Building a Tree House

11 Jan 2025

Tree House Project

I built a tree house in the backyard for my kids in the summer of 2021. I usuaully build in the digital world so this was a very satisfying project.

Everything I needed to know was in the book Treehouses & Playhouses You Can Build by David Stiles and Jeanie Stiles. I found alot of design ideas online but mainly consulting the book for construction.

Picking the tree - ours was a large Norwegian Oak Tree
Getting the beans in place
Building Supports and Legs
Builing the floor
Determine the way up - ours is a stair ladder and cargo net scramble
Framing the walls on the grounfd and hoisting them up
Weaving the rope wall
Attaching the slide to the back - it’s very steep so we loaded the landing spot with a lot of mulch
Adding Rope Swing

The treehouse is always going to be a work in progress and that is ok. We are always thinking of ways to change the treehouse.
I should have used pressure-treated lumber for the parts of the stud framing where water was likely to collect and remain. I suspect the first long-term repair will be rebuilding the walls.
Building and tweaking the design as I went was the right decision for me. It was good to just get started without having everything figured out. This approach gave me momentum and allowed the idea to evolve as needed. Break the project into smaller steps and tasks—no need for complete blueprints before starting.
Get your family involved in the planning and building.
The treehouse has already survived a couple of Nor’easter storms. During one massive storm, we lost a huge branch off the tree. That branch ended up becoming a slanted balance beam and a launching point for a rope swing.

Hempex Rope from https://www.rwrope.com - This rope is srong and durable with a natural look. I leave it out all year.
Cargo net - strong cargo net to make a little scramble climb
Slide - Look for a used one! They’re easy to find