A Treehouse – It is a dream of many, not only kids but also plenty of adults – having their own hideaway, cosy retreat, or just a place they can rise above duties of daily life where magical adventures can make your day. Treehouse seem to be a perfect place to have all of that. If you’re one of us, you should know that it is within your reach to make one and you really don’t have to be an experienced builder or have a lot of money.

On my personal Treehouse quest I have come across this spot on  DIY Treehouse Guide (click here) that covers pretty much ALL you should to know to build a sturdy treehouse – tested by me. But before you look into it let me guide you through the basics of the process as thoroughly as I can.

Wether you want to build a treehouse for your kids or for yourself you will need a bit of imagination and some basic knowledge to start with. There are few important things you need to know before you begin.

Quite a few people already tried to make their own affordable and safe treehouse step by step (be it a simple kids treehouse or more elaborate structure with often complex design that serves as a studio, office or a summer house). This website is here to provide you with a lot of info and some tips gathered amongst all treehouse enthusiasts and tried out by me – and I really am a great treehouse passionate. So here we go!

 

Choosing a tree

First you need to know what tree is best to choose so that it can keep the treehouse up safe for years and stay healthy itself. Here is a very general list of trees that are good and not so good to build your tree house on:

Good: Oak, Fir, Maple, Beech, Willow, Ash, Apple, Pear, Cedar, Hemlock, Chestnut, Redwoods, Sequoias…

Not the Best: Aspen, Birch, Cottonwood, Maple (silver), Poplar, Spruce, Black Walnut, Virginia Pine, Birch…

Some Tips:

-check if the tree itself and any nearby ones are healthy and not dying.

-is the tree strong(mature) enough to support the structure?

-the tree should dictate the design of the treehouse

- make sure you know local laws (mainly if you’re planning electricity or plumbing or if your treehouse overlooks another property and is quite high or big)

- decide how many trees you want to build your treehouse on (of course it will depend on how many trees you’ve got available and how many of them is strong enough)

- the branches that are bearing most of weight should be at least 17.5 cm diameter

 

Getting the right tools and materials

Treehouses are mainly built of wood which is perfectly suitable for it as it is light, widely available and always looks good. You can choose between many types of wood. Oak beams and boards are great but some other hardwood will do aswell.

Lumber used for the exterior should always be good quality. There is plenty materials to pick from like easy to work with treated plywood (should be 1/2 inch for exterior). But you could also try using salvaged wood or the kind of materials you have available locally. Only the roof isn’t very good to make out of wood.

Common alternative for it is corrugated iron, but you can be as creative as you want as long as it remains weather resistant. You can use old dooors and hardware, plexiglass or screening. Glass might be quite heavy unless its just one or two small windows on a solid and securely built platform.

Of course it is very important to keep your treehouse materials (and furnishing) as light as possible in oreder to not overload the tree (or trees). There will be plenty of assorted nails and screws needed aswell.  Some tools will be needed for sure and some additional ones can help to make the whole building process easier, quicker and smoother.

Here is what you should have to sucessfully build a simple treehouse:

pencil, chalk (to mark the tree), ladder, saws (handsaw, hacksaw, pole saw, circular saw or small table saw, chain saw), hammer, set of screwdrivers, cordless drill/screwdriver, pocketknife, measure tape, level, pliers, wrenches, vise grips, face mask, googles, ropes and harness. Some more expensive tools are better to be hired if you are not planning on using them after you’ve built a treehouse.

 

Building the treehouse

So, how to build a treehouse? Once you found your tree you need to make some plans of a treehouse. They don’t have to be very detailed yet. Good sketch might work just as well. Think how you can use a tree best. Are you going to build your platform just around one tree or use some nearby ones as an extra support? Maybe between two trees? You might also consider building it completely on poles with the tree growing through the middle or a few trees scattered around your treetop hut.

