tree house question
 

Hi guys, I'm building a tree house, here is a
photo: [1] On one side on the first floor, as you
see, a corner is missing. People walk on the walkways
(terminology?) with no problem, but here they have to
grab hold and make a little jump. Naturally I'd like
to finish the corner. It is ~1 m2. From above, it
looks like this:

---------
---------
---------
|----|
|----|
|----|
|----|
|----|

So my thought is I extend the bars below and from the
inside, attaching with long self-drilling Torx wood
screws... Like this, the dots being two new bars,
screwed to the existing ones:

. . ---------
. . ---------
. . ---------
|.--.|
|.--.|
|.--.|
|.--.|
|.--.|

Then I just put on more of the same, it is from
pallets, mostly (see this photo [2]), but
I have bigger pieces this time. So then it'll be:

---------------
---------------
---------------
|----|
|----|
|----|
|----|
|----|

I'm pretty confident this will work fine but because
other people will walk there as well I thought
I should ask. I know what ways to put the bars, to
put the screws asymmetrically, and... yeah, is there
anything more to it, like some rule of thumbs or
something? Perhaps a rule how far the extensions must
go into the firm side?

I didn't check (will do, next time) but I think the
bars are two by four or to that extent.

Please correct terminology. If this post doesn't make
any sene, I'll be back with better photos :)

TIA


[1] https://dataswamp.org/~incal/work-ph...ouse/front.jpg

[2] https://dataswamp.org/~incal/work-ph...e/new-deck.jpg

--
underground experts united
http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573
https://dataswamp.org/~incal

tree house question
 

On 8/31/2020 7:34 AM, Emanuel Berg wrote:
Hi guys, I'm building a tree house, here is a
photo: [1] On one side on the first floor, as you
see, a corner is missing. People walk on the walkways
(terminology?) with no problem, but here they have to
grab hold and make a little jump. Naturally I'd like
to finish the corner. It is ~1 m2. From above, it
looks like this:

---------
---------
---------
|----|
|----|
|----|
|----|
|----|

So my thought is I extend the bars below and from the
inside, attaching with long self-drilling Torx wood
screws... Like this, the dots being two new bars,
screwed to the existing ones:

. . ---------
. . ---------
. . ---------
|.--.|
|.--.|
|.--.|
|.--.|
|.--.|

Then I just put on more of the same, it is from
pallets, mostly (see this photo [2]), but
I have bigger pieces this time. So then it'll be:

---------------
---------------
---------------
|----|
|----|
|----|
|----|
|----|

I'm pretty confident this will work fine but because
other people will walk there as well I thought
I should ask. I know what ways to put the bars, to
put the screws asymmetrically, and... yeah, is there
anything more to it, like some rule of thumbs or
something? Perhaps a rule how far the extensions must
go into the firm side?

I didn't check (will do, next time) but I think the
bars are two by four or to that extent.

Please correct terminology. If this post doesn't make
any sene, I'll be back with better photos :)

TIA


[1] https://dataswamp.org/~incal/work-ph...ouse/front.jpg

[2] https://dataswamp.org/~incal/work-ph...e/new-deck.jpg

I don't know the answer to your question, BUT that seems to be a rather
large structure to be supported by trees of that size.

Have you made allowances fro the movement of the trees in the wind? The
support trees look like pine, and from watching the ones in my back yard
of that size know they move a lot.

tree house question
 

knuttle wrote:

I don't know the answer to your question, BUT that
seems to be a rather large structure to be
supported by trees of that size.

Have you made allowances fro the movement of the
trees in the wind? The support trees look like
pine, and from watching the ones in my back yard of
that size know they move a lot.

I didn't make any calculation whatsoever actually :(

Yes, it is a huge "structure". The trees does move
a lot. One of them isn't even a tree, well it was
once, but now it is a pillar I guess :)

--
underground experts united
http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573
https://dataswamp.org/~incal

tree house question
 

On Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at 3:16:53 AM UTC-4, Emanuel Berg wrote:
knuttle wrote:

I don't know the answer to your question, BUT that
seems to be a rather large structure to be
supported by trees of that size.

Have you made allowances fro the movement of the
trees in the wind? The support trees look like
pine, and from watching the ones in my back yard of
that size know they move a lot.

