Don’t forget there are special drill bits and saw blades as well. The things you learn when your friends go down to the bare studs and rebuild an old cottage!
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Neat. It has some of the same design elements of the Treehouse that I just built. @Brainspore was at the Treehouse Warming Party a couple weeks ago.
A tip: if you check Craigslist, there are often a lot of people selling their kids’ old playhouses and jungle gyms. Even if you don’t want to use them as originally intended, this can be a much cheaper source of materials than buying new. I bought a whole playhouse from someone just to make use of the slide, for a lot less than the cost of a new slide. Ended up using the swing too, and I have a lot of parts left over if I start to get more ambitious.
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That is fantastic! I love the bay window. The slide we already got from CL for about a tenth the cost of a new one. It looks remarkably similar to the one in yours, so I have to ask how you attached the top to the platform.
I wanted to use corrugated plastic for the roof, but the client nixed it in favor of an opaque roof solution that was the correct blue color. It’ll certainly be quieter as well, but I will miss the light.
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Does everyone mind if I nerd out a little here with awe? Because that hauling system is awesome.
Do I see 2x6 framing with a pair of Garnier Limbs holding up the lower beams? Have you find 2x6 to be adequate? I had been thinking 2x8, because, paranoia.
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I remember doing those- I always enjoyed figuring out ways to eke the most out of the (inevitable) limitations of the system I was working with.
I did not enjoy hanging lights, as the theater I mostly worked in had a grid that was fixed- and there were no catwalks. That left (at the time) some very rickety wooden A-frame ladders with vertical extensions you had to climb. Not a lot of fun.
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These days it’s scaffolding instead. OSHA stepped in and the industry had to get its act together.
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Given some of the scaffolding I’ve seen, I’m not entirely sure that’s always an improvement.
Still: one of the lovely uses of math in my actual life was doing those plots. I miss that bit, sometimes.
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Bamboo scaffolding, entirely encasing the buildings as they’re being built. Flexible, renewable…it just takes some getting used to for those of us who have used only the metal pipes version:
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The main issue with bamboo is that it relies on “this is always how we’ve done it” versions of engineering instead of “this is rated bamboo suitable for use over 12 floors.” Because bamboo doesn’t come with ratings the way steel does. The lessons the they’ve learned on bamboo have been hard and fast and deadly.
We used to have this same mentality here in the states:
“It shows our courage if we do not use a safety belt, and we guys love that,” said Wong Kan-kwun, 45, a bamboo scaffolding worker for 28 years.
It has benefits, but certainly comes with safety concerns as well.
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There is likely some local theatre company who wouldn’t mind having you come around every once and a while to enjoy doing lovely math for them. 
I think that 2x8’s would be overkill, but whatever makes you feel safe. The floor in my treehouse feels plenty stable. Keep in mind that floors in most structures are designed for a significantly higher load (40 lbs/sq ft) than what you’re likely to put in a treehouse. Most treehouses never get loaded up with things like heavy bookshelves, bathtubs, refrigerators, etc.
If you’re really worried abou it you might want to check out the calculator at this link:
http://www.awc.org/codes-standards/calculators-software/spancalc
(I didn’t use it, but I may have a higher risk tolerance than you)
I didn’t spring for the real Garnier hardware but I did a similar type of connection with big lag bolts.
One more thing- if you’re serious about adding a tire swing, or even if you aren’t, you should probably consider adding some diagonal cross-bracing between the vertical posts. Swings create significant lateral loads. Admittedly big diagonal braces can make the treehouse look more like a tower and less like a tree-supported structure, but those lateral loads need to be reacted against something. But one nice thing about bracing is that it can often be added after-the-fact once you start realize that you’ve got too much sway.
Good luck!
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Making myself some linen pants, and I can’t decide whether to do a straight hem or cuff them.
Probably should have photographed all of the pants to better see how it looks.
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I’m kind of digging the cuffs, actually, FWIW. I’m sure either will look fab, though.
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Well done!
I dig the cuffs, too.
Practically speaking, the weight should help the pants hang properly as well.
That said, every pair of pants I own is cuffed, so there’s that…
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After what has seemed like forever, my shelf project is so very close to done.
Lots of painting for all the metal parts, and the shelves are all custom, too. But totally worth it.
All that’s missing now is the pair of vintage speakers that go with the stereo- they’ll be on the top shelves (you can spot the blue tape that marks how much space they’ll take up).
And next: weirder custom shelves in the basement while channeling Tom Sachs.
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If memory serves, Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings had a tendency to add water features on top of and inside of them…generally unintentionally.
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Drool…
DNA helices would look bad-ass on a kurta. I wish I knew how to sew.
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