Wednesday, August 01, 2018

A Modern Tree House

Well the kids are back at school so it's time for another project!! 

Ever since we moved bought our house (two years ago) these huge trees behind the carport have been begging for a treehouse to be built between them.
They were COVERED in English ivy (as is most of the woods behind our house) so the first step was clearing it off.
Next these two 2x12 boards were screwed into the tree.  And I mean SCREWED in with 6 inch BOLTS!!!  8 of them!
Ernesto built the platform in our driveway.  It was BIG and HEAVY.
If only I had a picture//video of us moving it with one corner on a skateboard!  ðŸ˜…
We leaned it up against the trees and I left thinking he would be asking the neighbors to help him get it up on the boards ...about 10 feet up!
Nope!  He came in the house dripping sweat chanting "That's right! That's right!"
He still will not tell me HOW he got that platform in place.  He just says "you doubted me."

I didn't though....I didn't doubt, I just assumed he would need help.  The two of us could barely get it to the trees, how in the hell would he lift it by himself?!?
 
At this point we weren't sure of the design of the treehouse.  Ernesto had ordered this book on Amazon where he found the "plans" for the platform.  
 We were debating a shed roof (me) or an A-frame (him) for the design.


Spoiler alert: I won.  I thought the shed would be roomier for the kids. BUT! I loved the look of the A-frame.  In fact, I now can't stop looking at A-frame houses and I STILL think Ernesto could/should get his chance to build one....maybe on a lake???? 



 We He could TOTALLY build this!!  Right after he renovates our airstream! LOL.  Hey! I have always been a dreamer guys but ....it's possible!
Anyhoo, back to our CURRENT project!! 

These guys are already good at climbing up and down ladders-even while carrying things! They are going to make great Christmas Light Pros!
Maybe we don't even need proper stairs?? (just kidding mom!)
The walls were constructed ON the platform.  Painting was also done before walls were put into place.  We went with the same color as the "main house" Slate (by Behr) or maybe it was Dark Night by Valspar.  Either way its black! 
 
Here I am holding up wall #1.  Look at those muscles!!
The carpenter added the support boards and it was on to the next wall.
 

Yes, wall 2, then wall 3...Here is where you will have to use your imagination.  
It's a slanted roof, so the front wall is taller than the other three.

Roof boards were next and plywood over top....I won't bore you with the details.

If you are here LOOKING for details, you need to check out ModFrugal .  After we decided on this design and had the platform built we came across their blog and TOTALLY used their detailed instructions/suggestions.  No need to re-invent the wheel here. Hopefully imitation makes them feel flattered in this case. 😬

All of a sudden we had a "structure!"  And I was LOVING it!!  Just like the black on our house,  I think it just blends so nicely in the woods.






































Before the front wall was finished, railing was a priority because #crazykids




 
Ernesto whipped up a secure kid corral with hog wire. Bigger and heavier duty than chicken wire.
It's secure, and Im loving the look.
With the black painted railings, I'd say it looks pretty modern, right?
 
Still no stairs but my kids are sooooooo good at climbing ladders.  I guess that is good because, well, they will be working on ladders soon enough.  #futurechristmaslightpros

The kids helped when they could, but mostly just kept papi company outside.  Mateo was very into hammering the little nails to create the door.


We plan to have a proper sliding door, but the screen door (above) is an attempt to keep down the number of bugs trying to move in. Ernesto added little screens on the openings where the roof meets the walls as well.  
Above is the view from our neighbor's house....below is the view from our living room windows.


Next up:  proper stairs and our first campout ...probably not in that order. haha

My hopes for the treehouse are that it is a space the kids WANT to hang out in...so what suggestions do you have for the inside???  (Mateo suggested a TV 😂--Not happening, but boy...that would do the trick, wouldn't it?) 

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