Thursday, March 20, 2008

M - Treehouse Update #4

I got a little more done tonight after work. However, I'm taking off work on Friday so I better make a LOT of progress! Dana hinted they might come home Friday night instead of Saturday so I need to get really busy.

I added some blocking between the otherwise laterally unsupported joists. I didn't want to use joist hangers but probably should have. I really don't like to toenail in boards but that's what I ended up doing.










I also added knee braces at all four corners.








One of the things I REALLY didn't want to do with this TREEhouse is actually attach it to the tree. You see, trees tend to grow. Thus, the shape of the treehouse would continue to change and warp over time.
Tonight I figured out a way to provide some structural rigidity by attaching to the tree but in such a way that I could remove the attachment as the tree grows.







The 2x4 is attached at all points from the outside so I can simply remove the screws and pull out the spacer. If I'd attached to the tree first then built around it, I'd never been able to remove it later. Not revolutionary but still gets the job done.

2 comments:

Dana said...

Brilliant! & I promise to drive very slowly all the way home to buy you some time. Love you!

Steve said...

Way to go Mike. I love that you have done this for your kids. You know all that time spent on making the deck and the treehouse and for some silly reason we can never get together to get some fishing done. Caught two full bellied bass yesterday. Turned em loose so we can continue the fishing. The biggest was about 3-4lbs 19"...I did get the inches but I am just guessing on the poundage. With a belly full of eggs it's likely up there.