My children would like me to make a treehouse for them. I am not a woodworker but I've been doing more DIY things lately so this pumps me up a bit. The question is - is this something worth trying as a DIY thing. I'd like *detailed* instructions and some library books I have flipped so far on this topic seem to make a lot of assumptions about the expertise of the builder. Are there books that explain how to build a treehouse from a beginners perspective - gory details and lots of diagrams etc.

Thanks !
Photobuddy

You might try here

http://www.google.com/search?s....0.rI4oYAfNTjM&pbx=1

Or even here

http://www.google.com/search?s....0.8wSIqK9iXsY&pbx=1

A tree house is nothing more then a deck with a shed built on top of it.
I have built many a tree house when I was a kid, there was not a job site for miles around with any left over wood when we showed up. lol
It can be a fun project to get the kids involved in so you all can learn something they can use in real life later on.
The princibles used in building it can be applyed when building a shed, closit, or even a whole house.

Be careful if you live in a neighborhood with an association. They generally frown on this type of thing. We built many a forts/treehouses as kids as it appears Joe did as well. Wood scrap piles at construction sites were a favorite source of supplies, no adult supervision required. We also never built them on our own property, we'd find an out of the way place to build it. Probably a lot tougher to do today.

the good stuff tends to disappear as well. when I was a kid, back when there were 17 letters in the alphabet and algebra was solve for "A", about a mile down the road during the transition from flax field to housing development, a bunch of kids stole plywood and 2x4 and made a huge network of caves. buddy and I rode down a few times to play around. the last time, we got stomped by the constructors.

dad bought a little playhouse when I was closing in on the teens, and I added a lean-to and then a second story to it. little shaky in the wind, but good enough to pull yourself up.

along the lakeshores there are some really bodacious tree houses, built like they were architected and inspected. they've been up 20+ years.

grin when I see one of 'em.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: swschrad,

Make it a group project..with the kids!

This brings back a lot of happy memories.

Like what everyone said, there is really no difference in principle when it comes to building a tree house. Build as you would a real house: make it sturdy and safe yet comfortable too. Involve the kids, ask them for design ideas and preferences, then use your structural and DIY knowledge to transform their imagination into reality and see those priceless smiles on their faces. Good luck!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: lesliemorris85,