10 pressure treated (PT) lumber.
6 x 12' lengths of 1 x 6 PT decking material.
6 x 8' lengths of 2 x 6 PT lumber.
3 x 10' lengths of 2 x 4 PT lumber.
4 x 6" long, 1/2" diameter galvanized lag screws and washers
1 x 8" long, 1/2" diameter galvanized lag screw and washer
8 galvanized joist hangers
8 galvanized rafter ties
Nails, deck screws, pulley for 1/4" rope
Camouflage tarp
All this cost about $250 from the nearby Home Depot. The rest of the materials
came from a neighbour's old fence: plentiful amounts of cedar boards and 2 x 4
lumber. It was used for the sides, so you can just substitute whatever you'd like
to make a railing/walls.
The photo is of my plan, which was sketched on a cereal box. I read around a lot
first, of course: I found David Stiles' books (http://www.stilesdesigns.com/)
especially easy to follow. The design changed as I was building it - I didn't end
up adding the braces drawn in the bottom left elevation, and I built an
entranceway platform that I hadn't originally planned.
Step 3: Get your tools
The bare minimum of tools:
hammer
saw
level
square
tape measure
adjustable wrench
drill
A ladder is important, but even a stepladder would be OK if you installed a
ladder/rope ladder/stairs to the treehouse early in the build.
Useful power tools:
Jigsaw (cutting decking and the movement-accommodating slot)
Cordless drill (driving screws)
Compound mitre saw (cutting lumber to length)
Router
A jigsaw is probably the most useful additional power tool. I used the router to
round off some edges, but coarse sandpaper and some elbow grease would
work just as well.
Step 4: Mount the main supports
Get a strip of light wood and nail one end to one of your trees at a height about 1
ft lower than you want the floor of your treehouse (to save a future concussion, it
should also be at least 1 ft higher than your head!). Get it perfectly horizontal
with the help of a level and nail the other end to the other tree. Drill 3/8" holes
straight into the tree just above the strip of wood. Do the same on the other side
of the trees, this time taking the extra precaution of first ensuring the new strip is
not only horizontal but also level with the strip on the other side of the tree.
Now, take down the strips and measure the exact distance between the holes.
Subtract this distance from 10', halve the remainder, and make a mark this
distance away from one end of your 2 x 10. Drill a 5/8" hole in the middle of the
board. Make another mark using the between-the-holes measurement . Now drill
two 5/8" holes, each 2" either side of your mark and both in the middle of the
board. Get a jigsaw and make two cuts between the holes to make 4" long slot.
Repeat for the other side of the tree. The slot allows the trees to move without
tearing your treehouse apart - the more your trees move, the longer the slot
ought to be (note that the slots I cut are only about 2" long, not 4", but these
trees don't move perceptibly at the height of the treehouse, even in a strong
wind. If your trees move appreciably, and/or if you're planning to build higher up,
use a sliding beam support (http://www.instructables.com/id/Treehouse-sliding-
beam-support/)).
Now, screw your boards to the tree with a wrench. Use washers, and don't bolt
hard against the tree. The space you're giving it to grow is the gap between the
support and the tree. The longer you want your treehouse to last, the further you
should perch the support away - and the more substantial your lag screws ought
to be! 3/4" or, ideally, 1" would be best.
Step 5: Lay out the platform
Because the decking came in 12' long boards, I made the treehouse 6' long. So
you need to cut the decking in half, and lay it out. Leave a 1/2" gap between
boards for drainage. Cut two of your 2 x 6 boards the same length as the
decking, and the other four to the width of your decking less the thickness of two
of the 2 x 6's (which will be more like 1 1/2" each).
Step 6: Build the platform
Using 3" deck screws, attach the four 2 x6's perpendicular to one of the other 2
x 6's. Make sure they're spaced so that when you put it up in the tree, the
perpendicular joists will miss the tree! With someone's help, put the contraption
up in the tree, center it, and tie it down.
Step 7: Finish and square the platform
Screw the other 2 x 6 to the other end of the platform, and check that it is
centered and square.
Step 8: Attach platform to supports
Now use the rafter ties to attach your platform to the 2 x 10s that you screwed to
the tree (if the angles between joists are not exactly 90, no problem, just
hammer the rafter tie flat against each joist as you're nailing). Add the joist
hangers. Use galvanized nails to attach these, not screws.
