How to Build Treehouses, Huts and Forts [Paperback]

David Stiles (Author)

Book Description

A treehouse is a wonderful idea, but how in the name of creation do you actually build one? In this delightfully illustrated handbook, David Stiles, the unofficial world grandmaster of the treehouse, shows how.

Not assuming anything about the treehouse builder, Stiles starts with the basics: how to nail, how to buy wood, what kind of screws and nails to use.

Then it's on to an A-frame design so simple that it can be built in a weekend out of four sheets of plywood, followed by lean-tos, a tree hut, and a Tarzan-style jungle hideaway. There are also forts of every description, including a 21-foot-tall lookout tower modeled on one George Washington built to keep an eye on the redcoats.

Stiles also adds a design for a snowball catapult, an igloo and even a Nerf-loaded cannon.

Written for children, with an adult peeking over their shoulder, Stiles's TREEHOUSES, HUTS, & FORTS is a dreamer's handbook, offering practical results.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"How to hammer, how to saw, how to dream. The perfect guidebook for kids." - Wally Lawrnece, reader and weekend carpenter.

"This would be an ideal text for "Survivor" participants to study in advance. What a wonderful world we can build,"--New Orleans Times-Picayune

From the Back Cover

This book is filled with fun projects for kids and their parents to build in their backyards. It begins with a section on basic carpentry and continues with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions on building treehouses, forts and huts. It concludes with a section on "cool stuff for kids to make" such as treasure chests, cannons, catapults, and several fun projects to build in the snow.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Lyons Press; 1st edition (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592281923
• ISBN-13: 978-1592281923
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #302,685 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #96 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Small Homes & Cottages

More About the Author

Jeanie and I have written a total of 20 "how-to" books on building projects, which range from treehouses and forts, to sheds, gazebos and garden houses. Our most recent books are "Treehouses and Playhuses You Can Build", "Treehouses, Huts and Forts" and "Workshops You Can Build". Our treehouse book won the ALA's Notable Children's Book Award and we were lucky enough to be invited to build a treehouse on The Today Show in Rockefeller Center, New York City. It was great fun turning the streets of New York into a tree-filled backyard! We divide our time between New York City and East Hampton, N.Y. where we live in a barn that we have renovated. It is here that we build many of the projects included in our books. Visit us at our website www.stilesdesigns.com or www.treehouse-books.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great book for a kid with an adult helper, November 5, 2007

By 

Elizabeth Delph "happy outside" (North Cascades, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Build Treehouses, Huts and Forts (Paperback)

As a person who lived in a treehouse for 3 years, and was looking for a basic how-to book for a friend, I was disappointed--this is how-to down to how to buy 2x4s and pull nails. Not good for a skilled (or even somewhat skilled) adult, but this book is EXACTLY the sort of thing I would have wanted as a kid: all the basics, lots of advice, and would have been great for a mom- and/or dad-and-me project.

24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful For Kids And Their Parents, May 20, 2005

By 

G. Reid (Roseland, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Build Treehouses, Huts and Forts (Paperback)

Most kids, if not all, dream of building a treehouse. It is a very powerful dream that many times does not happen because the task and resources needed to build a treehouse are formidable. This book can make the dream a wonderful reality. The treehouse, of course, must be built by the kids and this book is step-by-step making that quite possible. Parents can help out with the kids permission. A parent that gives this book to a kid dreaming of a treehouse will be a hero in the kid's eyes.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books ever, February 6, 2007

By 

Suzanne S. Walther (Kentucky) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Build Treehouses, Huts and Forts (Paperback)

This book is extremely awesome and has a special section on stuff to build like snowforts, catapults, and cannons. The forts are really awesome. Great buy.