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1710
Every Kid Needs a Treehouse (if Only to Keep Dad Busy)
Pros
cool ideas, good safety tips, good construction basics
Cons
emphasis on extravagant structures in photos; skimpy instructions for plans
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Treehouses and Playhouses You Can Build contains good basics and background, but mediocre plans and an overemphasis on fancy structures in the photograph sections.
In the days when we kids played outside after school and during the summer, the luckiest kid around was the one who had a tree big enough for a nice, sturdy tree house. The parents – or maybe the kids themselves – could cobble together a nice fort up in the sky complete with a roof and walls, a door and windows, maybe even a balcony or two. I ought to know about that; I was the kid with the trees – and the tree house; one that Jimmy, Ted, and I built ourselves.
So it was with a bit of nostalgia that I grabbed a copy of Treehouses and Playhouses You Can Build and plunged in. I have to say, though, that it was quite shocking to find that the author (David Stiles) is an architect and designer who builds – get this – custom treehouses for clients around NYC. Yep, people actually pay Stiles to design treehouses for their kids. I'm so jealous…though I'm not sure whether it's of Stiles or the people who can afford such extravagance.
Treehouses and Playhouses, like most DIY books, makes two assumptions: first, the reader actually plans to build a treehouse and second, the reader doesn't know jack about the subject; even if the reader, like this one, actually knows a lot. So there's plenty of elementary stuff between the covers – what tools you will or might need; how to use them; and how to select, measure, cut, and fasten wood. There is some good information on safety as well, since Stiles assumes that children will probably be involved in the building process. For rank beginners, he even includes instructions on how to tie a load of wood to the top of the family Camry!
Unlike the normal DIY book, however, this one must address some problems that are special to the treehouse, not the least among them are that trees grow and, when the wind blows, they move – even if it's only a little. So there is a wealth of information about how to attach a structure to a tree while still allowing it the necessary room to grow and sway in the breezes. There's plenty of information about how to choose a tree or trees, using posts and poles to support sides and corners, and even suspending treehouses with fully flexible joints if the host tree is "whippy." Good stuff, that.
Rough plans for half a dozen structures are included, from a "Hobbit House" treehouse to a "Pie-Rat Ship" playhouse. The treehouse plans, are of necessity, very generalized and include only suggested measurements for height and placement above ground level. The four free-standing structures have more detailed plans, but it would definitely tax the skills of a rank beginner to turn these plans into a safe and secure structure. That last is a critical weakness, in my opinion.
There are also instructions on building accessories such as ladders and railings, including cure little Ewok-style railings made of ropes or branches. A critical but not uncommon problem – how to build a roof or wall around a branch or secondary trunk – is addressed, though I thought it in insufficient detail.
Like the authors of most DIY books, Stiles and his co-author (his wife, Jeannie) include a wealth of line drawings to accompany their instructions: how to tie a "trucker's knot," how to bolt a beam to a tree and still have some "give," or how to create footings for posts. It's clear from the instructions that the Stileses fully intend that your creation last for decades, as their own treehouse has – it's more than thirty years old and still standing. Most, though not all, of these drawings are clear and concise.
They also, like the authors of most DIY books, include lots of pretty color pictures of fantastic designs (and a couple of real dogs), whimsical details, and even the occasional guest house built up in a tree. While they do show the pirate ship and a hobbit house, most of the pictures and necessary techniques aren't addressed in even a cursory manner in the text; whether it's the treehouse with a branch sticking through one wall or the mammoth 10x12-foot house on one tree and five poles that is "engineered on rolling joints"… whatever that means.
Still and all, treehouses are intended to be fun. So get yourself a copy of this book and start looking at those trees in your back yard. Even if little Drew or Melissa spends all day in the treehouse playing with a GameBoy, at least they're getting some fresh air, and you have the sense of accomplishment that building something brings.
So it was with a bit of nostalgia that I grabbed a copy of Treehouses and Playhouses You Can Build and plunged in. I have to say, though, that it was quite shocking to find that the author (David Stiles) is an architect and designer who builds – get this – custom treehouses for clients around NYC. Yep, people actually pay Stiles to design treehouses for their kids. I'm so jealous…though I'm not sure whether it's of Stiles or the people who can afford such extravagance.
Treehouses and Playhouses, like most DIY books, makes two assumptions: first, the reader actually plans to build a treehouse and second, the reader doesn't know jack about the subject; even if the reader, like this one, actually knows a lot. So there's plenty of elementary stuff between the covers – what tools you will or might need; how to use them; and how to select, measure, cut, and fasten wood. There is some good information on safety as well, since Stiles assumes that children will probably be involved in the building process. For rank beginners, he even includes instructions on how to tie a load of wood to the top of the family Camry!
Unlike the normal DIY book, however, this one must address some problems that are special to the treehouse, not the least among them are that trees grow and, when the wind blows, they move – even if it's only a little. So there is a wealth of information about how to attach a structure to a tree while still allowing it the necessary room to grow and sway in the breezes. There's plenty of information about how to choose a tree or trees, using posts and poles to support sides and corners, and even suspending treehouses with fully flexible joints if the host tree is "whippy." Good stuff, that.
Rough plans for half a dozen structures are included, from a "Hobbit House" treehouse to a "Pie-Rat Ship" playhouse. The treehouse plans, are of necessity, very generalized and include only suggested measurements for height and placement above ground level. The four free-standing structures have more detailed plans, but it would definitely tax the skills of a rank beginner to turn these plans into a safe and secure structure. That last is a critical weakness, in my opinion.
There are also instructions on building accessories such as ladders and railings, including cure little Ewok-style railings made of ropes or branches. A critical but not uncommon problem – how to build a roof or wall around a branch or secondary trunk – is addressed, though I thought it in insufficient detail.
Like the authors of most DIY books, Stiles and his co-author (his wife, Jeannie) include a wealth of line drawings to accompany their instructions: how to tie a "trucker's knot," how to bolt a beam to a tree and still have some "give," or how to create footings for posts. It's clear from the instructions that the Stileses fully intend that your creation last for decades, as their own treehouse has – it's more than thirty years old and still standing. Most, though not all, of these drawings are clear and concise.
They also, like the authors of most DIY books, include lots of pretty color pictures of fantastic designs (and a couple of real dogs), whimsical details, and even the occasional guest house built up in a tree. While they do show the pirate ship and a hobbit house, most of the pictures and necessary techniques aren't addressed in even a cursory manner in the text; whether it's the treehouse with a branch sticking through one wall or the mammoth 10x12-foot house on one tree and five poles that is "engineered on rolling joints"… whatever that means.
Still and all, treehouses are intended to be fun. So get yourself a copy of this book and start looking at those trees in your back yard. Even if little Drew or Melissa spends all day in the treehouse playing with a GameBoy, at least they're getting some fresh air, and you have the sense of accomplishment that building something brings.