Step 9: Brace the platform
As it is, the platform will wobble. Add diagonal bracing made of 2 x 4, and use a
single long lag screw to attach both of these to the tree. It's easiest to just cut
the 45 degree angle in the 2 x 4 first. Use an 8" lag screw here to make up for
the fact that you're going through 2 thicknesses of lumber.
Note that I just used one set of braces on the single tree, because the other end
had two trees and the wobble seemed insignificant. You'll need two sets for sure
if you have just a pair of trees.
Step 10: Hang a pulley
A pulley is great fun for kids, but it's hugely helpful for hauling tools etc. up to the
deck. Put one in now, and hang a bucket from it. A hefty climbing carabiner at
the end of the rope is perfect.
If you don't have a suitably overhanging trunk or branch, you'll just have to make
one. Lag screw a 2 x 4 between the two trees well above the deck (cut a long
slot to accommodate movement, because you're higher up the tree), and have it
protrude far enough to hang the pulley from. Bonus: you'll also have a ridgepole
for your roof!
Step 11: Lay the deck
Get up on your platform and put down the deck. The only tricky thing here is
cutting around the trunks - leave a 1-2" gap all around. I used a compass (the
type for drawing circles) to mark the jigsaw cuts.
Having a few ladders around is definitely handy!
Step 12: Add an entranceway
OK, so far the build has been very conventional - all the books on treehouses
will tell you how to get this far. One of my favorite bits was the following minor
innovation. The two big supports poke out far past the platform, and you can use
one set of these to make a slightly lower level to use as an entry. Make a small
deck between the tops of the supports to about 2' out, then build diagonally back
to the corner of the treehouse. Add verticals. The pictures tell the story here. I
just used offcuts - with any luck you'll be able to do the same.
Some of the offcuts came from cutting the excess 2 x 10 supports off flush at the
other end of the treehouse.
Step 13: Railing
I had lots of 2 x 4 from the recycled fence, so I used two 40" lengths at each
corner as uprights. I screwed them to each other first then nailed them to the
platform. The handrail was also 2 x 4, laid flat, and nailed straight down into the
uprights. I mitered the corners, and screwed the handrails to each other through
the miter.
Step 14: Sides
Use whatever you like to fill in under the railing - rope, plywood, whatever. Kids
probably shouldn't be able to slip through, though. I had lots of nicely weathered
cedar boards which I just nailed up with gaps between. I used strips of 1 x 1 to
hold them in place either side under the railing. The only tricky bit was the
angled bit leading down to the platform - a bit of trial and error here, because it
is tricky to line up the railing with the sides of the platform.
Step 15: Ladder
The plan was to use a rope ladder to get up, but my 4 year old struggled with the
transition to the platform, even though he could climb it just fine. So we vetoed it,
even after making a really nice ladder (perhaps the subject of another
instructable). I leaned a couple of 2 x 4s against the entryway, cut the angle, and
nailed on two thicknesses of cedar board all the way up. The plan was to make
a climbing wall, but I was shocked to find out how much the hardware cost -
about $100 for 20-odd hand grips - so I just cut foot/handholds instead. I'd like to
say this was free, but I wore out a big spade bit cutting the holes - it got too hot,
and bent. This job was easy if a little time consuming to do - mark and drill two
big holes, mark a line between them at the bottom and an arc at the top (I used
a plastic bucket) and cut out with a jigsaw. This had really rough edges, so I
rounded them off with my little router. That worked great, so I went around quite
a few other edges on the treehouse with it. Smooth!
Step 16: Roof
I just strung a bungee cord between two hooks I put into the trees at about 7'
above the deck, and slung a tarp over. This looked good, but in actual fact it
made the roof too low at the sides. I have a compound mitre saw, so I cut four
outriggers, screwed them to the uprights, and gave the treehouse roof a decent
overhang.
Step 17: Enjoy!
The treehouse is a great little (36 sq. ft.) haven for the kids; they love it and so
do all their friends.
