Built a treehouse with my 7yo and it's actually holding up

Dec 161 min read

So I decided to finally build that treehouse my kids have been asking about for like 2 years. Got a decent oak tree in the backyard, grabbed some 2x8 pressure-treated lumber from Home Depot, and honestly watched way too many YouTube videos. My 7yo (Max) and 5yo (Sophie) helped me drill holes and "supervise" which mostly meant eating snacks and pointing at things. Took us 3 weekends but we got a solid 8x8 platform up there with a rope ladder. Max is absolutely losing his mind - I caught him up there at 6am this morning just sitting and reading. Worth every blister on my hands.

9 comments153 views

Comments(9)

GGreg M.RegularDec 17

Mad respect for actually following through on the 2-year ask. Most dads (me included) would've let that request just... exist forever.

CClint R.RegularDec 18

Pressure-treated 2x8s from Home Depot is the right call. Did you do anything for support underneath or just go with what the tree naturally had? The fact that it's actually holding up is impressive lol.

AArchie M.RegularDec 18

The fact that you built this with your 7yo instead of just doing it yourself is the whole thing. He's gonna remember working on that with you way more than he's gonna remember just having a treehouse.

SSam F.New DadDec 18

Honestly curious about the safety specs - did you add railings? My neighbor built one last summer and I've been too paranoid to let my kids use it because I'm terrified of falls even though it looks solid.

SSteve C.RegularDec 18

I built one with my kids last summer and underestimated how nervous I'd be once they were actually up there. Watched them like a hawk for like a week. Now my 8yo basically lives in it. Worth the anxiety.

GGrant C.RegularDec 18

This is one of those dad wins that'll echo for like a decade. Your 7yo is gonna remember this forever. Building something WITH them instead of just buying a plastic jungle gym hits different.

DDustin P.New DadDec 19

Ok this actually rules. 2x8s are solid - how high off the ground? And more importantly, did you use lag bolts or the rope+pulley hybrid? That's what separates "gonna collapse" from "actually structural."

TTom P.RegularDec 19

Wait you actually finished it? I bought lumber for mine like 18 months ago and it's still stacked in my garage. How'd you keep the kids from 'helping' in a way that made it take 10x longer?

NNeil C.New DadDec 19

The fact that you actually finished it after 2 years of them asking tells me everything about what kind of dad you are. That's the whole battle right there - follow through. How long did the build actually take?