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Under the revised schedule requested by our clients, the goal was to get all the first- and second-story walls framed, sided and trimmed before the leaves began to fall. That way, we can bundle up the parts for the winter, spend the odd warm winter day with some random platform prep work, and be ready to raise and gasp come the spring bloom.
The good news is, we finished strong and ahead of all deadlines. We even beat the first snow, which can come to the Finger Lakes region of New York stunningly early.
The 8-by-10-foot second story was preassembled in the shop for raising next spring. The southern yellow pine floor shows off its distinctive hues in the fall sunlight.
Work during recent visits to the site and the shop has concentrated on the second story floor and walls. The first floor is complete, and is already drawing visitors to the site who are coming to see what’s going up. Fit and finish looks good, so we hoped to carry that on to this last stage of the year.
Judging from the finished products, we’re on a bit of a roll.
The first step was the second floor itself. Only the sleeping loft area will have an upper floor, and the 8-by-10-foot room will cover a slightly smaller space on the first floor. We decided to go with the more rustic feel of exposed joists on the underside of the floor. On top of that we’ll add a 1-inch tongue-and-groove pine floor, with only one side beveled. From the top, the floor looks like a solid mass of smooth yellow pine, perfect for shuffling along in your slippers after a nice dream-filled nap. From the underside, the floor, or rather the ceiling, has exposed Douoglas fir 4-by-4 joists and perpendicular grooves that offer a wonderfully mellow warmth. Leaving the rafters exposed also adds another 3 1/2 inches for the eyes to see upward, which helps make a small space feel more generous.
The Douglas fir joists and the southern yellow pine floor boards make a nice fit, both in structure and to the eye.
Of course, as my brother Rich would say, this thing is going to need a lot of thought to lift into the tree. Thank heaven for a good block-and-tackle rig.
The upper walls themselves are similar to the lower walls, only shorter. All except for the two gable ends, which break out of our box-of-rectangles pattern and rise to the distinctive triangular peaks that visitors from the pond and bridge sides of the treehouse will see first.
Here, the design and material choices made all along the process really paid off. From the start, Katie and Colleen said they wanted to go with the “house in a tree” style of treehouse, as opposed to more eccentric designs that range from small Epcot-esque spheres in the air to pirate ships sailing among the branches. We do them all, of course, and there’s joy in every one. But this time, the budding writers wanted their own house in the trees, so we drew it up, scouted around for colors and textures they liked, and hoped it would look like it did in our imagination.
And it did.
With the upper floor walls complete -- including these two gables ends -- work on the Ithaca treehouse moves into the shop for the winter. Come spring, it's game time as all our work heads up into the tree.
Once the gable ends came together, with the deep rake overhang above and the long tail on one side to cover the front porch, everyone knew the months of planning and choices were going to come together just right. The oil-finished beveled siding carries just enough natural cedar orange and yellow to play pefectly off the deep blue trim, and there’s just enough of that to define all the shapes and angles. Corner trim, of course, won’t go on until the walls are raised and assembled — we need access to those corners to tie it all together — but the interplay of shapes and colors is clearly right on the money.
While the walls wait by the platform they’ll soon fill, the winter months will be filled with shop work for the Ithaca project. There are three doors (one of which is a double-door) and 11 windows of varying sizes to make. Porch posts, rails and infill also will be prepped, and the design for the small platform in the second tree — from which the bridge to the treehouse platform will begin — will be finalized. Once the ice thaws, the second platform and the rails will be put in place. Shortly after the first bloom on our willows, the walls will be raised and the treehouse assembled. Install those windows and doors, cap it off with a roof and string that cable bridge, and this project will be ready for occupancy and imagination.
Can’t wait until spring.
We’re making progress at the Ithaca treehouse site, ahead of our revised schedule for building and finishing the first- and second-story walls before the leaves change.
With a jump ahead of the building schedule, we decided to assemble the first-floor walls on the ground to test fit and finish. Soon, they'll be hoisted and assembled again atop the platform in the black willow at rear.