Update 2013: I'm happy to report the treehouse is four years old now, it's
suffered no damage from windstorms, snow, or tree growth, the trees are
healthy, and it still gets lots of use. We've made a few updates over the years,
adding a pirate's treasure chest (http://www.instructables.com/id/Pirates-
treasure-chest/), a swing, a braided climbing rope
(http://www.instructables.com/id/Braided-climbing-rope/), a BEWARE sign we
use out front at Halloween, and it's well-equipped with Nerf guns & water pistols.
It's just big enough for two single air mattresses, so it's fun to sleep out in, too.
MarcosFox320 (/member/MarcosFox320/)
Thanks so much! I had already started all wrong and after seeing yours with the
2x10 underneath and freeing the 2x8 from the tree movement I was able to do a
quick fix to make mine much sturdy. Thanks.
kurtzepp (/member/kurtzepp/)
Thanks for you insight. I used your plans as a source. Although my treefort does
not resemble yours on the outside, it does have some similarity.
Here is a link to my Treefort: http://kurt-zeppetello.blogspot.com/2013/08/tree-
house-or-fort-construction.html
makendo (/member/makendo/) (author) kurtzepp
Nice job, it looks great. You should
consider writing it up as instructable
(you've done all the work already!)
and entering it in the Fort contest
on right now.
rcotnam (/member/rcotnam/)
Sorry, I see someone else asked this below, and you answered it!
makendo (/member/makendo/) (author) rcotnam
Ha, well spotted, I'd forgotten
myself. The fact that two people
asked means I probably should
edit that step to explain myself
better...
rcotnam (/member/rcotnam/)
How can rafter ties be used when the angle between the "perpendicular" 2 X 6
boards is not square (i.e. not perpendicular at all but several degrees off)?
makendo (/member/makendo/) (author) rcotnam
If you look at the first photo in Step
8, you'll notice that the rafter tie is
not flush to the wood as I'm nailing
it. However, it provided very little
resistance to widening the angle
beyond 90, so I guess I just
hammered it open slightly as I was
nailing.
jcdecker71 (/member/jcdecker71/)
Just wanted to reach out and say thanks. My 11 year old son has been bugging
me for a year for a tree house, and while I'm okay with tools, taking this task on
was proving daunting. These are great instructions and I have modified based on
needs. Got the joist attached to the tress today. Moving on to the frame next
weekend. Thanks!
makendo (/member/makendo/) (author) jcdecker71
Thanks, I appreciate it. Best of luck
with the build; let me know if you have
any questions as you go along.
Leonardo_Pimentel (/member/Leonardo_Pimentel/)
Good Father. Congratulation!!!!
dclose73 (/member/dclose73/)
Question about the rafter ties. In my configuration, the 2x10s and 2x6s are not at
right angles. How did you manage to attach the rafter ties? Did you somehow
bend each of them to match the angle of the join? Or were your angles close
enough that it did not require any modification?
makendo (/member/makendo/) (author) dclose73
Mine were pretty close, and yeah, I just
hammered them flat. Good luck with
the build!
pedrozacharias (/member/pedrozacharias/)
this how-to was really easy to follow. cool stuff. The attached images showed my
finished product. Kids are having a blast!
Just need the basket with the pulley now, and perhaps a zip line.
All fun stuff. Thanks,
(http://cdn.instructables.com/F3D/XR2E/H21CGMYS/F3DXR2EH21CGMYS.LARGE.jpg)
(http://cdn.instructables.com/FEJ/BBJ6/H1YOJ5S9/FEJBBJ6H1YOJ5S9.LARGE.jpg)
(http://cdn.instructables.com/F9A/VXVT/H2BMNUM3/F9AVXVTH2BMNUM3.LARGE.jpg)
(http://cdn.instructables.com/F14/Z4ZU/H1YONK7C/F14Z4ZUH1YONK7C.LARGE.jpg)
(http://cdn.instructables.com/FQK/HNVA/H1YONK7D/FQKHNVAH1YONK7D.LARGE.jpg)
(http://cdn.instructables.com/F7I/551C/H27LSIWX/F7I551CH27LSIWX.LARGE.jpg)
(http://cdn.instructables.com/FXC/DQQY/H1YONK7F/FXCDQQYH1YONK7F.LARGE.jpg)
makendo (/member/makendo/) (author) pedrozacharias
Great job! Looks really good, and you
have pretty much the perfect tree for it,
too.
