In a
recent post , Brettski said:
Seeing your post reminds me that we have not heard (or I have missed) any further news on your project. Fill us in; it sounded like a great plan.
I haven't had much to post on our pond because the builder has not been able to work on it because of other projects. He was finally ready to start last weekend, but that apparently broke our 6-month drought (and the great dirtwork weather). I'm thankful for the rain, and Lord willing we will have some pond progress soon.
I needed to update this treehouse thread. We decided to give it a try and now have a treehouse/deck in the middle of the pond site. Here are some pictures....
Here is a picture of the tree before cutting. It was very large (see the next picture to compare with this long-distance shot). We wanted to take the weight out of the top to make it last longer after it was submerged. The two large trunks were a scary chainsaw job, and our tree guy didn't want to cut them any higher than he did. We would like to have had another 10 feet or so but we're thankful for what we have.
One of my sons climbing the tree after cutting out the top and starting the platform. The pile of dirt in front of the tree was a ramp we made so that we could get our Kubota front end loader high enough to stand on while starting the structure...
The platform is primarily supported by doubled 2x10s that sandwich the tree uprights. Here you can see the main supports and diagonal secondary braces (notice the Brettski-style hat
)...
We floored with exterior plywood for strength and to reduce the number of times my children lose things in the water....
We attached posts, then built our railings in sections on the ground. Here is my son attaching the first section.....
Here is the current status with 3 of my sons enjoying the view. The platform is approximately 17 feet off the ground, and we estimate the water level at that point will be 12 feet (putting us 4 or 5 feet above the water).
Here is a little closer view....
When the dirtwork starts and we confirm our elevations we plan to coat the tree trunk at water level with a rubberized coating since I've been told that the water line is where the tree is most likely to rot first. I would also like to build some type of shade, maybe an overhead pagoda-style structure with a removable cloth covering so we can enjoy the view or cover up as needed.
I'll try to add more pictures when the pond work commences.
