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Treehouses & Playhouses You Can Build
 
 
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Treehouses & Playhouses You Can Build [Paperback]

David Stiles (Author), Jeanie Stiles (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

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Book Description

August 10, 2006

Treehouses & Playhouses You Can Build shows how average "do-it-yourself" families can easily and affordably bring to life a "Hobbit's Treehouse," a "Pirate's Playhouse," or a "Crow's Nest" in their own backyards! There are a lot of books out there filled with enchanting photos of elaborate treehouses and playhouses built by professionals and costing tens of thousands to build. For the rest of us, there's bit of elbow grease, a lot of imagination, a trip to the hardware store-and Treehouses & Playhouses You Can Build.

Authors David and Jeanie Stiles are the best-selling authors of a number of books on treehouses with sales of over 150,000 copies. They have created another straightforward how-to-build book filled with beautiful hand-drawn step-by-step illustrations that are easy to follow and describe in detail how to create each project. They include tips on budgeting, using basic tools, buying materials, and kid- and adult-friendly instructions! Even for DIY novice types, this book simplifies the building process and inspires families of all types to work together and build cool stuff.


Frequently Bought Together

Treehouses & Playhouses You Can Build + Tree Houses You Can Actually Build: A Weekend Project Book (Weekend Project Book Series) + Black & Decker The Complete Guide: Build Your Kids a Treehouse (Black & Decker Complete Guide)
Price For All Three: $33.83

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Every kid dreams of a cabin in the sky, so take advantage of the warmer weather and build a treehouse together. -- Family Circle, April 2007

From the Inside Flap

Treehouses& Playhouses YOU CAN BUILD

David & Jeanie Stiles

Nails, screws, lumber and some elbow grease are about all that's needed to create the magic and adventure of a private hand-made wooden kids' club in the treetops. Build an imagination inspiring Hobbit Treehouse, a Pirate Ship Playhouse with working water cannons, or any of 40 unique projects by following simple steps in Treehouses & Playhouses You Can Build.

Detailed step-by-step instructions and beautiful hand-drawn illustrations make these backyard-construction activities as much fun to craft as they will be to use. Parents and children can spend time together sculpting in the sky and learning woodworking skills just by setting aside a few weekends to go outdoors and build. Kids and adults alike will have a beautiful, wild space to call their own for hours of creative play or relaxation.

Treehouses & Playhouses shows the average "do-it-yourself" family how to easily and affordably bring such structures to life by their own hands in their own backyards. Build a treehouse or playhouse on a budget, using basic tools and minimal building experience. Choose from different projects including a Victorian Playhouse or Treeless Treehouse, a zip line, a crow's nest, an escape hatch, a secret lock box, a hidden message board, pulleys, lifts, lofts, skylights, ladders, bridges and swings. Use the skills you learn from the detailed projects to build "fantasy" structures such as a Climb & Slide Mountain, Delta Wing Space Vehicle, Dragon House, Giant Glasses, Jet Racer, Meditation Hut, Suspended Monster Playhouse or Swinging Treehouse.

For regular dads and moms or weekend carpenters, this book offers a layperson's manual to bring the dream of an exciting and personal spot for the kids into reality.

Author David Stiles, a designer/builder who has built several houses in the East Hampton area, is also an illustrator who specializes in writing "how-to" books. In the past, David worked as an architectural renderer for most of the leading architectural ?rms in New York City, and received two awards from the NYC Planning Commission for his playground design for handicapped children.


Product Details

  • Paperback: 144 pages
  • Publisher: Gibbs Smith; 1 edition (August 10, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1586857800
  • ISBN-13: 978-1586857806
  • Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.1 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Perfect for the young builder February 20, 2008
Format:Paperback
This is the latest installment in a long string of wonderful books from David and Jeanie Stiles. Inside you won't find glossy, double page spreads of extravagant treehouses ... this is not a coffee table book. Rather, it is a how-to book, and the best one available for those that want to build their own whimsical play structure. Inside you will find excellent line drawings and readable explanations of intelligent, creative, and well though-out designs.

