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How to Build a Treehouse for Fun & Exercise

July 11, 2014 by Katie Wells
How to build a treehouse for exercise and fun
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • Why Build a Treehouse?+−
    • Is it Risky?
    • Expensive?
  • How to Build a Treehouse at Home+−
    • Treehouse Building Supplies

We can learn so much from children, especially the importance of running, jumping, and climbing. Children do these things naturally and as adults, many of us lose the ability to perform many of these functional movements.

Why Build a Treehouse?

Climbing is one of the most functional and useful movements we can do, but statistically, most adults can’t do these movements anymore. Could you climb a 20 foot rope right now? What about a 15 foot climbing wall or a fire pole?

My children are still naturally able to climb, and helping them keep and improve this ability was a priority for my husband and I. We saved up and build a treehouse that would provide a place for exercise, climbing, and creative play (the children know all of these activities as “play” or “fun”).

The result was a month-long project that involved the help of grandparents (and the kids), a lot of wood and natural wood stain, and the creation of a treehouse that the kids (and adults!) love. Every aspect of the treehouse, from the zip line to the slide to the monkey bars is strong enough for an adult to use.

Is it Risky?

Obstacles don't have to stop youSome aspects of our treehouse would be considered risky. The zipline starts at a height of 12 feet. The climbing wall is at least that high and they could potentially fall from 8 feet or higher in a number of places. We’ve minimized the potential for them to get seriously injured, but I don’t mind that there is some risk involved.

There is evidence that the over-safe playgrounds we’ve created have a negative effect on our children and that not having this risk is stunting their psychological development.

…the more risks you allow children to take, the better they learn to take care of themselves. If you never let them take any risks, then I believe they become very prone to injury. Boys should be allowed to climb tall trees and walk along the tops of high walls and dive into the sea from high rocks… The same with girls. I like the type of child who takes risks. Better by far than the one who never does so. -Roald Dahl

Expensive?

We consider this treehouse an investment in our children’s health and I love that it is a place where they can spend hours of quality time and make memories.

It wasn’t cheap to build but it was definitely in the same price range as buying a pre-made “safe” play structure that many families have in their backyards (but with a lot more features). We built it strong enough to hold all of our children even when they are teens (in fact, we’ve had 8+ adults up there at once).

The treehouse also encourages my kids to play with each other, and seeing them bond is priceless to me.

We saved and budgeted and made this a priority for them.

How to Build a Treehouse at Home

The goal of early childhood educationThe deck of the treehouse is 9×16 and supported by a huge pine tree and six 6×6 boards. One side is a climbing wall and a climbing rope that goes to the top of the enclosed clubhouse inside. The deck of the treehouse is 7 feet tall.

On the deck, there is an open area with a railing where the children can play, and a 7×8 enclosed clubhouse area where they can build forts, have camp outs, and play outside even if it is raining. There is a 9 foot speed slide that comes out of the enclosed building.

The zip line attaches to the pine tree and goes to another tree that is over 150 feet away. To use the zip line, the children have to climb up, hold on to the zip line, ride it to the other tree, then run the 150+ feet back to the treehouse for the next person go. They typically do this for an hour or more a day (great exercise).

Under the deck of the treehouse are metal monkey bars, a set of rings/trapeze bar, a cargo net for climbing, two hanging chairs and a hammock. The kids spend time here relaxing and reading.

Treehouse Building Supplies

  • six 6×6 boards
  • tons of decking boards for the deck and the climbing wall
  • wooden siding for the building
  • translucent plastic for the roof
  • 1 inch metal bars for monkey bars
  • A long 2-inch metal pipe for fire pole
  • A turbo slide
  • 50 natural rock climbing holds
  • A climbing rope
  • A zip line
  • two harnesses for the little kids to use the zipline
  • A slack line
  • Hammock Chairs
  • Rings and Trapeze Combo
  • A cargo net
  • A simple hammock
  • Natural Stain

Take the (virtual) tour here:

Do your kids have a treehouse? What physical activities do you encourage for them to stay fit and active? Share below!

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Category: Natural Home

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder and CEO of Wellness Mama and Co-Founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a wife and mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

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Reader Interactions

Discussion (69 Comments)

  1. Kyah

    July 13, 2014 at 9:53 AM

    so awesome!!

    Reply
  2. david

    July 13, 2014 at 9:27 AM

    This is truly amazing, thank you so much for sharing!

    Any chance you can video tape the entire house so we can understand more how elements talk to other elements? or maybe more pics? we would really like to have something like this for our kids!

    Reply
  3. Heather

    July 13, 2014 at 8:24 AM

    Wow, this is great! I want to build a treehouse now and I don’t even have kids!

    Reply
  4. Stephanie

    July 12, 2014 at 9:34 PM

    Amazing! This is now on our to-do list for next spring. I’m interested in the natural stain – what brand did you use and where did you buy it? I’m in Canada, so it might not be available here, but I haven’t been able to find many nontoxic ideas.

    Thanks!!

    P.S. your blog is basically my handbook on life 🙂

    Reply
    • Heidi

      February 3, 2019 at 9:50 PM

      I, too, would like to know which natural stain you used?

      Reply
  5. Susie

    July 12, 2014 at 12:10 PM

    I definitely fell off my zip-line we had as a kid and broke my arm. Worth it?? Absolutely. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Catelyn Olivares

    July 12, 2014 at 10:04 AM

    Oh my goodness! What I wouldn’t do to be able to build this for my son and future children! So much fun and good exercise!

    Reply
  7. Amy

    July 12, 2014 at 8:15 AM

    How. Cool.

    Reply
  8. Henita

    July 12, 2014 at 3:54 AM

    Would love to build a tree house like that! Sadly, the pictures are either covered with words or from strange angles, which makes it hard to understand how it is actually constructed. Do you have a plan available?

    Reply
    • Katie - Wellness Mama

      July 12, 2014 at 10:56 PM

      Not really, as we it kind of evolved as we were building it.

      Reply
      • Dustin

        December 17, 2017 at 9:09 PM

        is it possible to take more still pictures of how things are attached/put together. joints, underneath, how you attached railings. what size of joists did you use? (2×6 or 2×8). I am more interested in the “bones” of the construction. How did you attach wood to wood? Nails, screws, bolts, lag bolts, Joist hangers? I would love to build something similar for my kids. Thank you for your response.

        Reply
        • Elizabeth

          March 28, 2018 at 6:25 AM

          Agreed – there are no plans for building it here, but I think many of us could benefit from knowing more of the nitty gritty. Could you have someone who was in charge of the construction write about it and lay out more details? I think this would make your blog more powerful. Everyone knows that exercise is good for kids and treehouses are cool. What many people don’t know and would love to know is HOW to construct one. Thank you!

          Reply
  9. Jenny Olatunji

    July 11, 2014 at 6:38 PM

    Wow, this is such an amazing idea, your right it is definitely an investment but it’s certainly something I would have loved as a child! Love the blog, keep up the awesome work

    Reply
  10. dawn

    July 11, 2014 at 4:20 PM

    Love the tree house. My husband and kids built one with some used wood we had. Theirs is a two story. Not finished yet but hopefully soon. So far I have found some neat extras from hearthsong.com like zip lines and other really cool stuff. Love that website for the kids.

    Reply
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