The Cook Family Tree House

To see the Turret / Sentry that will "Guard" the tree house - Click Here.

July 2009 - The first picture I took - One of the two joists that bolt to the trees.	Now bolted at both ends.	The boards that are bolted to the tree have horizontal slots so the trees can move in very windy conditions and not split the wood.	After carrying the first 16 foot 2x10 up that hill, I realized I could REALLY use some help!  Two really good guys stepped up - Chris Bush and Bill Belongea - Thanks Guys!!	You can see one of the support triangles on the right here - There will be 4 of them.
Chris - Cranking away on the bolts!	Another angle - He's about 12 feet high at this end...	More support triangles.	End result of what we accomplished that weekend.	Same thing, further down the hill.
Three joists on each side (Eventually there will be five per side)	Fast forward to June of 2011 - I moved the 2 joists from the front side to the back because I didn't feel like carrying any up after carrying up 3 sheets of pressure treated 3/4 plywood ALONE!	View from further down the hill.	3 pieces of flooring installed, working on the trap door.	Another view of the trap door.
All back joists installed, 3 sheets of flooring installed, and trap door installed!!!	Top of trap door.	Deadbolt with custom CAMO KEYS :)	Another view.	Now I've raised the camo netting off of the edges of the deck by suspending it from camo ropes in the trees.  That took a day and a half to do!!!
Speaking of camo netting - I got the real thing - same stuff I used in the Army - It has thousands of fine metal threads woven into the camo netting which makes it look like solid ground to radar - You know, in case the black helicopters come looking for the tree house :)	A view of the netting height above the platform.	Another ground view with the nets suspended	View of the nets from the trail to the house.	View from the house.
1/4 of the deck planks installed.	3/4's of the deck planks installed.	Dog Tags for the boys, with the camo keys attached :)	Showing it off to my mom and her friends - They had a girls weekend at the cabin.	View of 3/4's of the decking done from the top.
Taken from the left rear corner.	Taken from the right rear corner.	Taken from the front left corner.	Taken from the front right corner.	Like a glove!
Taken from the  left rear corner.	Taken from the right rear corner.	Taken from the front left corner.	Taken from the front right corner.	Still have to decide on ladder, stairs, etc... for the trap door...
Underside from the front.	Looooong way down!!!	Right side.	Left Side.	I was able to get 6 of the 9 support posts up today.  4 of the 5 on the front, and the 2 on the left.
Here are the 2 on the left.  Only 3 more to go!!!	Latest picture.	I LOVE the cordless tools, but all it takes is one time forgetting to charge the batteries!!!  I've always got a set charging!!!	Nailin' up some railin'!!!  This time I left the compressor on the deck and worked in the back yard instead of lugging it up the mountain!  The Compressor, Hose, Nails, & Nail guns took 3 or 4 trips up the mountain!  Working smarter, not harder :)	2 Railings installed. (All 9 posts are now installed too.)
About to put up the 3rd...	Now 6 of the 8 railing sections are up!	This level shows both the x and y axis at the same time - How cool is that?!?!	Looking sooooo good!	Taken from the right rear corner.
Taken from the left rear corner	Finished for the day - I'm BEAT!!!	Last picture for the day...	New Day - All 8 of the railing sections are now up! Taken from the left rear corner.	Taken from the right rear corner.
Taken from the right front corner.	Looking down the side...	Marty and the boys safe behind the railing!	With us up here, there is WELL over a ton being supported by the brackets.	No one told ME to wear RED!
Excited boys!	Playing Pokémon on the deck!	The platform is almost complete - I can't wait to finish the house!!!	Mom trekking up the mountain!	Here she comes! You just don't see it in the pictures, but man is it steep!!!
Matthew - Game Face 1	Matthew - Game Face 2	Matthew - Cheese Face	Patches 1	Patches 2
Matthew	Ryan - Happy Face	Ryan - Game Face	Can't hold the game face long :)	Tree House Defense Team
Daaaaad - Can we PLEASE have the air tanks and paintballs?!?!?	12 sheets of plywood for the walls of the tree house. The grey is primer, the green we had custom matched to a rhododendron leaf!	Rhino painting the walls... Who will finish first? All I have to do is make it a contest :)	Tank painting the walls... It's going to be close!	Ryan and Matthew working HARD!!! I was sooooo proud of them!
The end is in sight - come on boys!!!	Matthew puttin' the finishing touches on the base coat...	Big bro helping out!	Last piece!	Getting any little spots dad missed...
All 12 lined up to dry with tarps next to them in case it rains. (Forecasted all weekend!)	Almost dry!!! Next comes the Green, Black, Tan, and Brown spray paint using leaves as patterns...	Just waiting for a sunny day!!!	The door (The lock is keyed the same as the trap door)	Taking a break to play Wizard 101 :)
The Drive Home - WIPED OUT!	DITTO!	8/20 - Matthew and Dad start framing the walls!!!	AWESOME HELPER!	In case you were wondering - He DOES NOT NEED A PERMIT FOR THOSE GUNS :)
It's getting hard to take pics now - everything looks so close with the phones camera lens...	Getting ready to snip some flashing.	OK - Enough pics dad - Let's get to work!	8/27 - Ryan and Dad get 2 more wall sections up and install the door and window!	We had 25 MPH winds because of Hurricane Irene - If it stayed up during that I feel like it's going to last a while!
We still have to make a frame around the window, and paint the door and window frame...	Everything is covered in tarps inside in case the plastic sheeting rips.	The roof and the walls that are not completed are covered in plastic sheeting to keep the water off the wood.	Oh boy is this gonna be GREAT!!!	Underside - all 4 support beams are up, and 2 of the 4 are now double thick - We still have to do the other 2.
Right Side	Left Side	Camo netting hiding it all - This is maybe 40 feet away - when you get down the mountain, you can't even see it!	Left skylight	Rafters and roofing!
Right Skylight	Starting access deck	Another view	The ladder will be replaced with a retractable stair / climbing wall	Going in
Turning right	Going up	Bucket for bringing up goodies :)
You can see the front in this one