David starts with the basics: tools. From there you follow a complete and logical progression to completed treehouse. In between you'll get solid building advice. David has built his designs. He knows how to make life easier for you by using common materials and minimizing cuts. The building advice is spot on throughout.

The huge, huge, huge problem with this book is the 20 or so options David gives you for connecting lumber to tree. They are almost all bad. Never girdle a growing limb with rope or cable. Never use nails. This leaves you with only lag bolting. To be sure, there are other ways. But the only safe and tree-friendly way presented in this book (and any of his other works) is to use lags.

This is the by far the best book to give to a young builder and is probably a treasure to any 8 or 9 year old lucky enough to have a copy. It will get their mind working. The crazy schemes they come up with will amaze you.

The ideas inside this book are great. Fun, imaginative, unique. If you know a young boy (or girl) with a tree, get him this book. And when it comes time to actually build their creation, call an arborist and he'll set you straight about properly attaching it to a tree.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Great Treehouse Book! March 8, 2007
Format:Paperback
This book is a wonderful how-to book for those who need all the help they can get on building a treehouse. The plans are great and we are building the basic treehouse which is perfect for our 8 and 5 year old kids. Lots of ideas on everything from picking trees, buying lumber, safety tips, to flexible extras. We bought all three of David Stiles treehouse books and this was by far the best and we could have just bought this one and been happy but are glad to have them all. Would highly recommend to parents contemplating building a treehouse or for kids who want to dream of one.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
What a wonderful book! October 10, 2006
By HT
Format:Paperback
This book is a must-have for anybody interested in building treehouses, sheds or small out-buildings of any kind! It is filled with all the information an amateur would need with step-by-step instructions on the building process, tools and materials and inspirational photographs of projects by other amateur builders that will inspire and motivate anybody interested in trying a building project in their backyard. The authors have provided clear, concise instructions and have taken the intimidation out of building. The authors are clearly interested in the reader having a joyful, successful building experience. Our own building projects have all been inspired by Jeanie and David Stiles' encouraging books. Thank you!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Exceptional Book
I bought three different books on building tree houses. I have absolutely ZERO experience in building anything. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Matthew D. Copley
Inspired me to build a treehouse
While it does contain some plans I found the best thing about this book is the large volume of carefully explained details you can incorporate into your very own design. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Alan Laidlaw
Very Happy
This book is very thorough and do-able for the average person. There are many ideas in the book that can be incorporated in many different ways to make a kids dream place house.
Published 23 months ago by Daniel Mai
Best of the practical tree house books
I looked at about ten books on constructing tree houses (via inter-library loan) and then bought this one, which was the best of the group I looked at. Read more
Published on March 4, 2010 by C. Virtue
A good book to get a view on tree houses
This book is a good one if you want to get visual information and ideas what tree houses could be. Excellent to obtain new ideas.
Published on January 2, 2010 by Stanislav Torgashov
Great book!
This book is exactly what I was looking for. It has several treehouses to choose from and great step by step directions. It even has extra's that may be added. Read more
Published on July 7, 2008 by S. Richardson
Buy this book...
...if you plan to build a treehouse yourself. If not this one, than any other from same author.
It's that simple.
Published on February 25, 2008 by Superhik
Tree House
Tree house building is complex.
This book will help you decide.
Ideas are informative; but skills are needed.
Published on February 8, 2008 by Dr. Walt
Many missing instructions and difficult paths
I built the Treeless Treehouse on page 81. During the project, I found the instructions lacking, and sometimes incorrect. Read more
Published on September 2, 2007 by Edward W. Hardwicke
Great All-Around Treehouse Guide
Help me out greatly. I am below novice in construction knowledge. The book explained, diagramed, and visualized lots of great methods and ideas for building treehouses. Read more
Published on July 5, 2007 by Trey Champagne
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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
main support beam, electric jigsaw, lag screw, floor frame, roofing cement, rope railing, ridge beam, zip line, platform frame
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Four Playhouse Designs, Hobbit Treehouse, Three Treehouse Designs, Front Elevation, Biol Chem
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