zilcho (/member/zilcho/)
That is a legit tree house
Dusk Shadows (/member/Dusk+Shadows/)
this is great my dad keeps on saying he will make a tree house he never does
HollyMann (/member/HollyMann/)
You have some very lucky/fortunate kids to have a dad to make them so many
awesome things! I love all your instructables - esp the bed - this one and the
rubik's cube drawers! AMAZING!!!!!
makendo (/member/makendo/) (author) HollyMann
Many thanks Holly, glad you like
them. Making things for your kids is
super rewarding, as no doubt you've
found yourself!
planetsideplayer14billion (/member/planetsideplayer14billion/)
I have 10 aceres. about 2.5 is forstry. I have
2 forts. 1 in the trees and 1 on poles me and
my sis have wars. im still upgrading my forts
with rails, shelves, airsoft gun turrets, ext
planetsideplayer14billion (/member/planetsideplayer14billion/)
planetsideplayer14billion
And i keep a dune buggy under it
thickeven (/member/thickeven/) planetsideplayer14billion
what about grenades
mitchblahman (/member/mitchblahman/) planetsideplayer14billion
that sounds absolutely incredible
man, kudos to you
Winter-_- (/member/Winter-_-/)
yikes. So many posts with people telling you off about how you did something or
even someone just grumping about you "hurting trees" it has to be anoying- but im
so impressed wih how each of your comments back are kind and to the point! :)
Its just so nice to see that even when others are being rude to you (and thats crazy
as it is seeing that your posting a free gide and if they dont like it they can move
on) your not lashing out.
Looks to me like your kids have two things to be proud of, a wonderful treehouse,
and a dad who acts like a kind and levelminded adult. <3
makendo (/member/makendo/) (author) Winter-_-
Aw, shucks. Thanks. The vast
majority of feedback on this site is
positive, fortunately, but this ible did
seem to get some people quite
indignant - probably for the wrong
reasons. The same people don't
seem to mind projects built out of
dead trees! :)
cghale (/member/cghale/)
I'm at this point and am wondering the same thing as andrew...how do you attach
the 2x4s to the platform? Deck screws or something more substantial?
makendo (/member/makendo/) (author) cghale
Deck screws are fine; just drive them
through the 6x2 into the 4x2 brace.
The decking sits on top and also
helps secure the brace.
cghale (/member/cghale/)
For a house like this, what would the maximum safe width be? (i.e., between two
trees) Working on this design now...
makendo (/member/makendo/) (author) cghale
Not far at all. These trunks are within
four feet, and dont move much at all
with respect to one another. If thats
not the case for you, taking account
of movement is really important. The
slots accommodate only a small
amount of movement. If I was making
a more widely spaced treehouse, Id
sit one end of the main supports on
top of two really big lag screws (3/4
or bigger). There is a place you can
buy them online now -
http://www.treehousesupplies.com/
(http://www.treehousesupplies.com/).
The other end could be screwed
directly to the tree, as I show here.
Good luck with your build!
Ricardo Furioso (/member/Ricardo+Furioso/)
More bolts, in slots, please.
Three per tree in each board are recommended.
Two would be better than what you have.
The problem with your application is that the trees in high winds can exert a HUGE
horizontal torque force on the bolt heads that could bend, tear out, or shear them.
What we did in our very similar situation was to drill several holes (just a bit bigger
than the bolt diameter) next to each other in the boards.
ooo
Then we chiseled them out into slots.
(___)
Then added a bolt with a BIG washer in the middle of each slot.
(_O_)
This design allows the trees to move in high winds independent of each other
without snapping or bending the bolts.
Also the bolts should NOT be tightened. The washers should be able to rotate.
This allows the bolts to move side to side in high winds, and for the whole
structure to "give" a little.
If you think of the tree as a huge lever, and the distance the wind can move it both
ways, you start to understand the amazing forces at work here.
We love your treehouse.
Come to think of it, we love all of them.
makendo (/member/makendo/) (author) Ricardo Furioso
I disagree about the "3 bolts per tree
per board argument" - see this page
(http://www.treetopbuilders.net/tree-
house-construction/fasteners.html) for
why. As for the rest; read step 4.
Ricardo Furioso (/member/Ricardo+Furioso/) makendo
Whooops.
