How to Build a Tree House

Every child has dreamed of having a tree house at some point. Even grown-ups can be attracted to the idea of having a private clubhouse to call their own. Learning how to build a tree house is easy enough for anyone to make small work of a big dream.

The hardest part of figuring out how to build a tree house is locating a compatible tree on your property. The best trees for building a tree house have wide trunks and lower, symmetrical branches. If the tree doesn’t branch off low enough, you run safety risks with building a tree house too high off the ground. For children, 8 feet is an ideal distance from the ground. Your tree will need strong limbs to support it. Smaller limbs impeding the process can be trimmed off but do so carefully.

To build a tree house successfully, you will have to custom build a floor that will fit snuggly around branches and the trunk and still provide enough space. You can help secure the floor with braces that attach underneath and to the tree. It is best to build with the front of the tree house between two sturdy branches a good distance apart. When you build a tree house, you also have to consider the best entrance and exit possibilities. Can a trap door in the floor be built at the top of a ladder that you secure to the tree or maybe you can build a staircase to a door? Nearly every aspect of building a tree house will be a custom project.

Books and plans on how to build a tree house are available online and in libraries, but you will need to customize the information to the space and trees you have. Materials to build a tree house consist mostly of plywood and pressure treated lumber, galvanized nails and roofing shingles. You might even choose to enhance your tree house with T-1-11 siding or even vinyl siding and Plexiglas windows. If you can’t figure out how to build a tree house in your existing trees, you can have just as much fun building a play house on the ground.