The finished treehouse

More photos

The finished treehouse

Here we go folks.

Getting very close to finishing.

First guests arrive Friday. No pressure!

Getting there

The treehouse bed made from red cedar.

The new neighbours now have a family

A sneaky peek.

Bathroom sink.

A living roof and a new neighbour.

The roof is going on after a long wet wait. Looking forward to see it grow! 
And we have new neighbours. 2 wood pidgeons on eggs. Just a couple of feet from the treehouse. This place really is up in the trees.
Will be photo.ing the progress of woodys.
back soon......

Been a while. And been very busy. Wont be posting too many pics as we want to keep the interior a suprise. But heres a wee taster. ...a touch of indiana jones. more to come soon. see ya soon

Getting there!

More pics

Tree bark

Here is the finnished look. Lets hope it drys the right colour

At floor level

Im at floor level now. The outer beam is inplace and the floor joists are Done.
As much as i love the rain,  its slowing me up. So im going to stretch a tarp over head using my mates scaffolding. The best scaffolding company in kent "by the way" canterbury scaffolding cheers steve!

Will be laying the insulation tomorow then the sub-floor. No more tight-rope walking.

The roller will hopefully arive from Usa tomorow so the trees can be finnished.
gona tint the final cement mix with some oxide powders and hopefully roll a tree bark texure into the cement.
Back soon.

The best planning agents around

Its wednesday morning getting ready for a meeting with John Payne from www.blackrock-architectural.co.uk
John is part of a small local team based in Whitstable. These guys know their stuff! They have been involved with all aspects of this project, where many didnt want to get involved in such an unusual project...
We have more unusual projects in the pipeline and will be happy to have the guys at Blackrock architectural services on board.

Blackrock architectural services are the most efficient building and planning experts iv dealt with. No job too small. They keep me upto date with regular emails and calls all in all a brilliant service and a fee tarrif to match.
John deals with the planning and architectural side and Peter deals with the structural elements of construction.
Glen,  well Glen makes the tea. ..........not really!
Glen is a Autocad genious who sits at a computer designing The most fab buildings, facinating!!!.

01227 281882 PJ Thomason / Blackrock Archi.
Well done guys and thanks for your help again

Planning approved "finally

Finally!we have planning permision and all is well under way. Ha ha ha. Next mission is to get a minor issue sorted with the childrens tree houses which i built, the first was erected in the garden of honey cottage in 2008 at the special request of a young boy whom was extremely unfortunate to have cancer of the eyes. It was an absolute pleasure to construct and i was helped by my eldest son Luke. The second childrens tree house was constructed in 2010 at Honey lodge,  again a special request  by a  very special young guest.

So what could be the problem?
Well it seems a strange coincidence that 3 days after i got planning for the new big tree house, i had a call from my local planning enforcement officer whom i knew., he said there was a very upset neighbour that was concerned about the childrens treehouse which i built 3.5 yrs ago mmmm, mmm errm " well,are you getting the picture?.
this treehouse is shielded  by trees and more than 20mtres Way it overlooks nobody!!!
The treehouse at honeyodge is over 60mtres away overlooking the farmers fields. Again it effects the lives of. NO BODY.
Exept the very sad lives of some people who enjoy taking away the enjoyment of little people.
Hey ho!!! ONWards and Upwards. The New tree house is going to be awsome!!!!

Instant tree

First attempt at a faux tree. Waiting for the fist coat to dry. Then il try some bark when the special roller arrives from the states. Back soon!

Frame up!

The steel frame is nearly finished. Have been intouch with Dan Vallence from Jewsons builders merchants whom supply all my materials for all the projects i build. He and all his staff make it a worthwhile visit to the local branch in canterbury as they are all very welcoming, friendly and allways go that extra mile to give you not just the best price but best delivery time too.
Ok so need to order the next stage materials, " but wait " just had a call from the planning dpt, here we go again what have i done now!!!!. My planning officer has been very helpful throughout this application and very patient and overall a very nice lady.
"Mr Whalley iv had a call from a naighbour concerned you have started work before you have sorted out the rainwater issue. Well i wonder who that was, ,,,, well im no rocket scientist but im sure i could figure this 1 out, being an EVOLVED human i find it simple to comunicate with others, its no miracle!!
I find it somewhat interesting that the early (unevolved) members of our species dont find our tree house project just slightly interesting, mmm leaves me puzzled!!
I do like to learn something new everyday if i can. Human behaviour facinates me. Challenges make me stronger!. I thrive on problem solving. I try to make other evolved members lives easier if i can especialy those less fortunate than able bodied  people. Its no big deal, its just Evolution!

