Welcome back to our tree house building “documentary” Step 3, Part 1.
The Layout
We’ve done all the planning and measuring, now it’s time to begin the work. First, you want to layout the basic shape to the measurements you made. We put the pier blocks where the corners are to be and temporarily laid the wood frame.
Pier Blocks
We set the pier blocks in sand and leveled them then screwed on our 4×4 s.
Support Posts
This is how we attached the 4x4s for to hold up the floor.
The Frame is in Place
Here’s a view looking down on the entire frame for the floor.
The next post will be about installing the floors, then the walls, then the steps or ladder.
A great activity for vintage Baby Boomers and Boomer Grandpas is to design and build a Tree House with your kids, grand kids and other family members. It’s a awesome bonding and teaching experience. I plan on having the little kids do the painting and accessories when it’s time. That way everyone can be involved. When it’s finished we’ll have something for the family to use and have fun with for a lifetime. Here’s my story, sort of a documentation of how we are building it. Each stage will be a separate post.
Our family is blessed with a beautiful Maple tree in our back yard. It’s part of our kids’ heritage and memories from growing up around it. There have been hundreds of picnics, barbecues, tea parties, games of tag, birthday parties, and celebrations under our tree and in its cooling shade in the hot summers. It shares it’s beauty in each season. Summer is big green leaves and lots of comforting shade. Fall is the only season when our tree requires our work or maintenance. As fall progresses the big green leaves turn orange and then yellow, finally dropping from the branches, landing on the grass. Here’s where the work comes in, someone, as in Me or our Kids. I choose the kids for this job as they need to learn to work and care for what we are blessed with, right? Hear that kids?
You see our tree above after the last snowfall of this winter.
All the snow has melted now and it’s time to build a Tree House
Step 1Choosing your tree – In our case we have only one tree to choose from. By tree house standards this is a small tree which won’t really support much of a structure up in the tree. So, we decided to build around the tree rather than in the tree. You’ll need to choose a good strong tree, the right tree, then build the right tree house in or around it. The formation or structure of the tree will determine the size and elements you will be able to have in your tree house.
That’s Stage 1. Hope it gives you some ideas to build your own tree house. Stay tuned for the next stage, Planning Your Tree House coming soon.
