sub a 6x6 for an 8x8? treeless tree house

probaly all i'll get done this weekend



a couple more joists to put in each, then i'm gonna switch to the ladders for each.

i remember rvblevins saying his pivoted on the center pole and i thought planting the ladder up to it might help. gonna go with a couple of treated 4x4's to make the ladders out of. it'll end up making it more like an offset tripod. i'm thinking planting the ladder will also eliminate two of the 45deg braces on each structure so i won't have as many screws/bolts meeting in one spot.

so far so good.

the 45deg braces mostly in



this was one of the things i was kind of apprehensive about 'cause i don't have a tablesaw or much of anything fancy to get the angles. but i had an extra 4x4 from my deck project so i gave it a try with my sawzall and speed angle, and they came out ok. i went ahead and made three more.



there are only three screws holding each in. one screw in the trunk and two at the platform. i've been looking through that "strong tie" catalog and can't find much of anything to help me where it attatches to the "trunk" beyond some mending plates. i'm meaning to see whats around work or at the hardware store to see if i can make something like a little stronger version of a mending plate.

at the platform end there are just two screws, but i think that will work. i cut a flat section out that the posts that will make up the rails will sit on. they'll be attatched with 3-4 screws so the angled piece would have to move it to be able to move it's self.

pieces to strenthen the 45deg connection point



truthfully, they're not much different from the things i saw at the hardwarre store, but i did find stronger material. some 1/8" thick metal they had at work. lucked out there. 1st shift maintenance cut this, then they went with thicker metal for something they were making and threw this in the scrap box. i cut the two pieces they cut in half to get the four i needed. i hung on one of the braced corners after i put them on (i'm about 210-lbs with wallet and various junk in my pockets) and it felt solid.

the 4x4's for the ladders planted. one pair yesterday, the others this morning



i mean to try and make myself stop messing with it for at least today to let the concrete set as well as possible. the 2x4 spanning the two structures is just me checking the level. still pretty happy with the level all around.

still need to add a couple joists to each, and hoping to start working on the uprights for the railing later this weekend. i believe i'm going to add a top afterall. i think a canopy made of emt (would i need to ground that to a copper post?) and camo netting that spans the whole structure. still thinking on that part.

a little further along. i stopped to work on the second purpose of the build, the theater part (the yellow pieces). i'll work on the railings (and straitening up the uprights) and swing joists next.

Well, looks like your comming along pretty good.
How is the sway so far with the extra weight on top?
This certainly will hide you from the neighbors.

inspectorD said:

Well, looks like your comming along pretty good.
How is the sway so far with the extra weight on top?
This certainly will hide you from the neighbors.

Click to expand...

if feels pretty solid i think, but there's a livelyness to it. if that makes sence. i've been up on them a few times working out things and don't fell overly nervous about it. just at the beginning of putting up the railing and there's no decking down yet (the actual part of the nervousness). i think both of those things should stiffen it up more.

plus one will have another way up to it that should help too. there's a pond project kind of in front of the left one, so i'm going to put a swing or two closer to the right side. you wouldn't be able to get up to the right fort if someone is swinging so i'm thinking of putting like a rock wall type of thing on the back. the left one should hopefully get some kind of slide, so that should do some good too, i think. i don't really know how slides get planted or whatever.

i've kind of gone past the planned in my head part so the rest is kind of cloudy, but i think the basic structure is sound, so i'll just keep working on it.

swing/monkey bar joists in and deck railing started





made a couple mistakes. i looked at playsets before i started to get an idea of what i needed to do, but missed a few things anyway.

even though i'm building my own playset, i still need some acessories that need to fit what i built. the individual bars, that i could find, to make monkeybars don't come wide enough to fit what i've done. not a big problem. i can weld up some that should probaly be better (and cheaper) anyway, but it's something to remember if you make your own playset.

also i've made my deck height without considering what's available for slides. again, not unfixable. i plan to find one higher than my deck height (i think i'm going to go for about 7') and just make a step or two up to it on the platform it's connected to. i guess a higher slide would be funner anyway.

the deck railing for now, i only plan to put on the front and outer sides. the inner sides where the ladders are, i think i'm going to fill the space in with something solid like some weather proof plywood. i'm thinking that's where the two forts face each other and kids can hide behind them for watergun fights or whatever.

the back is where whatever slide i find and way up to the right fort if someone is swinging will be. haven't figured that out yet. what's left after i make openings for them will either get deck railing too or make solid.

i had a little running tally list going that i can't find now, but i think i'm about in the $500 range right now. i'm thinking i'll hit about $800 before i'm done, then still need playset acessories, the biggest being the slide, which so far casual pricing looks like will be in the $350-500 range.

as mentioned earlier in the thread, part of this (actually the main thing for me) will also support a screen for outdoor threater. i ordered some stuff for that so the budgets on hold for the playset part for a bit. hopefully i'll start building again next weekend.

Fireman's pole to get down?...and a ZIP line!!

:trophy:

i don't think i can do a zip line. there isn't enough room for it to lead anywhere but strait at you as the pic is taken and would get in the way of my screen plans unless i could take it down. be kinda neat as i think about it, but i'd need to think a whole lot on how to do it.

i like the firemans pole idea though. since only one will have a slide (wish i could mirror image two slides but it will be all i can do to afford one) it would be a quick/fun way to get off the other one.

I'm just the idea guy...you get to do all the work.

Sounds like it will be neat for the kids though, have fun!!

not really much more done, but i figured i'd do a crosslink to a backyard theater forum, in case someone is curious about the theater part of the project. i still need a projector so it's just the set up for using the fort to hold the screen for now

the screen project - Backyard Theater Forums