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 2 – Videos) (2009-10-16)
Build one with your kids.
* The Perfect Treehouse (Part 1 – Photos)
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!