11/10/2023 0 Comments Metal roof treehouseLoony Roost? Maggy has a totally different name for it. Mark has named it “Loony Roost” from a sign donated by two close friends. It was something else to watch their faces every time they walked up the path from the cabin to check on its progress. And the kids? Samantha and Eric love their tree house. Throughout the project, Mark was in the clouds – I mean, heaven. He and another friend designed the metal stairs that come across from a nearby tree right to the front door. (This tree doesn’t need any extra weight!) Mark and I spent one full summer trimming, painting, staining and caulking. The metal roof was designed to shed heavy snowfalls. The doors and screens are all custom made. Walking up the pinecone-covered path and looking up at this structure, you’d never guess all the nuances that went into building something this much fun. He also had to do the math on the roof pitch where it intersected with walls and continued out over the wrapped porch. Mark, who loves to solve design problems, worked out the subfloor to include the porch and walls. The wood-shingled walls, wrap-around porch, front porch landing, multi-tiered metal stairs, crow’s nest and electricity (with built-in, self-fixing interruption connector) were all just afterthoughts. Mark admits that he never actually visualized the tree house until after we had built the 16x16-foot platform up in a mature Norway pine. The pièce de résistance? Eight lag screws through these special brackets are the only intrusion into the tree. Timbers brought in from Washington State – with fabricated brackets welded, to his specifications, for the subfloor timber joists – were just the beginning. Mark admits that what really drew him in was solving the problem of how to build the structural support for the subfloor. I suspect she secretly wanted documentation of what looked like insanity. Maggy even came out to take a picture of Mark and me hoisting the sleeper sofa up, hand over hand. She helped Eric, their son, nail the wood shingles on the exterior walls before they were raised in position. She should have known better! In fairness, Maggy eventually got involved in the tree house project too. The crow’s nest 20 feet above the main level is just for fun.I vaguely remember – about two months into the project – Maggy saying something about just wanting a simple two-weekend project with a couple of 4x8 sheets of plywood. The hide-a-bed sofa is perfect for sleep-overs and a small round dining-room table is sized just right for playing Monopoly with the kids. Two soft reading chairs sit next to a lamp. Its single, luxurious room has a door leading onto a wrap-around porch. The large tree house stands among large pines a short walk from Mark and Maggy’s cabin.
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