A tip of the cap here has to go to my brother, Rich, a lawyer and high school social studies teacher who decided to spend the summer in my area, volunteering as a part of my crew. The old boy (10 years my senior, the rules of fraternal misbehavior require that I note) has grown pretty adept at sinking spiral shank nails. He also provides more than a few moments of comic relief as I watch him try to think of a way to avoid getting on the other end of a heavy wall and hoisting it. All in all, though, he’s not a bad crew member, for a lawyer, and it was good to have a hand on a few sites this summer.
In Ithaca, getting ahead of schedule allowed us a luxury — we decided to piece together the first floor on the ground as a test of the work we’ve been doing. That also gave the future occupants, Colleen and Katie, a chance to get a sense for the space and to mull over interior finish details before the saws start spinning on those in the spring. Strapping those walls together also allows for some field measurements of the structure, which can inform any alterations in the second-floor plan that might be necessary.
Doing a test raising also is a great cause for smiles. Up until now, it’s all been drawings on paper, pixels on a screen or colorful parts stored in the garage. With this, the treehouse for the first time takes shape and shows off its three dimensions. It’s one thing to decide where the door will go, it’s another to walk through it. Feeling what was once just thought is always one of my favorite things about any project.
A view from the platform shows the clean lines and crisp corners of the structure's first floor.
The good news: In spite of some over analysis by Rich, all the pieces went together like they were meant to — and they were, so it all makes sense. Corners were even, square and tight. Trim lined up perfectly. Heights were what we had imagined and sightlines look great. The universal consensus was we’re headed in the right direction, and this is going to be one great place to dream among the branches.
We’ll leave the first floor assembled for a few weeks. My clamps can take a little rain, and the time will allow its future inhabitants a chance to get a feel for the space, and let me know what they might want once we move to the interior.
For me and Peacemaker Treehouses volunteer extraordinaire Rich, it’s on to the second floor, building the floor for the sleeping loft itself and the walls that will close it in — and cap this wonderful treehoouse.
With most of the family off site for some much needed summer escape, it was a good time to string up the yellow “contruction site: caution” tape and roll a few saws out near my favorite willow tree. In spite of the Finger Lakes Region’s reputation for finicky and damp early summers, June this year was wonderful.
With the modified construction schedule now in place, the primary focus of this season’s work will be pre-assembling all the walls that make up the Ithaca treehouse.
That, of course, can present a few challenges.
With summer sunshine keeping spirits high and minds sharp, the first-floor walls start taking on their half-inch plywood skin.
Framing, siding and trimming walls at any site will burn a few calories and strain a speed square or two — but doing all that on walls as separate pieces with enough precision that you can assemble the parts while you and they hang from ropes in a tree, now that’s throwing the gauntlet down for a builder. Pulling this stage off, and with some style, is one of the things that makes treehouse construction such a blast.
Precise design work is the foundation of the effort, and then lots of field checking and needed modifications as a very careful building process begins. With the two processes integrated — which is, after all, the heart of the design/build approach — it’s amazing how well the flexibility inherent in this system lets it all work.
After careful planning and framing, a system emerges -- combine the plywood-skinned walls (upper left) with the prepainted trim (top center) and precoated bevel siding (upper right), and finished walls start to make the leap from notion to reality.
The frames for all of the first-floor walls, 10 in all, were built last fall in the shop and carted to the site for storage. This year, all those walls will need a plywood skin, a must to build the needed shear strength into the structure, then each gets a water barrier attached before prepainted siding and trim are applied. The trick here is always windows, doors and corners; making sure all the measurement and the execution of them works so it all lines up down the road when final assembly rolls around.
Once the first-floor walls are ready for prime time, the second-story floor will be built (which doubles as the first-floor ceiling) and the four main second-story walls will be constructed, skinned up and finished. Since the second floor only covers a portion of the treehouse, there’s less work and material in that step of the project. Still, since the main gable ends are part of the second floor, it won’t be until they’re staring back at us that it will feel like we’ve actually built a house.
So off we go.
With the arrival of spring, came the return to work on the Ithaca treehouse site. After a winter spent traveling the woods and mountains of New York’s north country, it was good to see buds on the willow and my friends in the rolling hills of the Finger Lakes region.