To get The DIY Treehouse Guide >>>click here<<< 

What you must make sure is to make the platform solid and secure and preferably simple and symetrical as it is much easier to work with especially at some height. The shape of a platform doesn’t dictate the shape of the treehouse as you can build its walls within the platform giving it any desired shape (be it sqare, rectangular or even round).

Most ideas and solutions should come naturally along the making process as each tree is different and there aren’t exactly same two treehouses in the world. There is plenty of variations and some guidelines you can adapt while listenig to what your tree is saying.

The platform

If you already know how to build a treehouse you can move one step further. First will be the platform. To build the frame it’s best to use knot-free lumber that is pressure treated (min.2×6 inch for a small treehouse) and than you can either use some plywood or floor boards to cover it. It is easier to put the bits togheter on the working surface on the ground than trying to do it up the tree. Use some 4 inch deck screws to do that and the 2 inch ones to attach plywood or boards to the frame. Make sure the floor is level before taking the next step.

There is plenty of ways to attach a platform to the tree. Some are very simple some more complicated. It all depends on the tree, the design and our intentions. We can simply screw the beams and the tree together or use some bracing around the tree and add some supporting posts if needed (that method is especially good when there aren’t many large branches to support the structure).

But you can also try not to impact the tree too much by either building a treehouse without a tree incorporated but instead fully supported by the posts, or you can hang it on suspension ropes and cables on big and strong branches (protecting it with a good layer of rubber or other cushioning material) but that is only if you have the right and sturdy tree for it.

You have to remember that it is not recomended to cut the bark or bigger parts of the tree away. If you cut the bark all the way around the tree it will die! Only cut the tree when and where you absolutely have to. You should also bear in mind that trees are living organisms that grow and move in the wind, so allow room for fixings and make joints as flexible as possible.

 

Walls and roof

This bit should be fairly easy to complete once you’ve got the platform ready. What you will need to build the walls is a framework to support the doors, windows and cladding and to carry the roof. For that it’s best to use treated timber or anything weather resistant. You can also insulate the house if you would like it to be all year round residency.

The roof can be made with many materials: shingles, plywood, closely fitted boards, copper sheet, corrugated iron or plastic. You can even go for a thatched roof. Remember to seal any gaps between the tree and the roof very tightly. A simple way to do it is to use an old track tyre’s inner tube and secure it with a bungee string. It’s good to angle the roof a bit as it helps the rain water, leaves or snow to slide down easier and not overload the treehouse unnecessarily.

 

Access

It depends on the design of a treehouse and the age and fitness of the people using it what kind of access will be chosen. There is plenty of options like stairs, ladders, rope ladders, ladder steps, bridges and ramps. The treehouse can be accessed for example form a balcony (that you have climb to first) or through the trap door in the floor.

 

Electricity and Plumbing

At this stage you should decide if you want to keep your treehouse lighten only with candles or lanterns and keep it as a place you connect with nature completely… or if you want to have some civilisation inventions such as electricity and plumbing. You can simply connect the treehouse to your house (if it is located nearby).

But you can even generate enegry in a completly independent, cheap and eco friendly way. This can be done by installing some solar panels or wind turbine which should work great with treehouses as they usually are high enough to catch a lot of sunshine and a good wind power. You don’t even have to spend money on buying them as you can make them completely from a scratch yourself if you have good guidelines. You can find some good ones here:

Earth4Energy - DIY Guide to make your own solar panels and wind turbine for your treehouse

 

Decorating

The rest depends on your (or your kids) personal taste. You can be as creative or as simple as you want with decorating and touching up since you already have a safe and very own tree residence. Enjoy!

There is much more to know about how to build a treehouse but I hope this article has covered all the neccesary basics for you to feel empowered and informed well enough to get it started.

 

To get The DIY Treehouse Guide >>>click here<<< 

 

Here are some Treehouse Books you might want to look at before you start your own treehouse adventure. Most of them include some beautiful treehouse images and some instructables on how to build treehouses for kids and adults. Have a look at them as these books are seriously worth to explore!

And here you can see how I built my treehouse.

Happy treehouse adventures!