How to Make a Treehouse Part 1

How to Make a Treehouse Part 1

I’ve always wanted to build a tree house, and thanks to Lowe’s, we’re finally able to make that happen! In part 1 of 2, we are building a sturdy platform for the treehouse that you can build too! This project was sponsored by Lowe’s, check out the links below for the products we used!

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There are many guides online to help you decide which tree is right for your treehouse. We used https://www.treetopbuilders.net/tree-selection/ to help confirm that the tree we were hoping to use was suitable for the job. The tree in question is a spruce tree with a 75 inch diameter, which should be plenty strong, even for a soft-wood tree. I had to remove some dangling limbs from the tree because it was struck by lightening many, many years ago. The tree house platform will occupy the space where those limbs used to be.

After a lot of research, I decided to use TABS, or Treehouse Attachment Bolts, to support one end of the treehouse platform and 2 wooden beams set into the ground to support the other; this way, the spruce tree isn’t supporting the entire weight of the platform. The Tabs are massive bolts that are driven into the sides of the tree using larger drill bits and a wrench the size of a baseball bat. I marked the final height of the platform and subtracted the height of all of the supporting structures to give me the TAB location. I ordered the TAB equipment from TreehouseSupplies.com including the rented drill bits.

After attaching the TABs to the tree, I rented a two-person auger and drilled some huge holes in the ground. In these holes, we placed 4×4 beams and set them with Sakcrete. These two beams will be the uprights that will hold up the other end of the platform. We laminated two 2x10s and fixed them in between the two vertical beams.

To make the support platform for the treehouse, I used joist hangers to mount 2 2x10x to the face of the laminated header connected to the upright beams. The other end of these large pieces of lumber will sit on the TABs connected to the tree. I then mounted some 45-degree joist hangers to the face of the header and cut down some more 2x10s to connect the header corners to the 2x10s sitting on the TABs. We now had a triangular support system that was supported by the tree and by the vertical beams set into the ground. To add some additional lateral support, we added some knee braces to the inside of the vertical beams.

Now that the treehouse has a sturdy foundation, it is time to add the walking deck. Depending on the span of your support joists, you may be able to just lay down some decking material and call it good. In our case, I am going to build a deck frame made out of 2x8s and set them on top of the support joists. These decking frame pieces have a 16 inch spacing and hang over the support frame. We used decking brackets to attach the deck frame to the support frame.

Once the frame for the deck was in place and capped at the ends, we began to lay down the actual decking. All of this lumber was pressure treated so that it can withstand the outdoors. The decking boards were secured to the deck frame with 3 inch decking screws and spaced about 1/8 inch apart to allow for wood movement over time. I trimmed off the overhanging decking boards and the treehouse platform was all done!

Part 1 of this two-part project was just about making a sturdy platform for the rest of the treehouse. This platform construction allows you to have a blank canvas on which to build your treehouse. It could be an elevated deck or a fully-enclosed tiny house, it’s all up to you. Big thanks to Lowe’s for sponsoring this project. Stay tuned for Part 2!

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Comments

NochSoEinKaddiFan says:

Are your posts also pressure treated? I would expect wood to rot when it is directly in concrete and rather opt for a metal shoe that gets set into concrete.

NochSoEinKaddiFan says:

This believe shirt is absolute gold!

christopher dubour says:

So Awesome! Great project!

Michael Jensen says:

Re: "healthiest option for the tree"
Sorry, not trying to be contrary or "that guy", but serious question, does that include rope? In boy scouts we visited an entire tree fortress (with bridges, multiple rooms, etc.) that had been built, where the only fasteners used at all was rope and knots. Always seemed really nature friendly, though I certainly don't have the skill for that.

Vlatman Vlogs says:

you’ve been watching too much treehouse masters😂😂

Will Crackbaby says:

It's not really a tree house though.

JoyTheGeek says:

Best dad.
I personally like the looks of the free standing ones, like no pillars
But this is still really cool Bob, great job!

Frank S. says:

It might increase longevity of the first two wooden posts if you did not put them into the concrete directly. You could use a metal braket which is set in the concrete and put your posts on top of that. The additional distance between ground and wood helps with moisture/rotting issues. I've seen patio installations which also have a height adjustment mechnism below this bracket which allows leveling of the entire platform afterwards. Quite practical.

Andrej Z says:

American backyards be like bigger than London parks!!

Origami Ninja says:

What about SNOW ❄️??

Kor Jay says:

franken tree

yeld says:

I envy that backyard.

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