Timbered 'Treehouse'
Peaks Island, Maine
2004
Photography: Winkelman
Builder: Winkelman and Family
Architect’s back yard on Peaks Island. Kid asks for a swing from a tree limb. Simple request.
Plastic seat is purchased from Toys-R-Everybody for $15. No limb on “the” tree is found to be sufficient for hanging swing from. Architect parent suggests building artificial limb: 6x6 hemlock timber, strapped into crotch of tree trunk, supported w/ irregular diagonals at far side. Funky, but works.
Phase 2: Kid says nice, but how about a treehouse too...
More 6x6 hemlock timbers are cantilevered past and over, using the now existing timbered diagonal legs and limb. The “swing-house” evolves outboard of the swing area. Spruce decking is applied for a floor and part of the rails, along with some corrugated fibergLAss roofing at an edge. A diagonal timber leg is spiked w/ wooden pegs as a jungle-gym ladder for access.