operation tree fort (the railing, part 1)

(all photos taken over the past weekend.) 

enzo showing off his strong man skills.

we now have two swings hanging from the bottom of the deck.  compared to all of the other work, this was a ridiculously easy install with immediate gratification.  for some reason, gia looks quite unhappy here.  i think she wanted to be pushed, not photographed. :)

luca has been such a help to his papi and grandpa.

my new favorite photo!

the unsightly pile of branches behind our fence is slowly being transformed into tree fort parts. 
thank you to our patient neighbors for allowing the mess back there.

this is more like it.  a smiley gia-bee.

doesn't this look so neat!?!?!

i LOVE it.

for those interested in material details:

posts - pressure treated 3" round pine, 7ft lengths cut in half

railings- treated 1x4 pressure treated pine, 8 foot lengths cut to size

spindles - maple branches salvaged from the backyard trees, cut to size
fasteners- 6" long 3/8" lag bolts, with fender washers, lock washers, and nuts

various length deck screws

operation tree fort (back to work)

the 2012 tree fort building season is now in session!  this is exciting stuff, folks.  next up on the agenda is finishing the roof framing and beginning the porch railing.  we'll be bouncing between the two as we need help and longer chunks of time for the framing, meaning weekends.  in the evenings (especially during this crazy warm weather we are having in illinois), jesse will be installing posts for the railings.

we spent some time picking materials over the weekend.  boy was that fun.  siding and shingles and such make this mama happy.  the prices maybe not so much.  but vacations are not really an option for our family at this point in our journey with asperger's and spd-times-two.  i have been lovingly told that this might be the way of things for quite some time.  not only does the investment of building a tree fort give us the neat opportunity to work and learn together, but enjoying the fruit of diy labor in our own backyard is truly a gift.

if you'd like to catch up on operation tree fort, see these posts from 2011:

the planning

the design

the deck, part one

the deck, part two

measuring twice

the framing, part one

operation tree fort (the framing, part 1)

a (lengthy) look at last weekend's progress.  sans words.

up next. . . the roof!

operation tree fort (measuring twice)

first off, i am still under the weather.  scratch that.  i am feeling even yuckier than yesterday.  but luca can keep down fluids today, so today feels a bit more sane.  this mama may need more rest, but her chicklets can build blanket forts, jump on the trampoline and visit with their pbs friends with minimal supervision.  hooray!

here is a quick update on operation tree fort.  we took some time off from the project to save up funds for more materials and because september was too full to fit in the work.  if the current weather forecast holds up, you'll find us out back this weekend.  double hooray!

last saturday, we took time to rework the design for the house.  we needed to measure the actual size of the platform and mark where the trees and branches fell.  there are some minor changes to the drawing, mostly window placement.  a few branches were removed in anticipation of walls, loft, and roof, but most will be sawed off during the construction.

we previously thought the stairs would go up next, but there was concern that littles might find them to tempting to resist.  and do we want them playing on that platform without rails?  no siree.  and if we put up rails now, the house building gets complicated.  so wall framing is up next.  exciting stuff, friends.  

one way to stir a child's soul: allow them to play among the treetops.

operation tree fort (the deck, part two)

thank you for the e-mails, comments, and overall support after my last post.  i so appreciate all of you sharing your stories about spd and similar circumstances.  it is so good to be part of a community.  we plan on sharing more of our story at a later date, when i can sit down and give it the time and energy it deserves.  until then, thanks again. xo

it has been a little since i shared a tree fort update.  mostly because we took a couple week break from construction at the end of july.  it was darn hot.  but we did finish up the deck last week and it looks great.  the following photos span several days over two weekends.  the last boards were screwed in on our first day of school!  i love that.

ooooh, fun.  cicada shells stuck all over the frame.

we went through a LOT of screws.

in case you can't tell, these are caterpillars.  (made by luca.)

uncle christian (aka the cool babysitter)

where are your safety glasses???

this girl LOVES playing in the rocks.

grandpa teaching luca.  the best homeschool carpentry class, don't ya think?

serving up sangria (after a little photoshoot) to reward the crew.

almost done!

enzo finally visiting the deck.

next up, the stairs and rails.

who thinks we will finish this fall? :)