With the return of warm air and sunshine to Central New York, the willow tree and work on the Ithaca treehouse gets going once more.
At the family’s request, we altered the original construction timetable to push completion back to spring 2010. Like a lot of folks, the family at the Ithaca site needed to shift its attention to other demands for a while, and we were happy to work with them and rework the schedule for one of my favorite projects.
Still, in between time on a few other projects this year for confidential clients, I plan to get back to Ithaca and push this effort forward. With some careful planning, we should have all the walls done and ready to raise by season’s end. This way, once the winter breaks in March 2010, we won’t be far away from ol’ block-and-tackle time.
Of course, the only danger is the extra time will give me some room to come up with a few new ideas for this project. I’ve been thinking at least one skylight, and maybe solar power …
With the weather getting a little frightful as autumn settles in over central New York, work has moved into the shop. Right now, it’s all about walls.
No matter the weather, wall construction moves forward in the shop. Eleven walls for the Ithaca treehouse will be assembled on the ground, then raised in a single day to offer a first glimpse of the treehouse to come.
Perhaps after only the design and construction of a custom treehouse platform, it is the walls that separate the treehouse from other structures for the builder. Although advances in Garnier Limbs have eased some of the trade’s early obsession with weight, treehouse builders are still always mindful of the mass they’re asking the host to handle. Where sound design allows, the structure is lightened. Most treehouses are far smaller than conventional ground structures, and only the rare treehouse sports plumbing and HVAC systems, a kitchen range or a bathtub. That means materials and construction can alter to save weight, while keeping more than adequate strength for the purposes at hand.
While the past decade or so of professional treehouse construction experience has shown weight is not nearly the bogeyman once feared, the same time has made clear that shear and uplift forces – those wind-induced lateral shoves and surprising pickups – are definitely something to be respected. On the ground, one and two story houses generally benefit from their position. Stronger winds tend to be above the ground, where small changes in surface height and dense foliage can’t slow things down. Just think about how many times you hear the wind in the treetops, but feel only a light breeze on your face. Also, with a house sealed to a continuous foundation, there’s no place for the wind to sneak under and try to lift a structure’s metaphoric dress.
With painted trim drying under an autumn sun, future treehouse keepers Colleen and Katie enjoy lunch at pondside.
Put your house 10, 15 or more feet in the air, with it’s slip exposed, and those rules change.
Well designed and built treehouses take this into consideration. Builders, engineers and arborists work together to make sure the foundation and the tree can handle any brief shifts that can come when the wind pushes things around. Although it was typically skipped when the modern treehouse construction movement began in the 1990s, most professional builders now incorporate a plywood sub-layer beneath whatever exterior surface the treehouse will have. Plywood adds a little weight, but it brings with it a wonderful multi-directional strength that reinforces walls and helps them handle even severe shear. Builder and engineer also work to make top rails, blocking, corner posts, and special strapping combine so all those shear and uplift forces are collected neatly and sent back down to that carefully constructed foundation. Good design even takes the roofline into consideration, offering a low edge and gentle rise to the side that sees the biggest blasts of weather. Like the tree itself, treehouses are designed to be light enough to shed stress, but strong enough to resist any force that wants to toss it out of the way
Few things tickle the heart of a builder more than the sight and scent of newly delivered materials. Here, southern yellow pine trim and beveled siding, as well as Douglas fir studs, stand ready to become part of the walls and part of the dream.
Standard 2×4 studs are used in most treehouse walls – bigger than the 2×2s or 2×3s you’ll see in most treehouses built a decade ago – but special attention is paid to the corners and how blocking helps tie them together to work as a unit. In most places, heavy screws are used to attach members rather than standard nails, and those joints are often reinforced with special connecters designed for hurricane and earthquake zones. It’s a little more expensive, but it helps make sure no connections come undone after years of gently rocking in the treetops. That plywood skin will lock it all together, and help the walls remain stiff even though treehouses typically have more windows per foot than most ground houses; after all, you didn’t build in a tree just to be shut out from the view.
All of that trade experience is reflected in the walls. It’s a set of details few would notice, and no one will see once treehouse is finished, but everyone will appreciate for years to come.
