• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Fatherhood Factor

For all the "dealings" of dads...

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Guest Post?
  • Review?
  • Stats
Things To Consider When You’re Building a Tree House

Things To Consider When You’re Building a Tree House

March 1, 2021 By Emily Joswiak Leave a Comment

Have you ever considered building a tree house? It’s a fun, family-friendly project that can give your children a reason to get off their devices and play outside. You don’t need a big, sturdy tree in your yard to make a tree house—even the smallest, weakest tree can hold one if you use wooden panels for support. In this guide, we’ll go over all the things to consider when you’re building a tree house so that you can make it fun, safe, and long-lasting for your children.

Plan the Design

When you’re planning the design, you’ll want to balance appearance and function. The design needs to consider the tree’s size and strength, but it should also have some fun features for your kids. You can handle the structural elements and let your children plan smaller, decorative details, like the color you’ll paint it. Some fun features you can consider adding are:

  • a tire swing
  • a slide
  • a loft
  • a porch
  • a trap door
  • a hammock
  • a bird feeder

If you’re planning to paint your treehouse, consider using low or no-VOC paint. These products are non-toxic, making them safe for younger children. You’ll also want to use latex paint, which is more durable on exterior surfaces.

Choose the Right Tree

The biggest thing to consider when you’re building a tree house is the tree you’ll use. It should be decently sturdy, though you can always add additional support if necessary. Your tree house requires a solid foundation, so make sure the quality of the ground is safe, too. It shouldn’t be moist or uneven, and it should be strong enough to bear the weight of the construction. When you can, try to pick a tree with a good view—it makes the whole experience better! If you have a large backyard, you might want to choose a tree that’s closer to the house so that you can keep an eye on your kids from the living room or kitchen window.

Make Sure It’s Secure

Above all else, the tree house needs to be safe for your kids to jump, climb, and play on. Carefully consider the different methods available for supporting a tree house, and pick the one that’s best able to handle the construction’s weight. The two methods for supporting a tree house include rigid framework and floating framework. If your tree isn’t naturally sturdy, you’ll need to make sure there’s enough support by adding additional wood pallets or poles that anchor to the ground. You’ll also have to consider how you’ll join the house with the tree. Instead of using nails and screws, which can damage the tree, opt for bolts and ropes. Try to keep the bolts a minimum of 12 inches apart. Placing bolts too close together can reduce how secure your tree house is due to corrosion. In general, you’ll want to use the smallest number of joints possible to hold the structure.

About Emily Joswiak

Emily is a writer, marketer, and purveyor of all things family. She loves to help people find their way, especially through the written word.

Get Our Newsletter

Don’t you wish you knew the secret to Fatherhood? Us too...
Our content ranges from practical tips to product reviews.
Enter your information below to get our newsletter goodness!

Copyright © 2009–2023 FatherhoodFactor.com · Powered by: LaunchBlot Media, LLC

  • Facebook.
  • Twitter.
  • Instagram.
  • YouTube.
  • LinkedIn.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT