Custom Tree Houses

Q:

Have you ever built had a custom tree house for one of your clients?

A:

Yes we have and this tree house wasn’t any ordinary tree house, this tree house was built like a little custom home.

The tree house was built for a very good client of ours that wanted somewhere special for their grandchildren to play.

We picked a location that was close to the deck/pool area that the adults could keep an eye on it, but with enough space that kids could be kids. The spot we selected was among a group of 4 tall cedar trees that were evenly spread from each other.

We started by picking a height off the ground for the tree house, once that was established we limbed the four trees up to the point where the branches wouldn’t be in the way for constructing the tree house.

We built the frame of the tree house out of 2x12 pressure treated material that we bolted through each tree. This provided the base of the tree house and it also tide all the trees to gather, this helps limit the sway in the trees when the wind blows off Georgian Bay and as a collective it makes then stronger as well.

Once the frame was installed we built the tree house on top using all cedar material inside and out so that it wouldn’t rot and it would blend with the cedar trees that surrounded it.

The tree house was given windows and doors, the shutters for the windows and the entrance door where all hand made out of cedar and the surrounding deck and railings were all made out of cedar. These shutters and doors were not bought at a store they were constructed to fit onsite by carpenters.
The roof was shingled with asphalt to keep the rain and snow from damaging the inside of the tree house and the cedar siding was painted a dark colour to help it blend into the natural surroundings.

There was a cedar ladder built from the ground up to the deck of the tree house with metal hand rails installed on the sides to help kids when they are climbing or descending from the deck. There was also a pulley system installed off the roof that hung out over the deck railing with a rope so that kids can haul up toys or anything they deem necessary.

The tree house was so well built that when a Tornado tore through the front yard  ripping giant willow trees out of the yard the tree house and the four cedar trees where still standing there the next morning. In fact the winds were so strong that they ripped the top of one of the cedar trees off about 5 feet above the tree house roof without the tree house losing a single shingle.

Check out the tree house at http://www.villagebuilders.ca/cedar-treehouse/

Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc.