Tree house - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/Tree_house

Tree house - Wikipedia

A tree house, tree fort or treeshed is a platform or building constructed around,

next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above
ground level. Tree houses can be used for recreation, work space, habitation, and
observation.

Use[edit]

Building tree platforms or nests as a shelter from dangers on the ground is a habit of
all the great apes, and may have been inherited by humans. It is true that evidence of
prehistoric man-made tree houses have never been found by paleoanthropologists,
but remains of wooden tree houses would not remain. However, evidence for cave
accommodation, terrestrial man-made rock shelters, and bonfires should be possible
to find if they had existed, but are scarce from earlier than 40000 years ago. This has
led to a hypothesis that archaic humans may have lived in trees until about 40000
years ago.[1]

Even today, treehouses are built by some indigenous people in order to escape the
danger and adversity on the ground. In some parts of the tropics, houses are either
fastened to trees or elevated on stilts to keep the living quarters above the ground to
protect occupants and stored food from scavenging animals. The Korowai, a Papuan
tribe in the southeast of Irian Jaya, live in tree houses, some nearly 40 metres (130 ft)
high, as protection against a tribe of neighbouring head-hunters, the Citak.[2]

Modern tree houses are usually built as a hut for children or for leisure purposes.
Modern tree houses may also be integrated into existing hotel facilities.

Along with subterranean and ground level houses, tree houses are an option for
building eco-friendly houses in remote forest areas, because they do not require a

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clearing of a certain area of forest. However, the wildlife, climate and illumination on
ground level in areas of dense close-canopy forest is not desirable to some people.
[citation needed]

Support methods and technology[edit]

There are numerous techniques to fasten the structure to the tree which seek to
minimize tree damage.[3]

The construction of modern tree houses usually starts with the creation of a rigid
platform, on which the house will be placed; the platform will lean (possibly on the
corners) on the branches.[4] In case there aren’t enough suitable supports, the
methods to support the platform are:

Struts and stilts

Struts and stilts are used for relieving weights on a lower elevation or straight to the
ground; Tree houses supported by stilts weigh much less on the tree and help to
prevent stress, potential strain, and injury caused by puncture holes.[5] Stilts are
typically anchored into the ground with concrete although new designs, such as the
“Diamond Pier”, accelerates installation time and they are less invasive for the root
system.[6] Stilts are considered the easiest method of supporting larger tree houses,
and can also increase structural support and safety.

Stay rods

Stay rods are used for relieving weights on a higher elevation. These systems are
particularly useful to control movements caused by wind or tree growth, however
they are the used less often, due to the natural limits of the systems. Higher elevation
and more branches tailing off decreases capacity and increases wind sensibility.[7] As
building materials for hanging are used ropes, wire cables, tension fasteners, springs
etc.

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Friction and tension fasteners

Friction and tension fasteners are the most common noninvasive methods of securing
tree houses. They do not use nails, screws or bolts, but instead grip the beams to the
trunk by means of counter-beam, threaded bars, or tying.

Invasive methods

Invasive methods are all methods that use nails, screws, bolts, kingpins, etc. Because
these methods require punctures in the tree, they must be planned properly in order
to minimize stress.[8] Not all species of plants suffer from puncture in the same way,
depending partly on whether the sap conduits run in the pith or in the bark. Nails are
generally not recommended.[9] A special kind of bolt developed in the 1990s called a
treehouse attachment bolt (TAB) can support greater weights than earlier methods.
[10][11][12]

Popularity[edit]

Since the mid-1990s, recreational tree houses have enjoyed a rise in popularity in
countries such as the United States and parts of Europe.[13] This has been due to
increased disposable income, better technology for builders, research into safe
building practices and an increased interest in environmental issues, particularly
sustainable living. This growing popularity is also reflected in a rise of social media
channels and websites specially dedicated to featuring remarkable tree houses around
the world.[14]

Increased popularity has, in turn, given rise to demand for businesses covering all
building and design work for clients. There are over 30 businesses in Europe and the
USA[15] specializing in the construction of tree houses of various degrees of
permanence and sophistication, from children's play structures to fully functioning
homes.

Popularity of tree house hotels is equally growing,[when?] with a number of booking

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websites offering accommodation in tree houses.

Building regulations[edit]

Many areas of the world have no specific planning laws for tree houses, so the legal
issues can be confusing to both the builder and the local planning departments only.
Treehouses can be exempt, partially regulated or fully regulated - depending on the
locale.[citation needed]

In some cases, tree houses are exempted from standard building regulations, as
they're considered outside of the regulations specification. An exemption may be
given to a builder if the tree house is in a remote or non-urban location. Alternatively,
a tree house may be included in the same category as structures such as garden sheds,
sometimes called a "temporary structure". There may be restrictions on height,
distance from boundary and privacy for nearby properties. There are various grey
areas in these laws, as they were not specifically designed for tree-borne structures. A
very small number of planning departments have specific regulations for tree houses,
which set out clearly what may be built and where. For safety during the tree house
construction, it is usually best to do as much work as possible on the ground, taking
long-term viability into consideration.[citation needed]

Protest communities[edit]

The tree house has been central to various environmental protest communities
around the world, in a technique, popularized, known as tree sitting. This method
may be used in protests against proposed road building or old growth forestry
operations. Tree houses are used as a method of defence from which it is difficult and
costly to safely evict the protesters and begin work. Julia Butterfly Hill is a
particularly well known tree sitter who occupied a Californian Redwood for 738 days,
saving the tree and others in the immediate area. Her accommodation consisted of
two 3m2 (29 sq ft) platforms 60 m (200 ft) above the ground.[16]

Image gallery[edit]

Tree houses

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Korowai Treehouse

Tree house built for children

Tree house built with recycled materials, Néthen, Belgium

Noninvasive method of fixing a tree platform

See also[edit]

Chêne chapelle

Fab Tree Hab – a house made of living trees at MIT

Out'n'About – a tree house oriented bed and breakfast in Cave Junction, Oregon

Stilt house

Tree climbing

References[edit]

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1. Jump up ^ Donald R Perry, Interpreting evidence: Tree houses, 21st Century

Anthropology: A Reference Handbook, SAGE Publications, 2010, page 365-366

2. Jump up ^ Head-Hunters Drove Papuan Tribe Into Tree-Houses

3. Jump up ^ "Architecture Thesis, bachelor degree".

4. Jump up ^ "Garden Tree House Design". Cheeky Monkey Tree Houses. Retrieved 22
March 2013.

5. Jump up ^ "Tree injury". Retrieved 2011-05-12.

6. Jump up ^ "Diamond Pier". Retrieved 2011-05-12.

7. Jump up ^ Bahamon, Alejandro (2007). Treehouses Living a Dream. New York, NY:
Collins Design. p. 8. ISBN 0-06-078001-0.

8. Jump up ^ "friction fastening advice". Retrieved 2011-05-12.

9. Jump up ^ "Danger of nails". Retrieved 2011-05-12.

10. Jump up ^ Miskimon, Robert; Chmienlnicki, Steven (2008). The Complete Guide to
Building Your Own Tree House: For Parents and Adults Who Are Kids at Heart.
Atlantic Publishing Company. pp. 88–89. ISBN 1-60138-244-8. Retrieved 29 July
2011.

11. Jump up ^ "Creation of the TAB". Retrieved 2013-09-21.

12. Jump up ^ Garnier, Michael. "Official Garnier Limb Origin and Histree".
Out'n'About Treesort, LLC. Retrieved 28 December 2013.

13. Jump up ^ Henderson, Paula; Adam Mornement (2005). Treehouses. London, UK:
Frances Lincoln Ltd. p. 7. ISBN 0-7112-2437-4.

14. Jump up ^ "Treehouses around the world on a map". Treehouse Map. Retrieved

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2016-06-17.

15. Jump up ^ "Commercial treehouse builder list". Retrieved 2007-11-20.

16. Jump up ^ Henderson, Paula; Adam Mornement (2005). Treehouses. London, UK:
Frances Lincoln Ltd. p. 65. ISBN 0-7112-2437-4.

17. Jump up ^ "List of Treehouses in Kerala, India".

Further reading[edit]

Tree Houses: An Illustrated Essay on the Aesthetic & Practical Aspects of Aboreal
Architecture. Green Tiger Press. 1975.

External links[edit]

Short documentary

Map of tree houses & treehouse hotels from around the world

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