Advice Needed- Tree house

[Bushcraftsman]

Hello,

my friends and I have access to a nicely sized woodland and we want to make some sort of 3 person structure up in a tree, so basically a tree house, but we want to make it out of completely natural materials using very low tech tools. Can anyone tell us what type of design we should use? how shall we roof/floor it? support etc? or point us in the direction of a website with this sort of information.

Thankyou

 

[resnikov]

While it might not count for what you are doing, my inlaws got a tree house built in the garden for my kids and it fell foul of planning laws. It was 40cm to high.
After appeal it was allowed.

 

[ged]

my friends and I have access to a nicely sized woodland and we want to make some sort of 3 person structure up in a tree, so basically a tree house, but we want to make it out of completely natural materials using very low tech tools. Can anyone tell us what type of design we should use?

When I was a child most of my school holidays were spent making tree houses. We didn't get a plan or a design or anything like that, we just found odd bits of wood and took them up the nearest sturdy tree together with a hammer and some nails! I would dread to think of the damage that we did to the trees, except that they've all been replaced in the last couple of decades by housing estates.

how shall we roof/floor it? support etc? or point us in the direction of a website with this sort of information.

Maybe you could try doing something like this:

http://www.crookedbrains.net/2008/11/tents.html

I'd probably settle for a tarp over some sort of more or less flat platform. You might want to try weaving some reasonably stout branches into a platform. To start with, I'd think the most important thing would be to find the right shaped tree.

http://www.bing.com/search?q=tree+houses&go=&qs=AS&sk=&pq=tree+house&sp=1&sc=8-10&form=QBLH&filt=all

 

[merrygold85]

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://media.screened.com/uploads/0/4499/266825-treehouse_super.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.screened.com/badlands/16-180263/all-images/132-1074549/treehouse/131-266825/&usg=__aCNh_8fJyEE7SVCH7jp2-DQuaVk=&h=337&w=600&sz=61&hl=en&start=0&sig2=BhGON5xn8O-hWRPshAF-Gw&zoom=1&tbnid=ugpXkITUYR4JUM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=165&ei=rgQnTo7xLNG58gOpwrniCg&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dbadlands%2Btree%2Bhouse%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DQka%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GBfficial%26biw%3D1920%26bih%3D936%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=355&vpy=236&dur=4073&hovh=168&hovw=300&tx=161&ty=101&page=1&ndsp=65&ved=1t:429,r:13,s:0

As seen in the movie Badlands

 

[ged]

[hugegreatlongURLdeleted]

As seen in the movie Badlands

That's the longest URL I've ever seen on the forum and it actually works! Congratulations!

 

[Shewie]

Google Horace Burgess

 

[Mesquite]

Google Horace Burgess

:yikes:... that's an amazing construction

 

[spiritwalker]

personally id go nothing short of this
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgu...10&ndsp=14&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:132&tx=168&ty=105

 

[woodspirits]

you might get some ideas here, same as ged my i spent half my childhood in a tree, the other half in a makeshift tent!

steve

 

[santaman2000]

I don't have exact plans but I do have some construction advise. Remember that the tree will continue growing; that means if you don't want the growth to pull your construction apart, you cain't just nail it to the tree. You need to slot the boards and use bolts/screws. That way as the tree grows they hardware will "float" in the slots without pulling loose.

Don't worry about damaging the tree. My Grandmother used to drive nails into her Pecan trees; they would rust/decompose into the tree which would absorb the iron. Even today the logging saboteurs use that tactic to sabotage loggers(it makes it hazardous to chainsaw into or through the tree) It's quite illegal and I only mention it because it's important to understand that in and of itself nails, bolts, or fencing wire imbedded into trees does not harm them.