Familyman Tree House Hall of Fame

Hey Dad,

I asked you to send me your tree house photos…and here’s what you sent in. You all challenge me and make me proud to be a dad…not because of your projects but because you made the effort to love your children.

Keep building!!!…and send me your tree house photos and stories.

This one is our!!!

We built a tree house years ago & it is still standing tall!

If you need any advice, please contact me.

~ Stephen Bradd

PS – Check out his website for detailed photos and instructions for building your own tree house!

 

 

I guess we have been watching too much Tree House Masters… I’ve got 6 little ones (all 11 and under) and just decided that they are only young once. Go all out man… These are some pictures of when we were building our tree house last summer. ~ Jeremy Escue

Todd,

Felt that I needed to respond to this to give that extra encouragement to go through with your tree house.

I received a book last Christmas, “The Dangerous book for Boys”, and it contained plans for building a tree house.  My boys were 4 & 7 years old and I felt it was something that I needed to do for them before they were too old to appreciate it.  I stewed on it all winter long and by the time spring came around, I had a cool plan in mind and it was time to act on it.  We took a few weeks to complete it and the kids helped throughout the entire project so we all have a great appreciation for it.  We spent one night in it so far and it has been a hit with the neighborhood kids as well.

In June, very unexpectedly, we found ourselves looking at another home (due to caring for our daughter with special needs) and very reluctantly putting our house on the market.  From the beginning of the selling process I had reserved the treehouse in an effort to try and recoup the cost for building it in the first place but soon realized that it was helping to market the property and had to abandon that plan.  On the day that we accepted the offer on our house, we met with our kids and explained what was happening.  One of the first questions was what about the treehouse?  I had to choke back tears and explain that we couldn’t take it with us but that there was a tree at our new house that would be big enough for a treehouse and that we would need to build another one at our new house.  There is definite sadness at leaving our hard work behind but I had the opportunity to build on the reward of hard work by stating that we would always be able to drive by and know that we were the ones that built that tree house.

So in less than 6 months of building my first treehouse I find myself in a position where I will need to build a 2^nd one.  I look forward to improving my skills and doing a better job on the second one but will need to trust God for the funds to acquire the necessary materials.

Had I known we would be moving I probably wouldn’t have built one in the first place but would have missed out on a cool spring of connecting and building memories with my kids.

Don’t know if this helps but I know that I’ll need accountability from my friends next spring when I need to start building again.

Thanks for the reminder and encouragement to stick to what I’ve said I’ll do.

~ Mike S

Todd,

Thanks for the e-mails. In my line of work I have to be quick to make decisions on the fly to fix a small problem that won’t turn into a big expense and cause a project to go in a downward spiral. I get caught up in the everyday life of providing for my family and forget about that my 7 year old has asked a dozen times to build a tree house. Like work I need to realize that this little problem of me not responding to my son could send my family into a downward spiral spiritually. What a boob I am; so today starts the tree house. Ready or not here we go. Thanks for the e-mails that keep me grounded in family and may God bless you and your family more than He already has.

~ Travis

Three years ago I build this tree fort with my two oldest boys Caleb (9 at the time) and Sam (8) out of used boards from a fence we took down.  People often comment that it looks a bit like a beehive.  My wife found a steering wheel from a motorboat that we mounted just inside the window hole, so the porch doubles as the bow of a ship!  Big lag screws hold it all to the tree.  There is a hatchway underneath and we screwed some climbing rocks into the tree below it to make it accessible.  I’ve slept in it a couple times with my son beside me.  I’m so glad I did it, and that I involved them!   The younger kids love it too. – Trevor D. (Ontario)

Just this summer we started building our tree house and it has turned out great.  Built with some scrap lumber from a friend mixed with lumber from Lowes.  We built it big (16’ X 10’) because we have four children and lots of neighborhood children.  Although the work is not done, the children love it.

Hope next year to add a roof, slide/zip line, and crow’s nest!!  Can’t wait to make it greater.

p.s. My wife has affectionately called it our summer home.

~ Trent G. (SC)