couldnt see that 2x on the stairs, that will work,you mentioned in one of the post's a lot of adults, i could see that coming down with 20 college kids up there, i would overbuild for that reason
Hi Duecy, That is a nice thought, but like someone else on here pointed out, I'm not sure that it would be a likely achievement. Just too many variables to go big time with it, I think. Sure they can be installed at jungle canopy level, it would really just depend on the trees themselves how high you could go. Not sure what Jungle penetrator is but, sounds like a good description of a buddy of mine. lol. I don't see a problem with a repelling kit though.
Yeah, I've put a strict limit of 6-8 adults on this and we've had that many up there with no problems, and there's really not much room for more than that. I plan on adding 2-4 more braces to the under side later when we come back in to pour concrete below- probably in the spring. That 'you never know' factor does sit in the back of my mind. You sound like you do some building yourself. Any particular scope that you have the most experience with, or are you one of us jack of all trades types?
yea looks like a post inside that staircase straight up supporting that 4th corner, just a woodcutter like yourself,getting up there in age,mid 50's,prefer trim now,not so cat like with the climbing anymore
Whoa! My son would be so jealous. Hell I'm jealous. lol. How high is that bad boy? That's gotta be 30-40 feet at least. edit: How does that thing even stay up? it looks like it's just floating up there
Hi Hoof, Thanks, my kid and his cousins/friends love it too. Hell, we all do for that matter. Yeah it's about 37-38 feet to the top of the tower. A little over 20 feet at the deck. It has 5 key supports. If you look closely you'll see two 6.5 in round fir braces. The base of the braces are slightly notched/bolted into the tree's trunk, then sealed tight with several ounces of urethane glue. The top of the braces are double notched to the joists in a way that locks in, and allows gravity to form the best connection. It's also steel reinforced with bolts and urethane glue.
Nice! I guess I needed my glasses. What about that outside corner of what looks like a diving board platform sticking out. I think it's where the stairs come up to, but they are not in yet. What is holding it up, and How much weight can it support?
It's hard to see, but if you look just above the ladder you can see there is another(short) 6in round fir brace holding the joist that connects to the outside bandboard you are referring to. The entire design rests upon the laurels of gravity and the cantilever system. That outside corner you are referring to will easily hold several thousand pounds. The strongest points of the house are of course the spots where the joists sit directly above the tree trunks. These spots will easily hold tens of thousands of pounds, and realistically over a hundred thousand pounds at the very strongest points. The spots directly over where the braces connect to the joists will easily hold twenty thousand pounds each. The weakest parts of the floor joist system will easily hold several thousand pounds or more in any given spot. Over all, you could park a Mac truck up there. It's actually designed to give it that floating up in the trees look, so I appreciate your comments.
That's friggin cool! I thought it was a real chimney from the other pics. Now I see it's just an illusion, but a cool illusion. Is there a ladder or stairs inside that go to the top?