* The Perfect Treehouse (Part 2 – Videos)

Build one with your kids.

In the summers of 2003 and 2004, the perfect treehouse took shape in a four-stem maple in the back yard of a house in Acton, MA.

See Also

* The Perfect Treehouse (Part 1 – Photos)

The treehouse was built by @ErikJHeels and his kids. This is a video tour of the treehouse.

Part 1 – Red House, Red Cat House, Red Treehouse

Part 2 – Apple Tree Ladder, Foundation

Part 3 – Opening The Entrance Hatch

Part 4 – Opening The Back Hatch, First Counterweighted Hatch

Part 5 – Second Counterweighted Hatch, N-Hatches, Double-D Hatches, Emergency Escape Hatch

Part 6 – Trunks, Branches, Holes, Roof, Loft

Part 7 – Sleeping Arrangements For Five, Second Floor Carpeted Loft

Part 8 – View From The Treehouse, My Brother Mark

Part 9 – Chicken-Head Hatch, Safe Way For Kids To Descend

Part 10 – Alternate Way For Adults To Descend

6 Replies to “* The Perfect Treehouse (Part 2 – Videos)”

  1. YouTube helpfully broke embedding for “older” videos, so until I fix that, here are links to the videos:

    Part 1 – Red House, Red Cat House, Red Treehouse
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW8jDklXX1s

    Part 2 – Apple Tree Ladder, Foundation
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOKInAjqoNU

    Part 3 – Opening The Entrance Hatch
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF5BaagjBKc

    Part 4 – Opening The Back Hatch, First Counterweighted Hatch
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHq22kk-VHk

    Part 5 – Second Counterweighted Hatch, N-Hatches, Double-D Hatches, Emergency Escape Hatch
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtbNJnQ5Sec

    Part 6 – Trunks, Branches, Holes, Roof, Loft
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3HXmvvcq-A

    Part 7 – Sleeping Arrangements For Five, Second Floor Carpeted Loft
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIo7dkfT_Pc

    Part 8 – View From The Treehouse, My Brother Mark
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_U4hRTU–E

    Part 9 – Chicken-Head Hatch, Safe Way For Kids To Descend
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6TlBjG9tDE

    Part 10 – Alternate Way For Adults To Descend
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AReXVO9X0y4

  2. It’s been a few years since my treehouse project, but here’s what I remember about construction.

    The summer before I started, I had an aborist install criss-cross anchor wires to the four stems (i.e. in an “X” configuration), about 10 feet above the top of the roofline. This makes the (inherently insecure) multi-stem tree more secure.

    The lowermost 2×8 pieces are attached to the tree with lag screws (big ones). The box that sits on that is attached to the 2×8 with brackets (I believe).

    Pics:
    http://erikjheels.com/3053.html

    Videos:
    https://www.giantpeople.com/1980.html

    Book:
    Tree Houses You Can Actually Build
    by Jeanie Trusty Stiles and David Stiles
    http://www.amazon.com/Tree-Houses-You-Actually-Build/dp/0395892732/

    The pics and videos give you a good overview of the project. The above book was essential for me. My foundation is based on a design from the book. The rest I had to improvise.

    How does one build a treehouse? One piece at a time.

    Good luck!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *