Getting started
Between Christmas and New Years, the kids and I started scouting around for a tree. The front yard was rejected because the trees were either too big, or too exposed to the road. On the slope behind the house, we found a few that looked interesting but, on closer inspection, contained a lot of dry rot. We finally settled on the only one left which, although in need of some pruning, was healthy and had some possibilities.
I have to admit that I was apprehensive about actually building something of this size out of wood. I've had some experience with mechanical work on cars (fixing brakes, changing water pumps, etc) but very little with framing. The idea of circular saws and framing hammers brought to mind images of severed and/or smashed digits. More on that later.
Although it's not unusual to build tree houses completely out of scrap wood, I decided to use fresh lumber for the supports and basic frame for a couple reasons: it needs to be strong, I wanted to go to one place (Home Depot) to get everything and we got a generous Christmas gift from Sandi's dad. So, we decided to use part of his gift to help finance the construction -- thanks Dan!