I didn't make any calculation whatsoever actually :(

Yes, it is a huge "structure". The trees does move
a lot. One of them isn't even a tree, well it was
once, but now it is a pillar I guess :)

--
underground experts united
http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573
https://dataswamp.org/~incal

So many questions...

How deep is that "pillar" sunk into the ground?
Is frost heave an issue?
How about movement due to the top-heavy-ness of the load? (i.e. torque on the
pillar)
What type of soil is it sunk into? Will is sink more on its own?

What about those ropes? What are they made of?
Will they dry out and become brittle?
Stretch and slip?

What is the joist spacing vs. the thickness of the floor boards? (It
looks like very wide spacing and very thin boards)

It doesn't look like there is much (any!) room to walk around the corner
posts. Are railings planned for the future?

I could go on and on, but the size and weight of that structure in relation
to how it is supported is pretty scary. Once one item fails, the rest is
sure to follow - hopefully not catastrophically.

tree house question
 

On 9/1/2020 10:28 AM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at 3:16:53 AM UTC-4, Emanuel Berg wrote:
knuttle wrote:

I don't know the answer to your question, BUT that
seems to be a rather large structure to be
supported by trees of that size.

Have you made allowances fro the movement of the
trees in the wind? The support trees look like
pine, and from watching the ones in my back yard of
that size know they move a lot.

I didn't make any calculation whatsoever actually :(

Yes, it is a huge "structure". The trees does move
a lot. One of them isn't even a tree, well it was
once, but now it is a pillar I guess :)

--
underground experts united
http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573
https://dataswamp.org/~incal

So many questions...

How deep is that "pillar" sunk into the ground?
Is frost heave an issue?
How about movement due to the top-heavy-ness of the load? (i.e. torque on the
pillar)
What type of soil is it sunk into? Will is sink more on its own?

What about those ropes? What are they made of?
Will they dry out and become brittle?
Stretch and slip?

What is the joist spacing vs. the thickness of the floor boards? (It
looks like very wide spacing and very thin boards)

It doesn't look like there is much (any!) room to walk around the corner
posts. Are railings planned for the future?

I could go on and on, but the size and weight of that structure in relation
to how it is supported is pretty scary. Once one item fails, the rest is
sure to follow - hopefully not catastrophically.


Having looked at the photos, and considering the above comments, that
tree house is just an accident waiting to happen. Take it down and build
it properly before someone is injured or killed.

Gil

tree house question
 

There is nothing quite as reveling as stick figure drawings.



On 8/31/2020 6:34 AM, Emanuel Berg wrote:
Hi guys, I'm building a tree house, here is a
photo: [1] On one side on the first floor, as you
see, a corner is missing. People walk on the walkways
(terminology?) with no problem, but here they have to
grab hold and make a little jump. Naturally I'd like
to finish the corner. It is ~1 m2. From above, it
looks like this:

---------
---------
---------
|----|
|----|
|----|
|----|
|----|



There is nothing quite as reveling as stick figure drawings.

tree house question
 

Gil wrote:

Having looked at the photos, and considering the
above comments, that tree house is just an accident
waiting to happen. Take it down and build it
properly before someone is injured or killed.

You kidding, no it is very stable! Come visit
yourself and see :)

--
underground experts united
http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573
https://dataswamp.org/~incal

tree house question
 

Leon wrote:

--------- --------- ---------
|----|
|----|
|----|
|----|
|----|

There is nothing quite as reveling as stick
figure drawings.

On the contrary, my idea worked. It was much simpler
from below, even from a rope, than when I draw the
ASCII :) but it's still not done by far...

--
underground experts united
http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573
https://dataswamp.org/~incal

tree house question
 

DerbyDad03 wrote:

It doesn't look like there is much (any!) room to
walk around the corner posts. Are railings planned
for the future?

It is not a tree house like a real house, it is as
much a a climbing thing! you climb up, between
floors, and after a while, no need to attach anymore
to the rope. but you still use them to go up and
down :)

--
underground experts united
http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573
https://dataswamp.org/~incal

tree house question
 

On Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at 7:06:20 PM UTC-4, Emanuel Berg wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:

It doesn't look like there is much (any!) room to
walk around the corner posts. Are railings planned
for the future?

