Customer Reviews

Build Your Own Treehouse: A Practical Guide

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the fourth treehouse book I've bought. If it had been the first, it would probably have been the last. There isn't much he doesn't cover from site evaluation and preparation to safety gear. I like following in detail a single project to completion through the book.

This book has some good ideas and advice, but as a comprehensive how-to, it falls short. I got this and a David Stiles book (Treehouses and Playhouses you can build), and the Stiles book had more of what I was looking for, which was a wider array of types of appropriate joinery/fastening options. Mr. Barkley proposes a single way to do things rather than several options. This book is good for inspiration, but not as a complete manual.

The background information is fascinating. The directions are detailed and helpful. Most importantly, the advice and reccomendations regarding safety and use were exceptionally good.

Build it and they will come! After having visited Mr. Barkley's truly amazing backyard of creations, we had to buy a copy of his book as a keepsake. The photographs are wonderful...so much better than ours. My husband is currently building a clubhouse on stilts for our daughter and will undoubtedly reference this book for ideas and instructions. You don't have to be a child to fall in love with the tree houses, various swings, many collectibles and gorgeous gardens. Everyone who has looked at our copy of the book has been impressed. If you are ever near Rochester, NY, I recommend a visit to the tree houses and a souvenir copy of his book.

I was pretty disappointed with this book. It reads less like a "how to" book and more like a "see what I did" book. It has some good ideas, but is very limited as to instructional substance. The photography is decent and the book is very inexpensive, otherwise... not much to offer.

Love this book. It contains lots of illustrations, instructions , as well as actual photographs of the finshed product. Very well put together. I have already let others browse through it.

I had the joy of climbing in and around the treehouses built by Mr Barkley with 4 of my grandchildren. His book is practical and contains lots of "how to" information with close up pictures and diagrams. His tree houses are a delight, and Mr & Mrs Barkley are friendly and generous hosts to their treehouse neighborhood. Lots of thought and planning went into the book, to make it a pleasant read and useable reference.