Irony! Been having problems with my water!  rain water.
I have a 10,000 ltr tank which i installed for the log cabin couple of yrs ago. This tank supplies the toilet, washing machine, & dishwasher, to give you an idea of its size its about the size of your small box bedroom. If this tank fills to the top, its emptied within 10days. Id say theres plenty of room for the treehouse.
It really comes in handy "when we run out of water"

What about a 1 in 100 year storm event? How are you going to deal with the rainwater?
Errm well... Id like to save it if thats ok!

No sorry. You must dig a wacking great hole fill it with plastic and let it soak away.

Back soon.

Concrete and steel!

The holes were inspected thursday,  and were passed.
The concrete was poured friday morning. 
And the steel was delivered three days early which was perfect.
You wouldnt believe the trouble i had geting quotes for the steel frame for our log cabin a few years ago. All prices were 35-40 % more than Canterbury steel 01227 712176. Marcus runs a small business employing a couple of guys fabricating steel, always happy to help, no mater how big or small your requirements. Marcus is always interested in the project at hand. The accuracy of their work is spot on every hole lines up, "yes i know its supposed to" but considering they have no complicated computer driven high tech equipment. Marcus and his guys take some beating when it comes to quality price and delivery time.
Thanks again Marcus.

So most of the steel frame is on site a couple of parts are being finished. Im now thinking up a plan to get these massive pieces of metal up in the air.

Foundations

The foundation trenches are ready for inspection, tomorow i will order the concrete. About 15m3
This is irish geoff 2.5 mtres under.

We are now underway

Just a quick update. After being quoted a fee that would have more suited an entire housing developement. I decided to take a friends advice and consider using a private Building control company.
How much more convienient could it have been, "Harwoods" at the inovation center University rd Canterbury. The quote was recieved within hours and very competitive. So far all aspects of their involvment has been prompt and profesional, helpfull hints and tips have also been offered, all in all cant grumble...
So now with the build, just been given the go ahead to dig the footings. All services have been run in; gas, elec, water, will have the foul connection checked by Harwoods in the next couple days. Tuesday the digger will be arriving on site :-) that will keep me ammused for a while. April 4th the steel arrives for the frame. Woohoo cant wait, life size Mechano. I hate my job Not!!
Had no pics of interest as yet but will post pics of the footings "holes" which will depress the most hardend eco warrior. The final drawings stated a 17 cub mtr mass of concrete will just about support our wee little pad on stilts.

Oops im moaning again. Lets just get on with it shal we?

Back soon.

Kent's first holiday tree house UK

We have now officially got our first booking for the tree house. Not much happening at the moment, hoping to start the foundations this month , i will of course document the entire build with pics and video footage. Watch this space!!!  

Foundations for the Tree house

OK the design is done for the foundations, have changed the structure a little from just 2 main uprights to three, not what i really wanted but hey ho!

The main problem was the overturning factors , a bit like a toffee apple on a stick stuck in the sand. To stop it from falling over the concrete slab would need to be as wide as the building {6 mtr x 10 mtr} and lots of steel too complex!
So iv come up with a plan had a chat with my engineer Kevin from http://www.quick-calcs.net  i use this guy for all my projects Fast reliable and good value.
Anyway hes going to give them the once over and hopefully try make it work, the project is made less straightforward by the nearby trees will be remaining, where in most cases trees have to be sadly removed, Not in our case more trees will be planted adding to the desired effect of being up in the treetops.

For those who find structural engineering remotely interesting like me ,,,heres some of the sketches for the revised foundations for the tree house.

 

Back soon. 

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