Dan Wright - Backyard Treehouses: Building Plans, Tips, and Advice

Cantilever: A structural member which extends beyond the point of support. In treehouse building, it usually refers to a beam that projects past the girder or TAB it rests on or a joist that projects past the beam.

Decurrent tree architecture: A tree that splits into multiple leading trunks and branches are relatively large.

Deflection: A measure of how much bounciness a floor system has when loaded. Wood is elastic and springs back, but too much movement can create problems in structures.

Excurrent tree architecture: A tree with a dominant central leader and relatively smaller horizontal branches originating radially from the trunk.

Girdling root: A root that circles around a tree near its base and constricts the main structural roots that radiate out from the trunk. Girdling roots can come from the same tree or nearby trees.

Header: A framing member installed over a wide opening in the common studs such as a window or door opening. The header distributes overhead loads sideways to the jack studs and king studs.

Jack stud: A shorter stud which carries load from a header down to the floor.

King stud: A full stud (same length as common studs) which adjoins the jack stud and sidecaps a header.

Root crown clearing: Removing materials such as soil and rocks away from the base of the tree to inspect for girdling roots or other problems.

Rough opening: The size of the opening in a wall frame to allow for fitting of a window or door unit. The rough opening is usually about inch larger than the actual size of a window.

Shackle: A U-shaped metal part with a screw-pin.

Sill plate: A horizontal framing member forming the bottom of a window rough opening.

Stair stringer: The long boards which hold the stair treads and risers. AKA a stair joist. The stair stringer often has triangles cut out to rest treads upon level surfaces.

Top and bottom plates: Horizontal framing boards that create an end cap for the wall studs. The bottom plate runs along the floor and the top plate runs along the top of the wall. The top plate is often doubled after the wall frames are installed.

Turnbuckle: A long metal chamber that adjusts tension on a wire system.

Dan Wright is a master carpenter and an ISA-certified arborist. His original company, Tree Top Builders, Inc., has built more than five hundred treehouses (treetopbuilders.net). He also started a retail division, Treehouse Supplies, Inc., which is the leading supplier of treehouse plans, treehouse attachment hardware, and treehouse accessories in the world (treehousesupplies.com). The most recent venture of the company has been the creation and development of Treehouse World, a world-class treehouse destination with zip lines, unique treehouses, and other outdoor adventures (treehouseworld.com).

BACKYARD
TREEHOUSES

An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
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Copyright 2018 Dan Wright
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The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. The author, builders, and The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc., disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information.

I love sharing my passion for building in trees with other like-minded people. This craft of treehouse building is simultaneously art and science, arboriculture and carpentry, passion and work, engineering and philosophy. Paradoxical? Yes, but the pursuit of excellence is never one-dimensional.

I practice what I preach, too. Business may be both competition and collaboration, but I choose not to keep trade secrets. Collaboration leads us to better building, and so as much as I have benefitted professionally from treehouse builders before me, I am happy to share my unique contributions to the field.

Youll find that this book was not designed just to sell you our design or construction services. Yes, were still in the business of supplying, designing, and building treehouses, but this book is 100 percent informational and was written with the goal of giving you what you need to do it yourself. I tell you how I approach the craft of treehouse building, and it is up to you to take what you want, leave what you dont, and determine for yourself what you are capable of building.

In the following pages lets dream together about what your treehouse adventure will look like. Well follow our hearts for creativity, and use our heads to keep our trees happy and take us safely aloft.

Arboreal adventure awaits!

CHAPTER 1

M ost of this book is about how to build the best possible treehouses. To start us off, however, we should spend some time considering why we build treehouses at all. The dreams in life that we believe in the most and work the hardest to realize usually have a strong reason behind them. And that reason drives us to complete the projects we start and to love them long afterward.