Because I live near a river, I want to make sure I'm safe in the event
of a major flood. I plan to build a tower and want the floor of my
tower 50 feet off the ground. I will not attach it to the house in
case the house is destroyed by the flood. The tower will be free
standing in the back yard. I plan to make the top a small room 12 x
15 feet with a gable roof. Inside will be all the things necessary
for survival. There will be cots, blankets, clothing, canned food, a
small refrigerator, propane cook stove, cooking supplies, a portable
toilet, a generator, first aid supplies, and anything else I can think
we may need. There will also be a tank filled with 500 gallons of
fresh water, plumbed to a sink.

I plan to build the frame this week, but I have run into a snag. For
the four posts, I wanted to buy four 53 foot treated 4x4 posts. (3
feet goes in the ground). I had a feeling they did not sell them that
long, but I thought I could buy two 28 footers (for each post), and
nail some of those truss plates on them to attach them together. But
it turns out that the longest ones they have at the lumber yard are 16
foot. This means that I have to attach three 16 foot and one 5 foot
4x4's together for each post with truss plates.

So, my question is this: After I nail the truss plates on all four
posts, and stick them in the holes I dug in the ground, how do I keep
the posts from tipping when I put my ladder against them to nail on
the 2x6 floor joists? I have a feeling they will lean, and then I
can't nail these joists because the pole will be leaning. I have to
take two 30 foot ladders and tie them together to get to the top, and
that means there will be a lot of weight against the posts with the
weight of the ladders and my 270lbs body weight, plus tools and boards
that I take up with me.

I was thinking of buying a 100 foot clothesline rope and tying it to
the top of the post and tying the other end to the bumper of my car,
but I'd have to go to the top of the post first to tie the rope. That
sort of defeats the whole purpose.

Anyone have any ideas?

Arney