When it comes time to put up that treehouse for your boys and girls so that they have a safe environment to play and enjoy their youth, you need to know how. This is the basic instruction on how to build a treehouse.

You will be learning the basic steps necessary to get that treehouse you've been thinking about off the ground and being played in and enjoyed in that tree. There are several steps that will be taken to get the project completed and the first thing we need to do is get all our building materials together and develop treehouse plans. Being organized will help as we plan and execute the treehouse design and begin the road to making a safe, functional, and appealing playhouse that your kids will enjoy for many years.

1 hammer
1 saw
1 measuring tape
Framing wood
Plywood
Bolts
1 ladder
Metal corner brackets

Your first step is to determine if the tree you have in mind could actually support a heavy wooden structure. The higher up you go, the less strength there will be in the branches, so look for thicker branches closer to the base of the trunk. Branch strength varies between species so appropriate trees would be oak, fir, hemlock, beech and maple. An eight inch diameter branch would be the minimum.

Before you get too far along in the planning stage, you'll have to make sure that local municipal bylaws will allow you to build in the first place. Check into building codes as well so that you can be assured of constructing a safe haven for your children to play. If you get the all clear, then plan a design to fit the size of the tree you've selected. Take the time to sketch out a few ideas.

The first part of the tree house you'll be building will be the floor and the supports required to hold up the structure. Do not use nails or screws to mount beams onto the tree as these are not meant to support heavy weight. Use at least 3/4 inch diameter bolts. Trees can handle bolts, but don't place them less than 12 inches apart as the tree may react to them as foreign bodies and hurt them.

Once you have the floor completed and have tested it to make sure it will support sufficient weight, you are ready to start building the framework of the house itself. At this point you will be using techniques similar to those used for a ground based house. It will be much easier to prefabricate as many parts of the frame as you can on the ground so that you have ready access to power tools.

Depending on how fancy you want your new abode to be, consider indoor-outdoor carpet, a coat of paint and some kind of lighting powered by either solar panels, battery or hand crank generator. Other accessories might include a rope ladder, bedding, and a zip line for moving supplies back and forth from the ground.