If my wife can get a cat, I can build a treehouse. And luckily she’s gone for a few days so the cat’s locked up in the washing machine and I just got home from Home Depot with the starting materials. Here’s what I have:
ten 5" X 5" X 10’ beams
twelve sheets of plywood 1" X 4’ X 6’
6 bricks of heavy gauge rubber to attach to the tree(minimal damage)
200 feet nylon rope.
all the bracket’s and fasteners and a 5 ton winch on the front of my truck…
And one Big ass White Oak tree, a good 4 feet in diameter and probably 60 feet tall. I’ll be about 25 feet up building this thing. My buddy is coming over at noon to help. Today we want to get the plateform and pully system rigged, Structured walls and roof top will be the next few days.
Here’s what I need. I want to eventually equip the tree house with a bunk, a loo, a desk with power and some sort of bridge to my deck. The tree is about 40 feet from my deck…
So how could I get running water up there?
Power?
and a small bathroom? Anyone familiar with the small bathrooms on sail boats and cruisers? Something similar to that for the bathroom.
I want the main frame up before my wife get’s home. Saturday.
**BTW I was kidding about the cat
Make sure your neighborhood doesn’t have a covenant against anything even remotely similar to a treehouse. A father and son spent a good couple weeks last year building one in Indy, only to have some fuddy-duddy with too much spare time on his hands complain to the neighborhood association and had it taken down.
The most important thing is the height of the treehouse. If it’s any higher than the highest-plumbed area of your house, you may not have enough water pressure to get water up there, in which case you’ll need to get a pump of some sort.
There was a big case in the DC area not so long ago for building a tree house without a license. It was huge and elaborate and they had to take it down after spending a fortune on it. Was it discussed here in the SDMB? I am not sure but I have a vague recollection.
I’d spring for one of those camping potty-chair thingys. It just seems so much easier. Otherwise, you’re going to need big-time permits and all that other crap. Villages can be such kill-joys.
Well you can not see my house from the road and you’d have to come to the back of the house just to see it when it’s done. I think you guys are right though, I’ll have to give a call to planning and zoning to see about a permit. But to tell you the truth Even if they say I can’t build it, it’s most likely going up anyway. I spent a lot of time last night on the drawing board designing this, and a lot of money this morning at Home Depot. It’s going up.
I was thinking about some sort of water receptical up in the tree to hold any water I’d need for various things. I kinda want this to be an office of sorts…But when my contractor buddy comes by and checks it out he may have other ideas, maybe I’ll not have any water. I’ll have to see. If the bridge thingy works out I’m thinking I can run electricity out on that. The bridge is going to have to be moveable. Because the tree does sway ever so gently. A lot of wind is blocked due to a large hill about 150 yards away…
Yep, I just got off the phone, the planning and zoning guy asked for my address. I didn’t give it, I have to think about that one. He said I may need a series of permits. He asked if about height and power and if I was adding square feet to my home? It’s a friggin tree house. I told him I’d show him the plans tomorrow but that I didn’t need him to come out. He didn’t really mind, but he did ask if I had started construction yet…Well not exactly yet! But I said no anyway. More to come.
Though this would be nice. this , is more along the lines of what I’m thinking. Except picture my house and a deck to the right, and a moveable bridge. Plus, the walls will be boarded and shingled…
Might wanna check with your homeowners insurance too. I have a feeling they might feel a little funny about an elevated dwelling, liability-wise. (IANAIA)
Phlosphr, I fear you are getting too caught up in the ideas of running water, plumbing and electricity that you might be forgetting the possibly single most important feature of any treehouse – the trap door. Of course, that’s one that swings up and not down. Aside from the obvious coolness factor, it will certainly be useful if a one-armed war veteran who has been running a couterfeit jeans operation from your carhole takes one of your family hostage in the treehouse and is covering the main entrance with a gun!*
*see the Simpsons episode where Marge becomes a cop
They make garden sinks that hook up to a hose (get one that says it’s safe to drink from). This would also be least likely to trigger the need for some kind of permit. For power, a similar idea might work, using a heavy duty extension cord.
For the loo, go with just a little privy hanging off the back, with open air below. Out of sight, out of mind! (and no messy lugging waste tanks up and down) Tell the permit officer it’s just a seat that happens to have a hole in it. Don’t forget the crescent moon hole in the door, and a corn cob on a string.
For a water test, go to Sears and buy their 100’ lifetime guarantee hose. Hook it to the nearest faucet, run the hose up into the tree and then turn on the faucet. If water comes out, you’re set. If not, return the hose and start engineering.
If it’s an office you might not be doing much powerwashing or industrial dish cleaning, so how about one of those water jug-holder-things that they have in offices?
Running water depends on the water pressure. Here it’d be no probelm, the pressure is plenty high enough to reach 3-4 stories… just run a garden hose up the tree & bury it under the grass (or run it up underneath your bridge). Then think about how to get rid of the water and whether you’d need to hook it to the sewer line or just let it sprinkle down onto the lawn (you won’t be taking baths right?). Power could be done the same way; run a hidden extention cord out there.
Both those are simple & ugly, but can be concealed. If you’re looking for prettier or more profesional results, another will have to chime in.
Goddamit! On preview I see that ZenBeam stole 2/3 of my ideas… I mean beat me to the punch. Oh well, I’m not gonna delete my post after I spent a whole 3 minutes writing it :).
Sonofabitch, now NoCoolUserName is getting in on my action too! I’m gonna post now before things get worse for me.
I would be very, very careful about power. Most extension cords aren’t intended for outdoor use, and even the ones that are aren’t generally meant to be kept outside exposed to the elements 24/7. They’re also only good for a limited current: I wouldn’t want to run a computer and monitor off of one, for instance. I would really recommend that if you want power, that you get it professionally wired. Or limit yourself to battery-operated appliances.
For a bridge, meanwhile, all you need is a bunch of rope. You run three strong ropes from the tree to the deck, with triangular cross section, then connect the bottom rope to the sides with more ropes. You walk on the bottom rope, holding on to the side ropes to balance. Easy to make, flexible, and it adds to the treehouse fun.