And it’s all coming together now in Ithaca.
Once the walls are assembled, and as much siding and trim as possible is attached, the pieces will be raised to the platform and tied together. To most observers, it will look like we built a treehouse in a day. But you and I know, there’s a lot of thought and hard work that go into making things look this easy.
One of the joys of the design/build philosophy and a strong relationship with a client is the living nature of the work; meaning the creative process is unshackled, communication is rich and the project is free to evolve as the process unfolds.
So it went this month with my young friends Katie and Colleen and their Ithaca treehouse.
Some time spent admiring a new house being built near their Ithaca home triggered new dreams for Katie and Colleen, and then meant some time back at the design table.
Beginning early last summer, Katie, Colleen and I met, talked and toured several times to explore what they might want in a treehouse. We drew pictures, took pictures and piled up pages of notes on everything from mood to materials. I left an idea wall up in their house for a while, with drawings of several variations from several views as well as a clipboard for more sketches and ideas. Watching people begin to believe they can make what they can imagine is a wonderful part of the process.
By summer’s end we had a good idea of where we were going, and a set of drawings to go with that vision. We sent those plans out to the Charley Greenwood, our consulting engineer. In a few weeks he sent back his recommendations and prescriptions for a sound treehouse, and some ideas that added significant strength and versatility to the plan.
As you read in a previous entry to this blog (see Aug. 20, 2008 – Fresh look), Charley’s changes let us make to slight changes to the overall platform – expanding it about a foot on two sides and wrapping around two trunks that became part of the new support system. Not a lot of square footage, but a nice plus for feel and design freedom. That was a freedom that Katie and Colleen explored, and the new summer brought notions of not just a playhouse, but a house of their own in the trees. We talked for a while in July and early August as work was getting set to resume on their treehouse, then I produced some outlines of the revised structure that their dreams were brewing. I told them to think about materials and finish details – they both love to walk and drive around their hometown and take pictures of things they like – and we’d talk again once the platform was complete.
And so we did.
This newly constructed home on Ithaca's West Hill inspired new treehouse visions, and we took some time this month to add new elements to our design.
With a pair of big grins, the girls began the conversation with a question that makes every builder smile.
“What, exactly, is possible?” Katie asked.
I told them anything within the bounds of physics was worth a shot, and their smiles got broader.
It turned out their mom got a new car in the spring, one with a much higher seat position for the girls. On the family’s near daily drives into the City of Ithaca, they noticed a new house being built below the road and tucked into the hillside over Cayuga Lake. It wasn’t very large or very ornate, but the color and style caught the girl’s fancy and they’d been waiting to ask if I would take a look. The answer, of course, was “of course.”
We drove over on a rainy afternoon and looked at the new house from the streets above and below. The structure, a modest two-story mix of cape and cottage architecture, featured cedar siding, thick blue trim, dark brown architectural shingles and an entry porch the girls just loved. They adored the look from the gable ends, where the rake was wide and the shadows deep.
“Can it look like that,” Katie said, as Colleen, the older sister, nodded encouragement.
I told them it could look like anything they want, provided they could help me distil what they want out of what they see. We went back to their house, printed out some pictures, grabbed some pencils and started the distillation process.
After we talked about the best of what was and the best of what was wanted, a new outline of the Ithaca treehouse emerged.
What emerged wasn’t a wholesale undoing of the treehouse we planned a year ago and updated a few months back, just a rich redressing of the structure in the mood they loved from “their house,” with one important addition – we shifted the roofline to offer a single, long northern face and used that plane to create a new porch roof for the main entry. The longer and smoother roof should offer a cleaner profile to the winter winds that run from the northeast in this part of the country, just a fringe benefit of the change, and might even allow the addition of a skylight – if Katie’s and Colleen’s mom gives the nod of approval. Moving the roof over to cover the porch also allows us to frame the treehouse around one of the willow’s trunks, always a nice touch for a treehouse and the best of both worlds in this case since the tree gets to pop through the roof but remains outdoors and open to the weather, as it should be.
