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Branching out-a look at treehouse living
Branching out
Treehouses are not just for children…they also make great retreats, workplaces and even second homes.
Tree houses have come a long way from a rustic children's hideout made from two planks and a couple of branches.
Today, many of them are impressive architectural structures with multi-storey living complete with hot and cold running water, electricity and double-glazing. Instead of just being a children’s playhouse, a treehouse can be an office, a studio or a teenager’s den, adding another dimension and room to your home.
One company who specialize in making a house in the sky a reality is The Tree House Company. If you don’t have a suitable tree to support the structure, the company can elevate the tree house on supports and plant trees as part of a landscape design.
The Tree House Company offer full design, consultancy, and management services for private and commercial tree house projects, and can also provide architectural salvage sourcing, landscape and interior design, arborial consultations and architectural plans based on historical research.
Clients can design a treehouse to their exact specifications, for example if you wanted to use it as an artist’s studio, you could have built in wooden easels.
Whether or not your treehouse requires planning permission will depend on the nature of the structure, height restrictions, the size of the building in proportion to the land, distance from your home and public roadway to consider. You should check with the planning department at your local council to be on the safe side.
One of the largest wooden treehouses in the world opened in January 2005, at a cost of £3.3 million. Set in the Alnwick Garden in Northumberland, the treehouse (pictured) is 6,000 square foot complex of turret-topped cottages linked by suspended walkways, high in the trees outside the walls of the main garden.
The treehouse has been built using natural materials from sustainable resources including Canadian Cedar, Scandinavian Redwood and English and Scots pine, and the quirky design is so at home in its environment that it appears as if it has been there for many years.
The treehouse includes two resource rooms, the Nest and the Roost, which is equipped with the latest technology to host learning programmes.
There’s also a timber-decked veranda and even a restaurant, set over the ravine. The dining room has leaves growing though it, and has privacy screens created from fallen branches to separate the tables. You can also hire the treehouse for a memorable party venue.
The term ‘uber treehouse’ is used to describe luxury treehouses, which are more like mini homes. Prices start at around £15,000, a hefty investment for something that was once mere childsplay.
As people are constantly searching for tranquility in their busy lives, and looking for more space, a treehouse is fast becoming a popular eco-friendly answer.
Paul Cameron, founder of www.treehouselife.co.uk says demand for these lovely wooden specimens is skyrocketing.
“We can build anything you want, and even if you don’t have a tree to build in or around and get really involved with, we can build one on stilts.
“The idea of the hut is to blend in with its surroundings, and we tend to build them hexagonal so you get the views from every angle with balconies and decks for outside space and a sheltered area underneath where the kids can play even when it’s raining,” adds Mr Cameron.
Treehouse Life builds four-storey treehouses that contain all the mod cons, a wrap around balcony and even a pulley to get your groceries up to your home.
Another company that specialize in building upmarket treehouses and eco lodges is Blue Forest, based in Wadhurst, East Sussex. Their treehouses cost around £20,000, and are made from softwoods such as spruce and pine, which have been approved by the Forest Stewardship Council, with a cedar shingled roof.
“Treehouses are certainly gaining in popularity because of the interest in sustainable construction and building, and because people want to live closer to nature and have their kids play outdoors,” says Simon Payne, business manager of Blue Forest.
“It’s also the fairy-tale element of a treehouse that appeals. Everyone loves the idea of having space and going up in a tree,” adds Mr Payne.
If you are considering building your own treehouse, choosing the right tree is vital. The Treehouse Guide (www.thetreehouseguide.com) has lots of advice. The higher you go in a tree the greater the sense of freedom and the more amazing the views you get will be. However, you must also think practically - in terms of safety in the case of a fall, wind speed and quality of support. Children's treehouses are usually more suited near the ground up to three metres to minimise the danger from a fall.
Treehouses in high wind areas should be in the lower third of the tree, where wind speeds are lower and the leverage of the force on the tree is reduced. If the wind poses a serious danger, keep size to a minimum and try to build a more curving, or circular, house to reduce the sail effect.
The points where you fix supports will need to be strong enough to hold the weight of the part of the house they are supporting. It is simpler building with a few long supports than lots of smaller ones. This will require several attachment points (four is good) across different trees. Excellent trees are oak, beech, maple, fir and hemlock.
For a one-storey treehouse with no overhanging parts a minimum thickness for four attachment points (one at each corner) is about eight inches. If you have more than one storey and/or the extra leverage and weight of overhanging sections, then you may need twelve inches or more. If your branches don't allow for this, use more attachment points so the weight is spread out better.
If you are planning to use two or more branches, trunks or trees, you must be careful when fitting supports. When there is strong wind, a tree will twist and sway quite a lot. You must not seriously restrict this movement because it could destroy your house.
This mostly occurs when building across two very long branches because they catch the wind easily and can swing around a lot. Different trees and different branches will move differently, so the supports must be able to cope with any tension or compression. The options are having a strong rigid framework or a weaker flexible framework.
If you are about to build your treehouse, there are certain building and maintenance tasks that need to be carried out throughout the year. Most of these can be done at any time, but some are best done during a particular season. Treehouse building activity around the world tends to peak around now as the weather warms up, but if you are planning a new build you should get started earlier.
During the winter months, when trees are dormant, and most trees and vegetation will have lost their leaves, you can remove any excess ground vegetation, allowing access by foot or vehicle as needed later in the year. You can plan your design and order tools and materials.
Once spring has sprung, you can fix the foundation of the treehouse, build the floor platform and load the floor with test weights and leave for a couple of weeks.
During the summer months, the long, warm days and drier weather make this the best time to build the house section of the treehouse on the prepared and tested floor.
Autumn is the best time to check the waterproofing of the roof using a large bucket of water and repair any leaks. Inspect the supports and sliding joints to ensure they are working as expected. Drain any pipework between October and November to avoid frost damage during winter. Remove any ropes or bridges that might constrict the growth of the tree. Replace these in a different position the following year.
Some useful reading material may be Build Your Own Treehouse: a Practical Guide, by Maurice Barkley, £8.99, from all good bookshops, or Build Your Own Fantasy Treehouse, by David Parfitt, £11.99, from all good bookshops.
CONTACTS
Alnwick Garden: www.alnwickgarden.com
Blue Forest: www.blueforest.com
The Treehouse Company: www.treehousecompany.com
Treehouse Guide: www.thetreehouseguide.com
Treehouse Life: www.treehouselife.co.uk
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