the deck is now framed! and the angle braces are up!
i am super duper excited! (is it obvious?)
i am super duper excited! (is it obvious?)
i'll give you a look at our last few building sessions, spread out over several weekends. we are very okay with this slower pace. . . most of the time. sometimes it seems neverending, but then i remember that the work is part of the fun. when will we ever do this again?
we spent half a day at the lumberyard selecting the wood. and when i say we, i mean jesse, my dad, luca and gia. the goo and i sat that trip out.
we took advantage of the grassed over alley behind our fence to build the outer frame - or sandbox as my dad calls. you can count on lots of nicknames when frank is around. i like to call my dad "frank" once in awhile. also frances. or pops.
actually, we built two frames - 10'x10' and 10'x8' - both made with 2x6 pressure treated wood, then butted them up against each other. they rest on the two humungo beams i showed you last week and are attached with hurricane ties.
next came the 2x6 joists. 10' long, 2' apart (with extras sandwiching the trees), and sitting in joist hangers.
on the right, you have our first effort at countersinking the bolts in the braces. as you can see, we got better at making them look pretty. (yes, tree forts can be pretty.)
shims are also good for coloring caterpillars. luca's grandpa-given nickname is joey bag o' donuts. it's a long story.
i can't stress enough how helpful this book has been during the planning and construction. there are so many great tips. like how you are not supposed to just ratchet your bolts into the tree. you need to alternate whacking it in with a mallot and ratcheting it. this keeps it from stripping the hole and creates a thread in the trunk, making it much more secure.
doesn't it look cool? like a real tree fort?
i really do think the hardest part is over. but then again, we still need to build a house, door, windows, loft, trap door, roof, rope bridge, staircase . . . :)
we spent half a day at the lumberyard selecting the wood. and when i say we, i mean jesse, my dad, luca and gia. the goo and i sat that trip out.
we took advantage of the grassed over alley behind our fence to build the outer frame - or sandbox as my dad calls. you can count on lots of nicknames when frank is around. i like to call my dad "frank" once in awhile. also frances. or pops.
actually, we built two frames - 10'x10' and 10'x8' - both made with 2x6 pressure treated wood, then butted them up against each other. they rest on the two humungo beams i showed you last week and are attached with hurricane ties.
next came the 2x6 joists. 10' long, 2' apart (with extras sandwiching the trees), and sitting in joist hangers.
on the right, you have our first effort at countersinking the bolts in the braces. as you can see, we got better at making them look pretty. (yes, tree forts can be pretty.)
shims are also good for coloring caterpillars. luca's grandpa-given nickname is joey bag o' donuts. it's a long story.
i can't stress enough how helpful this book has been during the planning and construction. there are so many great tips. like how you are not supposed to just ratchet your bolts into the tree. you need to alternate whacking it in with a mallot and ratcheting it. this keeps it from stripping the hole and creates a thread in the trunk, making it much more secure.
doesn't it look cool? like a real tree fort?
i really do think the hardest part is over. but then again, we still need to build a house, door, windows, loft, trap door, roof, rope bridge, staircase . . . :)
we just put up the final angle braces yesterday. now on to the actual decking.
good thing we have such great helpers.
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