It is not a tree house like a real house, it is as
much a a climbing thing! you climb up, between
floors, and after a while, no need to attach anymore
to the rope. but you still use them to go up and
down :)


The ropes I was talking about are the one's used to lash the structure
to the trees. That seems like an huge amount of weight to be supported
by ropes to swaying trees. I guess to certain extent you need to allow
for movement and the support ropes will certainly do that.

I just hope that there is never a rapid move in a southerly direction.

You do know that gravity sucks, don't you?

tree house question
 

DerbyDad03 wrote:

The ropes I was talking about are the one's used to
lash the structure to the trees. That seems like an
huge amount of weight to be supported by ropes to
swaying trees. I guess to certain extent you need
to allow for movement and the support ropes will
certainly do that.

You mean the ropes could suddenly fail?

--
underground experts united
http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573
https://dataswamp.org/~incal

tree house question
 

On 9/1/2020 9:08 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at 7:06:20 PM UTC-4, Emanuel Berg wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:

It doesn't look like there is much (any!) room to
walk around the corner posts. Are railings planned
for the future?

It is not a tree house like a real house, it is as
much a a climbing thing! you climb up, between
floors, and after a while, no need to attach anymore
to the rope. but you still use them to go up and
down :)


The ropes I was talking about are the one's used to lash the structure
to the trees. That seems like an huge amount of weight to be supported
by ropes to swaying trees. I guess to certain extent you need to allow
for movement and the support ropes will certainly do that.

I just hope that there is never a rapid move in a southerly direction.

You do know that gravity sucks, don't you?

People joke that vacuums suck, but actually the surrounding air blows.

tree house question
 

On Wednesday, September 2, 2020 at 1:56:37 PM UTC-4, Emanuel Berg wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:

The ropes I was talking about are the one's used to
lash the structure to the trees. That seems like an
huge amount of weight to be supported by ropes to
swaying trees. I guess to certain extent you need
to allow for movement and the support ropes will
certainly do that.

You mean the ropes could suddenly fail?



Yup. Suddenly or slowly.

Maybe they stretch a little, structure starts to lean. You don't really
worry about it, then it leans a little more, putting stress on some other
area, maybe pulling it away from some other support. Maybe that's where
the failure occurs.

Who knows? I sure wouldn't want to be anywhere near it when it happens.

tree house question
 

DerbyDad03 wrote:

You mean the ropes could suddenly fail?

Yup. Suddenly or slowly.

Maybe they stretch a little, structure starts to
lean. You don't really worry about it, then it
leans a little more, putting stress on some other
area, maybe pulling it away from some other
support. Maybe that's where the failure occurs.

Use a level every day to log if it starts to lean?

--
underground experts united
http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573
https://dataswamp.org/~incal

tree house question
 

DerbyDad03 writes:
On Wednesday, September 2, 2020 at 1:56:37 PM UTC-4, Emanuel Berg wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:

The ropes I was talking about are the one's used to
lash the structure to the trees. That seems like an
huge amount of weight to be supported by ropes to
swaying trees. I guess to certain extent you need
to allow for movement and the support ropes will
certainly do that.

You mean the ropes could suddenly fail?



Yup. Suddenly or slowly.

Maybe they stretch a little, structure starts to lean. You don't really
worry about it, then it leans a little more, putting stress on some other
area, maybe pulling it away from some other support. Maybe that's where
the failure occurs.

When we built our treehouse in a stand of redwoods 25 years ago,
we avoided puncturing the trees. The treehouse was triangular
and supported by three trees, one at each vertex. Using 2x12s
and threaded rod, we built a frame to support the treehouse that
was clamped to the trees (one 2x12 on each side of the tree
clamped with a pair of threaded rod on each side of the trunk). As
the tree grew, we could simply loosen the rods a bit.

A triangular platform (on 2x8 joists), 8' walls, a window and a stairs on the uphill
side for access with a transparent corrugated roof.

So far as I know (we moved), it's still there.

tree house question
 

Here are a bunch of old photos:

https://dataswamp.org/~incal/climb/photos/

If you feel like it, anyone please fill me in what
construction/woodworking terminology might apply...

--
underground experts united
http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573
https://dataswamp.org/~incal