OUR TREE HOUSES ARE HURRICANE-PROOF
Johannes Schelle and his team have been building tree houses for the past 10 years. Whether it’s a children’s playground castle or a floating hotel room— they can do it all to fulfill any wish. But what are the essential points to remember when constructing a tree house? And which mistakes should be avoided at all costs? Here the master builder has granted id an interview in which he reveals where the greatest challenges lie and how anyone can build a dream tree house high above the ground…
1) How did you learn to build tree houses?
From a very early age, I loved hammering boards together in a tree. Later I did an apprenticeship in carpentry and studied architecture. During one summer break, I built my first big tree house and posted the results online. That was 10 years ago. Soon I was getting so many orders I had to quit my job as a construction manager and put together a team of carpenters and engineers to build tree houses.
2) What do you do first when someone wants to order a tree house?
First we do what’s known as a tree survey. That means: We measure all the available land and examine the condition of the tree or trees we might use, conducting tests to determine their health and stability.
3) Which trees are the most suitable?
Old, healthy oak trees are best. They are among the most stable and resistant trees there are. Ideally there will be two or three oaks that are no more than about 12 feet apart. In that case there is no need to add additional support on the ground. A tree house should seem to float. Beech trees will do as well, but their bark cannot take as much pressure and their roots are quite sensitive. As a rule of thumb we say that
the trunk of a suitable tree should have a diameter of at least 8 inches at a height of 3 feet above the ground.
4) What kind of wood do you use for your houses?
Mostly larch, which is extremely weatherresistant. There is so much resin in the wood that you don’t even have to varnish it. You just have to protect the ends of the boards from water. In general, you should make sure that no wooden component is closer than 8 inches to the ground surface. Otherwise, dampness and soil acidity could damage the wood.
5) All in all, how long does it take to build a big tree house?
Take for example the Hotel Seemühle’s Cottage, which was built around a single oak tree. The tree house weighs 5 tons. It has 400 square feet of living space, a bathroom, and a large balcony. The only thing we omitted is a kitchen, due to the risk of fire in the tree house. The planning and preparatory phases in our workshop took four weeks. Then it took another four weeks to assemble the tree house on site.
6) At 5 tons and 400 square feet, how storm-resistant is such a massive tree house?
This substantial weight does not present a problem for an oak. A large oak that has
an area of more than 2,000 square feet exposed to the wind can easily deal with the amount of additional wind resistance created by a tree house. Large oak trees can generally withstand hurricane-force winds. In the case of tree houses that are attached to several different trees, which may sway in the wind to varying degrees, we use special tree house attachment bolts [TABS] that are made of spring steel. When utilized in conjunction with pipe brackets, they endow the structure with a sufficient degree of independence from the trees as they sway in the wind.
7) It sounds like building a tree house is best left to the professionals…
Not necessarily. Of course, to build larger tree houses such as the Cottage at Hotel Seemühle it does take a team of experts. But if you adhere to some basic rules when constructing a backyard tree house, you can do it yourself. And it doesn’t have to cost $20,000 and up like some of the big ones we build for hotels. But it’s important to remember: Never use nails for attaching the house to the tree— always use screws. Nails damage the tree. Also, do not try to scrimp on tools or material, which will set you back around $5,000. And finally: Take your time. Even with two capable friends helping you, it will take at least six days for your dream house to become a reality.