Brettski asked me to link our treehouse project to this thread. The treehouse thread has more info on this project.
My children and I decided to build a treehouse in a huge beech tree that is situated in the middle of our pond site. We hated to see the tree just pushed over and burned, so before the pond is built we cut the top out of the tree (to keep the wind from blowing the dead trunk over) and built a 12'x12' platform supported solely by the trunk of the tree. We have a plywood floor, trapdoor to a ladder, and a railing around the edge. We want to add some type of shade/roof but haven't decided on this yet. We also plan to have some kind of floating platform at the bottom of the trapdoor ladder so that you can step out of boat onto a landing before climbing the ladder.
We are waiting now on the pond construction and look forward to seeing our treehouse sitting in the middle of a 2-3 acre pond nestled down in a valley surrounded by hills and trees (at least that's our vision). We hope to see it being used for picnics, swimming, fishing, mock battles, early morning quiet times, sunset watching, and meaningful conversations. We're trying not to get too attached to it since we know someday it will likely be fish structure, but we're hoping for several years of enjoyment.
