Can You Build a Treehouse Out of Pallets?
Every kid loves a good old tree house, but why a pallet tree house? Well its no different for the kids but for you parents it means you don’t need to burn a hole in your pocket! Also pallets make a good tree house because they are strong and can be easily assembled. They also come in many different sizes, so it is easy to find the right size for your needs.
You will need some wood glue or nails to assemble them together. The best way to do this would be to use two people as one person holds down each end while another person applies the glue or nail into place. Once all four sides have been glued together, then you should add any finishing touches such as windows, doors, etc.
What Is the Best Tree for a Tree House?
The best trees for building a treehouse are those that grow straight up with no branches on top. This makes it easier to climb onto the roof without having to worry about limbs falling off. Trees like these include apple, pear, plum, cherry, maple, oak, birch, hickory, pine, spruce, fir, cedar, cypress, juniper, and more. The strongest of these are usually hardwoods which means they won’t rot over time.
Which Pallet Wood is Best for a Tree House?
You want to choose a type of wood that has high strength but still looks nice when finished. If you go with softwood lumber, then you might not get the look you were going for. However, if you go with hardwood lumber then you will definitely achieve what you wanted. It just depends on how much money you want to spend on materials.
How Long Does it Take to Build a Treehouse?
It takes anywhere from 2-4 hours depending on how much work you put into it. It really depends on if you plan ahead and get everything ready before starting construction. Also, remember that there may be safety concerns involved since you could fall through the floorboards. So, always wear proper shoes and clothing when working outside.
Decisions
To construct your treehouse of pallets you firstly must decide how many of the pallets you want to keep in pallet form for your base and how much you want to break apart into pallet planks for walling, roofing and flooring if applicable. Then decide how high up you want your tree house to be and most importantly you’ll need to figure out exactly what kind of structure you’d like to build. Do you want a simple platform for sitting? Multiple levels? or perhaps just the classic house in a tree design.
How Will My Kids Get up and Down?
If you don’t mind climbing ladders then you can simply attach rungs to the side of the ladder. But if you prefer something safer than using ladders then you can create steps by attaching boards across the bottom of the trunk. These can either be attached directly to the trunk or placed at an angle against the trunk. Another option is to cut away part of the trunk where you want stairs to be located.
Where to Find Pallet Wood
There are several places online where you can buy pallet wood for your pallet tree house. Including eBay, Amazon, Craigslist, local home improvement stores, and even yard sales. Just search around until you find someone selling their old stuff and your bound to come across some pallets for your pallet tree house.
How to Build a Pallet Tree House
The Pallet Tree House DeckÂ
First start off by using nails to mark the tree/trees at the height and level that you want your tree house, then lay a plank from nail to nail and place your level on this plank to make sure your base will lay flat. This will really help to get an understanding of the specific lengths that you will need to cut your beams to. After that saw the main beams to the correct lengths and drilled slots in where the screws will eventually go this is so when the trees move in the wind they can move without breaking the tree house apart.
Next add a ladder, being sure to do this in a way that the tree is free to move. Alternatively you can nail steps to the trunk or carve steps into the trunk.
Now you have everything ready for your base you need to assemble your base using a ladder and plenty of patience. Every tree and tree house are different so this will differ in each instance.
The Pallet Tree House Frame
To help get the dimensions needed for each of your batten beams draw your plan out on paper until you are happy with it and this will largely increase the rate of building for your frame.
Build the four wall panels down on the ground right bellow your tree/trees then hoist them up onto the deck and screw into place.
For the back panel you must use the correct height in the centre since you will be joining the rear cladding together in the centre.
Then you have to dismantle the pallets without breaking the wood, remove all nails and then put the wood in piles of similar length. Each plank needs to be measured up, cut to shape and then screwed on to your tree house skeleton. You’ll need to do some more intricate work around any windows or doors.
Its suggested to use a pitched roof method using some battens and pallet wood. A good idea is to use tin roof sheeting to prevent water leaking into your pallet tree house.
The norm is to paint outside wood structures with varnish but id like to suggest oil instead as it lasts longer.
Once you’ve finished your pallet tree house you might feel like there are possible improvements, well your correct you can add a zipline, an extension balcony, railings, a slide, fireman’s pole and even another level!
Tools & Materials That You Will Most Definitely Need
- Circular saw
- Crowbar
- Saw
- Cordless drill
- Driver
- Work clamps
- Saw horses (You can build your own out of some pallet wood)
- Specs
- Main beams
- Secondary beams
- Pine decking
- Pallet wood for cladding
- Tin roofing
I hope this article has answered some of your questions or helped you to construct your very own tree house, if you have any more queries then click on this link to watch a video on a different building method.