Building a Tree House

What parent hasn't had their children asking if they could have a tree house at some point or another? While building a tree house may seem like an extremely difficult project, this is a project that most do it yourself enthusiasts can do in a single weekend if they really want to. Granted, depending on the size of the project it may take a bit longer, but most can be done in a single weekend, as long as these guidelines are followed.

• Check the code. Believe it or not, according to some municipalities, a tree house can be considered an addition to your home, or an improvement to your property. This means that in order to build a tree house you may need to obtain a permit. Checking to see what your code says typically won't cost you any money, and can actually help save you money in the long run.
• Get your plans. In many ways building a tree house is much like building any other building or house. This means that in order to build a tree house that you can be proud of, you should have a plan. You can find plenty of plants online or at your local home improvement store. Additionally you can always create your own, just make sure that you have them looked at by a professional to ensure that they are structurally sound.
• Get your materials. Once you have your plans ready to go, you can begin gathering your materials. If you haven't already done so, while you are gathering the materials that you will need look for the tree that you be using for your tree house. That being said, if you don't have a large enough tree, you can always build a platform tree house. Use the measurements on your plans to help you determine the amount of materials that you will need.
• Get some help. After you have your materials, and chosen the location, get some additional help. While you can always do the work yourself, the entire project will be much easier if you are able to have someone help you out with the heavy lifting. In fact, if you have some help you can pretty much guarantee that the project will be a whole lot easier.
• Set aside some time. While you can always build your tree house in stages, and on different days, it may be better if you are able to get everything done in one go. At the very least if you do it this way you can pretty much guarantee that your kids won't keep annoying you about whether you are done yet or not.
• Begin building. With the materials in hand, help ready to go, and the day chosen, it is time to go ahead and get started on building the tree house. As you do this, take your time and be careful as you measure and cut each piece. Only cut the wood after you have verified the measurements at least twice to help ensure that you minimize any accidents.
• Clean up. Do not wait until you are finished building your tree house before you start to clean up. Rather, as you go along, throw away anything that you will not be using anymore, and try to keep everything as organized as possible. This way when you do begin your final clean up you don't have as much work to do.

Make sure that you really test the effectiveness of your work before you allow your children to climb up into their new tree house. The easiest way to do this is for you to go ahead and climb up into it and make sure it holds. After all if it will hold you without any problem, then your children will be safe in it as well. Additionally, you may want to make sure that your children know how to safely enter and exit the tree house.