You're right about Step 4.
cowmanpoke (/member/cowmanpoke/)
in step 4 when you bolt the wood to the tree, are you drilling all the way through
the branch? i'm confused about how that wood is staying on
makendo (/member/makendo/) (author) cowmanpoke
No, they go in about 4". A lag screw is
basically a giant screw with a bolt
head on it. So the thread holds it in
place - in fact, once you've put it in it
is very hard to move again. Use the
biggest ones you can find, and perch
the supports as far away as you can
while still being structurally sound. In
this treehouse, the supports are only
about 1/2" away, because the trees
are mature and slow growing.
Ricardo Furioso (/member/Ricardo+Furioso/) makendo
Honestly think you might rethink the
length of your bolts.
A foot, yes 12-inches, would be
recommended.
Why?
Because that treehouse may outlive
all of us.
Because kids will be in it.
Because kids will invite their friends.
Because whole scout troops or
classrooms full of kids might descend
upon it (both have happened to ours).
Because adults have a habit of
frequenting treehouses along with
refreshing adult beverages that make
them do silly dangerous things. In
groups.
So.
I beg you to grab your socket and
ratchet set, remove the 4-inch bolts,
and replace them with big fat 12-inch
galvanized lag bolts.
They're cheap.
It may sound like overkill, but the wind
forces on treehouses are staggering,
and if a storm weakens them, the next
kids who venture up there could be in
serious danger.
It is one thing for a kid to fall out of a
treehouse.
It is another to have the treehouse fall
or fail with a kid inside.
Thanks for considering this.
ricardo
makendo (/member/makendo/) (author) Ricardo Furioso
I appreciate that you're anxious
about the children, but if the
treehouse is going to fail, I suspect it
will do so during a storm, and it is not
occupied during such events. It's
survived over a year without any
untoward events despite some
overloading you'd doubtless be
appalled by and a 110 km/h gale. It
certainly won't outlive all of us, as it
will be removed when my kids grow
out of it.
A 12" lag screw would go clear
through the tree (especially if I put in
3 per board per tree, as you counsel;
that would seriously compromise the
structural integrity of the trunk). As
for the "cheap big fat lag bolts" -
perhaps you can point out a source
for the benefit of others? I certainly
couldn't find them in hardware stores
or even online; the pros
(http://www.treetopbuilders.net/tree-
house-construction/fasteners.html)
have them custom-made.
Ricardo Furioso (/member/Ricardo+Furioso/) makendo
Congrats on the gale survival.
I suspect you're right about the failure.
I hope you are.
We found huge cheap lag bolts at
Home Depot.
Putting a bolt through the trunk
shouldn't compromise it's integrity.
You'd need to predrill it, and the great
percentage of the trunkexcluding
the live cambium which comprises the
outermost layersis dead wood
anyway.
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-
new/text/tree_anatomy.html
Putting two or three bolts in a tree
trunk vertically is a good solution if
you do not have access to a custom
fastener fabrication shop.
And it works just fine if you loosen the
bolts annually to allow for growth and
space between beams and trunk.
Werner111 (/member/Werner111/)
I would have added another bolt in for each tree, but it looks good :)
makendo (/member/makendo/) (author) Werner111
I'm pretty comfortable with the bolts
as they are for this little treehouse,
but overengineering is no bad thing
either. Better than putting extra bolts
though would be to use bigger ones;
this page
(http://www.treetopbuilders.net/tree-
house-construction/fasteners.html)
explains why really well (and also
points out that 1/2" lag screws are
insufficient!).
Anyway, thanks - and I can confirm
the treehouse is still standing :)
andrewbhorton (/member/andrewbhorton/)
How do you secure the top of the bracing to the platform? Beneath it, on the
outside, inside? I'm 15 and I have no idea what I'm doing... but decided that I really
want to make a treehouse.
makendo (/member/makendo/) (author) andrewbhorton
Beneath it and on the inside. Check
out the hand-drawn plan and the
second photo in step 9 (you can
*just* see it). There are lots of other
resources out there - on the web
(http://www.thetreehouseguide.com/),
books (http://books.google.ca/books?
id=QJRlMdb3HfgC&lpg=PP1&dq=david%20stiles%20treehouse%20book&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=david%20stiles%20treehouse%20book&f=false)
etc. Best of luck in your build!
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How to build a treehouse by makendo (/member/makendo/)
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