all that for a few angles. now back to my father-in-law's, to put ' em to steel.

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...83332393_o.jpg

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...07724061_o.jpg

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Great project!

Sorry if I have missed in the previous posts and sorry for my ignorance.
Do trees usually survive those deep embedded anchors without any longevity problems?

Thanks

yes, they do, when done correctly. they actually stimulate growth, then.

the key is for a clean, sealed application. the hole should be drilled clean, debris removed, fastener installed tightly without chance for much air or water to enter the wound. some experts advocate using an epoxy to help seal the site at the time of installation.

another important phenomenon to be mindful of is compartmentalization. this is when a tree treats several wounds in proximity of each other as a single wounded area, cutting off life to a larger chunk of wood which can later rot. this occurs when several small fasteners (nails, deck screws) are used instead of a single, large, weight bearing fastener.

modern treehouse fasteners mimic the effect of a heavy limb, stimulating growth under and around the site to reinforce the weight bearing capacity of the member.

This is so cool!. Thanks for the info. I had suspected that you wouldn't do something like that without proper research and deliberation.
Keep the pictures coming!

and it does the trick perfectly.

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...03218947_o.jpg

the remaining two hip rafters each have their own bracket, as they intersect the tree at points far away from the others.

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...96305082_o.jpg

all around, plenty of allowance for tree growth.

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...35398340_o.jpg

another view from inside, with door installed.

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...30461504_o.jpg

and a peek at the roofline:

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...66212005_o.jpg

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...49300713_o.jpg

came out a couple of weeks later to take measurements for roofing, got a couple of pretty ones in the snow. i'm stoked on that roofline.

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...-1020x1023.jpg

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...01834683_o.jpg



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all six hip rafters in, it's time to install the jack rafters. these were all days with highs in the low 20s, or lower, which meant no help. freshly treated 2x6s of that length at that height, by myself, and needed to be test fitted after to cut to accurately measure for birdmouth cut at the bottom... well, i'll not whine about it anymore.

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...-1024x1008.jpg

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...84476700_o.jpg

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...86163408_o.jpg

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...18496575_o.jpg

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trimming the rafter overhang, new haircut.

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...dium/th128.jpg

now to the home depot for cedar lath (skip sheathing).

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...dium/th129.jpg

curious if the structure moved before tying in the roof. Waiting on pics with the tree and surrounding area green.

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...dium/th037.jpg

by the time i got to this stage, the platform was pretty tightly locked into its space. certainly by the time the weight of decking was added, and when you jumped on it it was tight, felt like the tightest deck you've jumped on.

i was originally interested in something other than an asphalt shingle roof, hoping for a country cabin look and feel. i liked the idea of a galvanized metal roof, and would love to hear it in the rain, but it wouldn't help the structure blend in with the tree, which is kind of important. a cedar shingle roof, on the other hand, would gray out over time to blend perfectly with the gray bark of the red oak. plus, the texture might help the roof to fade into the shadows of the tree better in summer.

several old timers have sold me on the old lath, or skip sheathing, method for supporting shingles. several have recalled looking up as children in their grandparents' attic to see the backs of the shingles through the open lath, and a thousand specks of light magically shining through the somehow watertight roof.

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...04596047_n.jpg

below is not a picture of my double top secret secret project, but rather a reconnaissance photo of the look from within the structure i hope to approximate. of course, my structure is an irregular hexagon rather than the regular octagon pictured, plus i have four breaches by the tree trunks with which to deal, so mine will not be as symmetrical as this. but it is to this standard i'll aspire.

also, it is clearly illustrated here how heavily the skip sheathing figures into the look from beneath the roof, guiding my material choice.

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...55615622_n.jpg


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first panel, done. turns out, this is a lot more work than just plywood sheathing.

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...dium/th130.jpg

now 3 out of six done. really taking a long time.

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...dium/th131.jpg

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...dium/th132.jpg

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...dium/th133.jpg

now 4/6. shaping up well.

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...dium/th134.jpg

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...dium/th135.jpg

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...dium/th136.jpg

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...dium/th137.jpg




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now, a break to enjoy a visit from cousin miles! my sister's boy. love 'im.


http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...-1024x1024.jpg

these last two roof panels are more complicated for two reasons. first, they have most of the trunk breaches to work around. second, the bottom eave line is sloped, while lath strips need to be installed level. if strips were installed parallel to eave line, rainwater would run slightly diagonal to cedar singles, possibly contributing to long term drying and rotting issues.

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...03603074_o.jpg

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...16779265_o.jpg

http://www.clubchopper.com/photopost...56153181_o.jpg

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