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Big, Bad Treehouse

With the hand rails installed, I turned my attention to building the staircase. The staircase needs to reach from the ground to the landing platform, which is 14 feet from the ground at the base of that tree. The staircase descends towards higher ground, as the trees are on a slope. Because the ground was uneven and I wasn't absolutely sure where the upper run of stairs would terminate, I made the stair stringers first. I also partially assembled the stairs, as the upper end would not be fastened to the landing in a conventional way. Trees sway in the wind, so any coupling between the tree and something connected to the ground must be able to move. To work out how to do this, I sketched the design:

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The two beams protruding from the top end of the staircase rest on the lower cross beam on the edge of the landing. There is room for the assembly to slide a few inches in each direction. The beam ends are held captive by a lag screw each, which is there to prevent the end of the stair from being pulled off the cross beam, in the unlikely event that there is ever that much movement.
 
The upper run of stairs will descend from the upper landing, which is in the tree, to a lower landing, where it will turn 90 degrees to the left and continue to the ground.

Saturday, I built the upper stair partial assembly, hauled it up the tree, swung it up into place and suspended it from ropes and a supporting post. Once it was aligned with the landing and level, it was easy to tell how high a lower landing would have to be.

I began shoveling to level out the space for the concrete footing blocks. The soil is full of large rocks, so the going was slow. Eventually, the soil was level and compacted. A thunderstorm rolled in right as I placed the blocks and the rain came down in earnest. It was time to stop for the day.

That night, I decided to stay up to catch the Perseid meteor shower from a local hot spring. I was out until about 4 a.m., which would delay my start that morning, but the soak and the show were worth it.
 
The day dawned looking like more thunderstorms were in store, so I got out and framed the lower landing. Once the decking boards were installed, I bolted the lower ends of the stairs in place. The rain had begun again and I went inside during the worst of the downpour. Once the worst squall was over, I went out to wrap things up, pack my tools away and take a few pictures.

The upper and lower landings, with the upper stair run connecting them:

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I don't work in flipflops, but had showered and changed before going up to take pictures:

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This coming weekend, I hope to finish the stairs. The other rope has arrived, so I also have the material to finish the bridge.
 
MrIncredible said:
First person to tie a sheepshank gets a free drink.
Click to expand...

Easy, peasy.

Once upon a time, I was kind of a knot nerd. Over time, the knot I had the most use for were related to climbing and rigging, with a few others thrown in for contingencies, such as a bowline on a bight.

If you guys want to take a run at backsliding a kern mantle rope, I'll hold your beer.
 
I was thinking an eye splice to form a loop. Agreed that a backsplice would probably look out of place on that rope. And they're not really intended to be a stopper.

eye-splice.jpg
 
Also, it took me a minute, but I just remembered how to tie a sheepshank.

English climbing knot is one that I'm proud of, and have actually used many times.
 
Probably not.

It's used for tying off a loop in the middle of a rope, without access to either end of the rope. Can be loaded either direction, does not weaken the rope like an overhand loop would, and can be easily untied even after carrying a load.

And I've probably got the name wrong. :laughing
 
cycle61 said:
Probably not.

It's used for tying off a loop in the middle of a rope, without access to either end of the rope. Can be loaded either direction, does not weaken the rope like an overhand loop would, and can be easily untied even after carrying a load.

And I've probably got the name wrong. :laughing
Click to expand...

Ah, sounds like a butterfly knot.
 
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