Build a treehouse lookout tower

Steps 5 - 9

By Wayne Lennox

5) If you like, soften the front corners of the two side rails by trimming them off with a 45° cut. Screw them to the tops of the tower legs (the front edges sit 2 1/2" proud of the front legs). Cut a scallop in the top of the 1/2" plywood facing of the tower (I used a garbage can lid to mark the curve). Make the owl cutout - same size as for the treehouse door - from a scrap board and mount it on the tower facing. Drill two 1" eyeholes through both owl and facing. Attach the facing to the front of the tower legs with 2" screws.

6) Cut the two diagonal braces and attach to the deck handrails and the tower legs. Screw the tower header joist to the ends of the side joists. Rip a 5/4" deck board in half and cut six 24" rungs; screw the top one (with 2 1/2" deck screws) to the back legs 9 1/2" below the top of the joists and the rest spaced 10 1/2" apart. Cut two precut pressure-treated balusters to make the nailing strips. Screw these nailing strips to the underside of the side handrails, flush to the inside edges - the longer pieces between the two legs, and the shorter one from the back leg to about 1/2" short of the end of the handrail. (The back panels need to fit in this gap, so check the short nailing strip before securing and trim if needed.) Screw the back handrail (turned on edge) to the ends of the side handrails.

7) Now, for the floorboards and trap door boards. Once they're cut to length, you'll need to notch two of the floorboards to accommodate the legs (see Figure 4). Screw or nail the floorboards to the joists (drill clearance holes in the floorboards to prevent splitting). Screw the two battens to the underside of the two trap door boards and hinge (with 4" strap hinges) to the fixed floorboard second from the front (see Figure 4). Install a bridging piece between the joists and flush with the edge of the floorboard at the back. Add two handles to the inside of the rear tower legs, about 2' up from the tower floor, to make climbing easier.

8) Now to close in the sides with roof boards left over from the treehouse construction. You will have to notch the two back panels to fit over the side joists. Screw or nail these to the bridging piece and to the inside of the back handrails. Attach the side pieces to the side joists and the nailing strips under the handrail.

9) Finally, I attached a piece of Ensolite - you know, the cheap blue camping pads available at any outdoor store - to the underside of the access door. This will soften, a little at least, contact with a kid's head if the door is dropped accidentally (or not so accidentally, depending on sibling relationships).

Back to:

Steps 1 - 4

Resources:

Printable PDF of tower plans
List of materials

Published in the April/May 2005 issue of Cottage Life magazine.

Copyright © 2005 by Cottage Life. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any article, photograph, or artwork, for other than personal use, in whole or in part, without the written permission of the publisher is strictly forbidden.