In then end, it’s not a whole lot of added materials and work, and finding and fleshing out the new vision just added a little time to the project. If the time is there to give, and everyone wants to spend it, that’s never a problem. One key to the design/build process is that design never ends until the building is done. It’s a philosophy that works exceptionally well with treehouses, and my last few weeks with Katie and Colleen re-enforced that point for me very firmly.
The big change comes when the first person crosses the bridge and enters the treehouse, and in the elevated excitement level for two girls who once again discovered they can create what they can dream.
Every project has milestones, those little moments that are naturally followed by a silent glance and broad smile as a complex system becomes a single complete unit.
Fully installed and trimmed, the rear deck of the treehouse looks ready for Adirondack chairs and iced tea.
Such is the case with the treehouse platform. While the signature of the professionally built treehouse is often the creativity and whimsy that shines from the structure, some of the most challenging and unique work occurs before house, rails and bridges are ever formed. The treehouse platform is, literally, the foundation of the entire project; and that foundation is utterly unlike anything any other builder faces. The platform must be sound, must be solid enough not to make occupants dive for something to hold on to, and must be engineered to handle all the forces that gravity and wind can deliver. More bolts and more attachments are not always an option, and everything from the first design sketch to the final saw cut must reflect that we are in a living host – one that must continue to thrive or all our dreams tumble to the ground.
The portion of the platform covered with exterior-grade plywood will be inside the future treehouse.
For a relatively modest treehouse in terms of square footage, the Ithaca treehouse platform offered some grand challenges. Twelve trunks that vary from 8 inches to 20-plus inches in diameter at platform height had to be worked with and around. Some of those trunks have considerable lean, and all black willow trunks have a natural eagerness to shed wind by bending in the breeze. We had to deliver the size and the spaces the girls who will inherit this place dreamed of, and we had to make sure everyone – girls and tree – will grow together as partners for years to come.
So Wednesday, when it was time for that silent glance and broad smile, the silence and the smile lasted a little longer than usual.
Deck boards are carefully trimmed to allow trunks and cables to pass through.
The platform, about 240 square feet including interior and outdoor deck space, was balanced, strong and beautiful. The two-tiered support system recommended by project engineer Charlie Greenwood showed all the strength and flexibility we will need, and was pretty neat to look at when you walk up to the site. Glulam girders from nearby Unalam Products and those black locust beams we got from the Locust Lumber Co. look unstrained by the deck structure above. The platform surface, particularly the Douglas fir boards that make up the exterior decking, feels strong to the feet and looks light to the eyes, a good formula for relaxation in a treehouse. All of this, of course, is riding atop a combination of industry-standard Garnier limbs purchased from the master Michael Garnier himself, and some heavy-duty GLs produced by fellow treehouse builder Dan Wright.
One fringe benefit of a well-designed treehouse platform -- they're pretty neat to look at from below.
As a designer/builder, it’s just wonderful to stand there and see it all work together so well. As a person, it’s even more wonderful to stand on the platform and think of none of it – just enjoy the breeze and the view and begin to feel the magic that only sweeps in when we come off the ground to meet it.
After a few days for office, design and purchasing work, it will be time to create the treehouse itself. Walls will be constructed on the ground and lifted into place, the latter being perhaps the most exciting day of any treehouse project.
Stay tuned.
When builders and designers talk about load, it’s usually in terms of pounds and how it can be borne. Rarely will a phone call change the math.
A local extension specialist and the project arborist agree, a fungus -- venturia saliciperda -- behind some leaf and shoot loss represents no long-term threat to our host tree.
But that’s just what happened Thursday, when a phone call from the local Cooperative Extension office reached the job site and took a big load off our minds.
After some examination and lab testing, the culprit causing the browning willow leaves and blackened shoot tips turned out to be a fungus – venturia saliciperda. Our guest can be an aesthetic annoyance for sure, but offers no threat to tree structure or long-term health. Turns out the extension has been watching a few related funguses this year, some of which affect fruit crops. This spring’s mild temperatures and damp weather were perfect for getting the spores aloft at just the right time, so a number of area tree species are showing some mild ill effects. It’s an atypical outbreak, the extension specialist said, and dry weather next year could put the fungus back in its usual under-the-radar place.
