Whatever it's used for, a treehouse has something to offer children of all temperaments.
Treehouses are fantastically exciting places for children to play. They conjure up Just William like images of muddy boots, scraped knees, and shining happy faces of kids having countless adventures outdoors in the fresh air.
However, the prospect of putting together your own treehouse can be quite daunting. But the rewards are well worth the effort, especially if you involve your child in the process.
Building things together can be a real learning and bonding experience for you and your son or daughter, and it can create memories you’ll both treasure for a long time to come.
A home made treehouse that your kids had a hand in creating will also hold far more value to them than a costly Wendy house that just appears one day in the back garden.
Here’s my quick guide to building your own treehouse. This post is intended as a starting point rather than exhaustive guide, and don't forget that safety comes first at all times, of course.
Location, location, location
The biggest challenge of building a treehouse is finding the right place to put it. Chose your tree carefully. It needs to be mature, healthy and have a thick trunk and plenty of strong supporting branches.
If you've not got something suitable in your garden then you could always try the local woods, but make sure you have the land owner’s permission before you start any construction.
Alternatively you can always use a smaller tree by adding a few weight bearing poles concreted into the ground as additional support
Construction
There are as many ways of building a tree house as there are trees. Here are some general points to bear in mind:
- Use properly treated timber for the frame and floor of the tree house so it won’t rot
- The more involvement your kids have in making the house the more they’ll value it. This may mean some bent nails and rather wonky angles, but remember this house if for them not for you
- Always include a sturdy safety rail, even if all you are building is a simple platform
- Use screws, not nails for the tree house’s structural frame, as these are much less likely to work themselves loose. For extra safety use decking screws to attaché the house to the tree itself
- Make regular inspections of the tree house to check for safety. And if your children outgrow it, make sure you take it down. Especially if it’s in a public place
Useful treehouse building websites
Photo by: Jinterwas
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28 March, 2011
Dan you've brought back so many memories for me with this post. I grew up in the trees in my garden, my friend's gardens, the neighbours gardens etc and it was my favourite place to be as a child.
We were never lucky enough to have our own treehouse, but we used to make camps at the bottom of the trees, and climb up to our look out posts in order to watch out for any baddies that might be on the approach :-) I used to appear home at tea time with scraped knees and filthy, torn clothes, much to my mother's despair... not what she had in mind for her little princess :-)
We don't have any trees in our garden sadly, but last summer my husband built a playhouse on a raised deck for the kids so that they could climb up a ladder to get to it, and slide down the slide for a quick exit. They love it up there; it's their own private space, and this summer we will be giving it the colourful lick of paint that we didn't manage to do last year.
Thanks for a lovely post,
Leigh
Ready for Ten Team