The Upside Down House

Okay, so this one’s only a year out-of-date, but it has to be written so we can get onto the next post about this summer’s garden overhaul.

The kids were keen to have a treehouse, but as our garden isn’t blessed with anything suitable, we had to make do with a Next-to-Treehouse instead.

First, there was ground to clear and holes to be dug (thanks for your help Will)…

…Then (a few months later) the corner footings went in…

…Before the end beams went on.

The side footings came next.  In retrospect, the function these perform could have been achieved much more elegantly, but what more can you expect as a novice joiner?  At least it’s not going anywhere – it’s seriously sturdy 😉

Next; saw the top of the side footings and attach the joists with some nice big coach screws.

The kids had some fun helping to build their new base… doing a bit of wood treatment and a spot of sweeping…

…Before it was finished and declared Open for Play… a year to the day since this post!  And yes, the purists amongst you will say it’s more Deck than Treehouse, but hey, we’re light on options.  It’s made climbing the apple tree easier and has given the kids a blank canvass to indulge their creativity.

So finally, all that was needed was a sign to match the house…

All in all, a really fun project for our first summer evenings at the house, with plenty of help from Katie and, of course, Ben’s Hairy Dogfather, Tomás…