There are some ways we can help, and we’ll be working with ISA certified project arborist Mark Scibilia-Carver to put together a strategy for maximum tree health. Steps will include a thorough raking of the area this fall to remove infected leaves, a careful pruning of any dead or dying branches to reduce exposure for the tree next spring, and possibly special feeding for the tree to promote strong growth next season.
As for now, construction continues, and we all feel a little lighter today.
After days of drawing and examining, it was nice to break out the saws and the screwdrivers again.
Tools, trees and lots of sunshine. This is the life.
Although planning for the house itself occupied the first part of the week, there’s still some decking to lay down before the platform can be called complete.
Decking, as most carpenters can attest, is a game for strong backs and good knees. Most builders mitigate the strain by doing lots of cut work at an ergonomic prefab station, and by using special equipment or hordes of young helpers to secure the decking in place. When working 15 feet off the ground – not to mention working a herringbone deck around lots of tree trunks – those strategies are of limited use. A good number of the deck boards required careful custom cuts, so success means investing some sweat to do the job.
Deck boards are given a rough cut as they fit around trunks that pass through the treehouse platform. A pass with a jig saw will clean these edges and insure enough space for tree growth and movement.
Friday and Saturday were days of investment, but the dividends are easy to see. As the Douglas fir deck wraps around trunks, support cables and treehouse corners, it’s pink-orange glow and long diagonal lines transform the mood and the view. What once looked like a perch now feels like a floor. Pond, wildflowers and woods once removed from the platform now appear to be greeted and invited in by a herringbone pattern that makes a modest 12-foot wide rear deck feel much wider. The view off the rear deck will alone be worth the whole effort, and a Doug fir and stainless steel cable rail system that will be installed later will make it a safe and an easy view to see.
With some of the day Friday dedicated to office business matters, I extended the week into a good working Saturday. Progress is careful, and at times slow, but the product is what matters most. With some additional work on the deck early next week, including a fresh coat of sealer to protect it from whatever fungus is annoying the tree, this phase will come to a close. After that, it’s time to purchase materials and start building the walls that will be hoisted into place to form the treehouse itself.
This really is a fun job.
This may sound silly to some, but when I begin planning for a treehouse I make a deal with the host: If it will be so patient and generous as to carry this new load, we’ll offer it lots of joy and our sincere dedication. That last one means we become committed to the tree’s overall health – both in how we design the treehouse and how we react when it faces challenges, even if we didn’t raise them.
Thursday, nature called our hand.
Leaves and shoots on our host black willow have developed brown and black spots. ISA arborist Mark Scibilia-Carver has been called in to help, and tests to determine the nature of the blight should be back in a few days.
Returning to the site for work for the first time since early July, it was easy to notice something was out of place. Even though August temperatures hovered around 85 at midday, the ground was covered with dry brown leaves. Many still on our host black willow, as well as four others nearby, showed brown and black spots. Small green shoots, the kind willows love to send out everywhere, where curled and black at the end. Even the exposed plywood subfloor, which had been treated and sealed to prevent water penetration, had turned black. The tree looked otherwise fine, and still had lots of green leaves, but it was no time for assumptions about health. It was time to honor our commitment.
Shortly after 1 p.m. I called the ISA certified arborist who is working with me on this project, Mark Scibilia-Carver of Treetops Tree Service. He was at the site by 4:30 p.m., taking leaf and shoot samples and inspecting the tree. After heading home to consult some reference materials, he called me around dinnertime and said he had a theory. Unusually damp summer weather had triggered a fungus attack, although exactly which one and exactly what course of treatment might be needed will need some lab work. The good news, Mark said, is that the tree looks healthy and most blights of this type tend to be seasonal maladies that offer no long-term threat to the tree.
At Mark’s suggestion, I brought some samples to the local Cornell Cooperative Extension office. As the state’s Ag college, Cornell offers a broad menu of services, including analysis of tree blights. We’re hoping for word back early this coming week. We’ll figure out what we need to do, if anything, after we get the verdict of science.
