Treehouse of wonders
Meet the building ‘Masters’
Practically every child dreams of having a treehouse. Of course, not many kids end up making it their life’s work — except Pete Nelson. The 50-year-old former home builder and founder of Washington state-based Nelson Treehouse and Supply has built hundreds of these arboreal retreats in 26 states and nine countries during the past 15 years.
And starting this week on the Discovery Channel’s Animal Planet (Friday, 10 p.m. ET/PT), Treehouse Masters will show you why many who know Nelson call him “the tree whisperer.” The eight-episode series will chronicle Nelson and his team of craftsmen, who have built everything from the 800-square-foot “Twenty-ton Texas Treehouse” with a full bath and flat-screen TV near Waco to the “Honeymoon Suite” 250 feet off the ground at Nelson’s own Treehouse Point B&B in Issaquah, Wash.
No matter what style is used, Nelson says, “the way people respond is remarkable. Treehouses bring together families, friends and even entire communities.”
For Amber Maddox, the daughter of the couple who commissioned the Texas treehouse, “it’s a special way to connect adults with kids.”
In fact, Nelson helped shift interest in treehouses to grown-ups with his 1994 coffee-table book, Treehouses: The Art and Craft of Living Out on a Limb, which is filled with some wildly elaborate sylvan cribs.
Nelson found his calling at age 5 after his father built him a treehouse in the tiny backyard of his home in Ridgewood, N.J.
“My wife, Judy, has been supportive of this since 1987, when I went: ‘Aha! I want to build treehouses. I want to be the treehouse guy.’ And she goes, ‘OK.’ ”
Now the enterprise includes his 21-year-old son, Charlie, “a great carpenter,” and his 23-year-old daughter, Emily, “a critical sounding board for the business.”
Despite a two-year dip during the recession, business is thriving. A basic treehouse will set you back about $80,000. Nelson says the Texas one cost more than $200,000.
In addition to finding the perfect spot for the treehouse, there’s the question of building codes. Patrick Fulton, who writes The Treehouse Guide, an online resource, says there is no official category for a treehouse in most local building codes.
If you’re someone who just wants a daytime retreat for the kids, there are plans for such treehouses available (some for a fee) at Fulton’s sister site, Treehouse Guides (treehouseguides.com) or wiki How’s “How to Build a Treehouse” guide (wikihow.com/ Build-a-Treehouse).
“Treehouses are priceless, especially the simple one that Dad builds in the backyard,” Nelson says. “Through great resources like Craigslist, it can be very cheap to acquire materials.” And then there’s the actual labor: “Dad will spend approximately 10 times longer than he may think to build it. One weekend becomes 10.”
Nelson says anyone doing this on his own should check with his local building department and pay attention to the basics.
And always think safety: Best to overbuild and invest the time and money in scaffolding, safety lines and mulch on the ground. “Some people might get a little psyched out when they see the pictures of what we do,” Nelson says. “But make it happen.”