A "Treehouse" in the Woods (Part I)

Anders has enjoyed playing in the "treehouse" I once built for Henry, Clara, and Frederick and has expressed interest in having one for himself. So for Christmas this past year, I gave Anders two books about treehouses and promised that we would build one together for him up at his family's property in far northern Minnesota. As I mentioned in my last posting, he and I started some prefabrication work just after his school year ended. This past week, we traveled north to start work on the project.

We began the first day with breakfast at a restaurant on the Gunflint Trail outside of Grand Marais, Minnesota. Anders was familiar with the menu at the Trail Center Restaurant and wanted cocoa for a starter--the whipped cream may have had something to do with that.

The Trail Center Restaurant (and Lodge) is one of those fun places with all kinds of things on the walls and ceiling. Each of the "stools" at the bar is made from a log and is plastered with bumper stickers from everywhere. Many of the sentiments expressed appealed to my liberal leanings! (You can view larger versions of photos on my blog by clicking on them. Then use ESC or click on the X in the upper right corner to return  here.)

After breakfast, we drove out to the property, which is way off the beaten track and deep in the woods. Will had previously scoped out a spot for the "treehouse" (in quotes because, as you will see, it is not truly in a tree--instead it is a free-standing structure). There are not many completely level spots on the property, nor are there spots free of some growth. So our first job was to clear an area about 15' by 15'. We removed quite a few balsams, but only two of any size. Balsams reseed and grow quite rapidly, so we didn't feel too bad about eliminating a few. We avoided taking birch or other species.

This entire first day was very rainy, so clearing the space was our only progress. We might have done more, but it wasn't much fun in the rain. There is a tiny cabin on the property where we had our lunch and watched the rain, hoping for a break.

The second day was a beautiful, sunny one. Anders and I unloaded all the lumber and parts that we had previously prepared and began to carry them up to the cleared site. Using various carriage bolts and lag screws, we began to assemble the ends of the frame. (It can be important to ham it up for the camera!)

By lunch time, we were feeling pretty good about our progress.

At the end of this second day, we had two completely assembled ends. One end was relatively easy to stand up. The other would require, on the third day, use of a pulley in a neighboring tree, some rope, and some bracing to get it upright.

With the two ends now standing, we maneuvered the two side joists into place, attached them to the ends with some substantial metal angles, and bolted everything together. Getting the whole structure level, or as level as it is going to be, was a challenge. The soil is full of rocks, often huge ones, and so making adjustments for the legs at the corners was tricky, but we got it done.

Another selfie shows us proud of ourselves with the basic framework in the background.

Anders wanted to take a picture of me working to prove that this was a joint project.

After three days of work, we have the structure in place, with floor joists, railing posts, braces, and a ladder. This treehouse sits fairly high above other parts of the property with the lake visible through the trees. We will go back next week to complete the decking, railing, and some fun features, including a rope and pulley to haul things up to the platform, a lookout tower, maybe a place to hang a flag, or whatever. Stay tuned for the next chapter.