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Posted on June 1, 2009 with 4 Comments
This blog is here to discuss tree house construction topics with the rest of the world so that we all can build better tree houses that are safer, last longer, and are minimally invasive to trees… We welcome input from everybody – whether you have built 100 tree houses or are about to build your first one.
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Hi there,
Me and my business partner want to build treetop houses in the Brazilian rainforest. They will be connected by zip lines and rope bridges. Could you connect us to professional installer who can do the whole project for us? The site will be big (about 20 modest type treetop houses) and safety is a major requirement.
Thanks
Rene from The Netherlands
Rene,
There are a lot of companies that can help you with big zip line tours, but many of them do not build platforms that are good for the trees in the long run.
This type of project would be among the largest that Tree Top Builders has ever been a part of. While we could do all of the work in a safe and tree-friendly way, we would probably bring in one of the zip line companies to partner with us to get some extra skilled labor to get it built faster. We would also like to hire many local laborers to help with trails, hauling gear, carpentry/building, and working in the trees with us if they have experience.
Many of the zip lines in Central and South America are not safe because the building and inspection standards are low. So I would encourage you, at a minimum, to hire a member of the ACCT or the PRCA and insist that the zip lines are built to the standards of one of the two organizations.
Please let me know who you decide to work with and post some pictures and/or video when it’s complete!
Good luck,
-Dan Wright
I have an unusual question for you. (Well, I believe it’s unsual, since all of my web searches have turned up nothing.) In the absence of a large tree in one’s yard, can a tree be “built?” We don’t prefer the look or age level of standard ourdoor playsets, and want something that actually has the appearance structurally of a large tree. Then a treehouse of sorts could be built in the upper section, with hopefully an appeal to our kids well into their teen years. What we’re unsure about is if such a structure can be built and still be structurally sound, since it would be larger at the top than at the base “trunk” and we obviously don’t have the supporting root structure down below. Any thoughts? Thank you!
Wanting to build a treehouse, but not having a tree, is actually a very common question we receive. Since you are not interested in a swingset or prebuilt play structure like CedarWorks, Rainbow, Swing Sets Direct, Sam’s Club, etc… you have a couple options for a more tree-looking structure.
1. Plant a tree! – if you buy a mature tree and give it a few years to spread roots beyond the root ball and overcome the transplant shock, then you can build in it. Be prepared to spend several thousand dollars at minimum for a large hardwood transplant, though.
2. Build a tree! – Out of steel, concrete, and sculpted foam to create bark texture. Lots of concrete and steel in the base can provide adequate stability. I should tell you to get an engineer to design it. You could excavate a little first and widen the base of the structure underground to provide stability for a top-heavy treehouse. The tricky part would be making the tree look natural higher than the treehouse – most hardwood trees with a 3′ diameter are over 70 feet tall. That kind of a fake tree, on a museum scale, would cost over $50,000, and that’s my very conservative guess. I had a steel fabricated tree made for one project and it cost around $12,000 for the tree, which had a few branches that extended about 15-20′, was 3-4′ thick, and had sycamore bark texture. I put a small treehouse in it and it did fine.
3. Buy a tree! – Visit Daniel’s Wood Land – they have a website that is easy to find. They buy redwood stumps, hollow them out with chainsaws, and build treehouses on top. I’ve seen two of these in person when building treehouses for our clients. The DWL treehouses are pretty small – tight for an adult to fit inside (smaller than they appear on the website), but they look great and have all the features kids love. I think the cost starts around 10,000-12,000, plus shipping, plus you have to pour a concrete pad and have a forklift on site to unload the treehouse when shipped from california. But it is a realistic looking option that I sometimes recommend to people.
4. Another very common option is to simply build around a small tree. Leave plenty of space for it to continue getting thicker, and don’t cut many branches, if possible. Use four posts at the corners of the treehouse for support. Here’s one guy who built his own treehouse without a tree. Now, it will technically be a treeless treehouse, but it will look like you tried your best given no large healthy trees to work with.
There is also another post here on this blog about building treeless treehouses.
Good luck, and let us know what you decide to do!
Best Wishes,
-Dan