For all Intents, The Tree House is now Complete

Well, the day has finally come.  The final touches on the Treehouse have been completed.  The door has been fitted, the saddle has been placed in the frame, the weatherstripping and stops have been installed, the latch and door handle have been fashioned and installed.  We have tightened the cables and made final adjustments to stabilize the deck.

We have also cleaned the glass windows and frames and vacuumed the interior and exterior of the building.

We tried to install the rope bed, but it was a fraction too large to fit in the alcove and fit behind the tree stump coming through the floor.  As an alternative we have ordered foam that can be slid in there.  We have put pictures on the walls, brought in chairs and a table, and installed a rug.

Last night was a full moon, so we decided to go up to the crow's nest with two of the chairs with our coffees and enjoy the beautiful evening.  The temperature was delightful, the sky was quite clear.  

A job well done!

Finishing up the Finishing Touches

I have just completed the following items:

1.  Finished installing the plywood sub flooring inside the tree house.
2.  Installed the plank hardwood flooring.
3.  Installed the trim baseboards around the perimeter of the flooring.
4.  Installed the stop molding and weatherstripping for the door.
5.  Installed a few more pieces of trim molding on the walls where the tree limbs protrude through the walls. Ditto on a few of the corners.

I have built the saddle for the door, but I have not installed it. I must first cut off the bottom of the door to make enough room for it. I have also not completed the latch mechanism for the door or stained the door either.

I brought the rope trundle bed up to the tree house to see how it would fit.  Unfortunately, it is about 2" too long for it to fit in the alcove between the main tree and the end wall.  I will construct a smaller platform and put in a piece of foam for a mattress.  That is areal shame. I have been looking for years to find a place for this bed from the early 1800s.

We have to clean up all the dust throughout the tree house and in the deck area and complete the touch up painting.  Also, I have to tighten up the rungs on the various ladders.

Pictures to follow.  It is difficult to take pictures inside the tree house.

Finishing Touches

Well, we had to take a break for about a week.  It turns out that wood of the type that I have been using carries a lot of pathogens and can be somewhat dangerous if you don't handle it properly. In particular, if you are not careful with the sawdust you can ingest those pathogens by breathing them in and create a lot of problems for yourself.  I was cutting some fairly wet wood and inhaled a lot of the pathogen infested dust and I came down with a fairly nasty cold.  My wife got some sawdust in her eye and came down with conjunctivitis at about the same time.  We are both back on our feet and progress on finishing the treehouse now continues.

I spent time making the door for the treehouse. I have used cedar. I have installed it into the doorway, but have not stained it yet.  I have also put down a layer of tar paper on the floor in the treehouse to prevent moisture from entering from below the floor I am going to install.  The floor I have chosen is a vinyl snap together floor plank system which is waterproof.  I am a bit concerned about how much the vinyl flooring weighs.  Before I actually install the vinyl I have installed a very thin layer of plywood to make sure the subsurface is level.  I expect to put down the vinyl tomorrow.  After the vinyl the only remaining item will be the baseboards around the flooring.  I still have the staining and the latch of the door and the final electrical fixture work to complete.  We are very close to completion of phase one of the project.

Treehouse Interior

Above is the view of the main room of the treehouse taken from the alcove below the crow's nest.

The above view shows the ceiling construction and the windows and door area.

This is the other two windows in the main room.  The thing in the middle of the picture is a branch that comes up through the floor and goes out the wall.

This is a picture of the alcove area where the bed will be placed. Branches on both sides.

This is an image showing the upper portion of the alcove and the window looking onto the crow's nest. 

This is an image from the crow's nest looking into the main room.  There is some glare on the glass.

We have now completed the interior of the treehouse with the exception of the door and the flooring.  The pictures above tell it all.