Treehouse Masters — Homeschool Edition

Treehouse Masters

When we had a house full of kids, my family enjoyed watching the cable television show “Treehouse Masters.” We had hearty conversations about the theme we would choose if we were clients of Pete Nelson and his crew. Would ours look like a castle, a pirate ship, or a log cabin? Personally, I love the winding stairs, natural railings, and suspension bridges they often build. After watching an episode, we’d head to bed and dream of spending time in an awesome treehouse located in our own backyard.

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Two Treehouses and Three Forts

Ten years ago, one of my four sons, Ben, asked if we could build a treehouse together. He was eleven years old at the time, and my first thought was, “Please no. I’ve already built two treehouses and three forts in my role as a dad.” But as I prepared to give him an answer, I realized that, as the youngest of my seven children, he was only involved in one of those projects, and then at a very young age. So I answered with an enthusiastic “Yes!” The next day, Ben and I went out to the backyard and selected the perfect spot amid three towering oaks. 

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Planning Treehouse #3

I told Ben to start drawing up some concepts. After reviewing his ideas, I made some sketches of my own. My son took the initiative to buy a box of popsicle sticks and build a 3D scale model, which proved quite helpful as our adventure gained momentum. As a mechanical engineer specializing in structural analysis, and knowing this would likely be my last major construction project with one of my kids, I decided that we would make the best treehouse possible. It may not be as grand as what they make on “Treehouse Masters,” but it would be something we could be proud of.

It was still winter, and Ben was ready to start right away. I laid out some realistic expectations, and we agreed to officially start on the first day of spring. (Time for a homeschool lesson about March 21 being the date of the spring equinox. Always teaching, always learning.) Our first task was to clear out the small saplings and ground cover. By April, we had ordered the anchor pins and wood. Ben was full of anticipation as he eyed the massive pile of wooden beams and studs stacked neatly in our driveway. 

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Building the Treehouse

We were unable to do any work in May due to family commitments, a graduation, and homeschool conferences. But we drilled holes and installed the anchor pins the first weekend in June. We worked a second Saturday that month and added the two main beams and most of the joists. We took some time off to enjoy a family beach trip over that Fourth of July weekend, then returned to work on several hundred-degree, hundred-percent-humidity summer days. I loved taking breaks to sit with Ben, admire our progress, and enjoy some homemade strawberry lemonade prepared with love by the girls in our family.

We then added the ladder, floor deck boards, and railings. By the way, although I was highly involved in the building of this treehouse, Ben installed 90% of the screws. So he carried more than his fair share of the workload. I told him about the days when I was a kid and I had to tighten screws by hand, which was much harder than using a power drill. As we admired our work, the conversation shifted to theology —Jesus, heaven, family, creation, and life in general. We discussed safety, civil engineering, the strength of materials, load-carrying capacities, and, of course, our future plans to read, sleep, and eat in this treehouse, one that we built with our own hands. Talk about Deuteronomy 6 moments with my son. My cup was overflowing. 

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It’s Not About the Treehouse

During one of our chats, I told him I was impressed by his patience with the time the project was taking. His response was a great reminder of the real objective of this undertaking. Ben was really enjoying the time we were spending together as father and son, without any rush. It’s times like these when I can say, “Life is good!” You see, a key was to remember that the goal wasn’t to keep the project on schedule; it was to spend quality and quantity time with my son. 

We finished the main construction by the end of September. Ben painted it in October to protect the wood against the rain and sun. Then we enjoyed some fall and early winter days reading, relaxing, sleeping, and eating high up in the trees, taking in the great view of the forest.

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Benefits For Future Generations

As I inspect this ten-year-old treehouse today, I must admit that it requires some repairs and updates. The three main oak trees have grown in size, bumping up against some of the joists. A few deck boards are noticeably weathered and need to be replaced. It could also benefit from a good pressure washing and repainting. Other than that, it is still safe and very functional. My four-year-old grandson recently climbed to the top to take a look. He was impressed when he heard that his Uncle Ben had built it with me. And it’s no surprise that he’s already asking his own Dad when they can build a treehouse in their backyard.

I admit that amateurs clearly built this treehouse, but the personal investment, bonding, and relationship building that went into the project are worth more than any amount I would pay a professional. I’m glad I said yes to my son. I did much more than build a treehouse; I built into the life of my youngest son and created a memory that has lasted a lifetime for both of us.