of all of the spaces we visit perhaps
none capture the imagination more than a
treehouse today we've traveled to
Seattle Washington to meet Nelson
treehouse and supply and see one of
their incredible new projects
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hey Garrett hey awesome to meet you mate
glad you can make it welcome me too dude
what can I even say about the treehouse
this is so impressive pretty cool huh
Nelson treehouse and supply was founded
by Pete Nelson you might also know him
from the TV show treehouse masters on
Animal Planet Pete has been building
treehouses for 40 plus years he's built
over 250 treehouses and in 2010 he
started Nelson treehouse and supply and
basically we traveled the world building
luxury liveable voice function fully
furnished treehouses so tell me a little
bit about the construction of this thing
because this doesn't look like the sort
of thing that you just throw together on
your back yeah there is some pretty
heavy hardware that's holding this thing
up isn't there yeah so the whole
treehouse is fully engineered we have
our treehouse attachment bolt that
basically holds the whole thing together
it is 18 pounds of heat treated steel
bolt right into the tree steel yoke
holding two steel beams it sounds there
could be an earthquake and a windstorm
in this thing is not going anywhere this
is definitely really well attached but
the question that I have to ask is how
does this actually affect the tree I
mean they look quite invasive in there
don't they we get that question so often
and the way a tree grows is all the
nutrients flows through the cambium
layer which is the thin layer between
the bark and the actual inside of the
tree so when you install this tab
basically you're making a three-inch
circle and the cambium layer so really
that just triggers reaction wood and
makes the tree grow around the tab and
makes the connection even stronger over
time one of the other really unique
things about this sit-up is it's
actually not just attached to one tree
it's actually fixed to two so how do you
get around that challenge the tree house
is engineered with a static tree and a
dynamic tree so basically everything is
bolted onto this tree and the whole
platform treehouse will move with this
tree that tree on the other hand is
dynamic you can see up there our
connection is using dynamic uplift
arrestor ease that allows the tree to
move in the wind and slide around and
keeps the bolts intact and keeps the
treehouse from getting any damage so
it's kind of like you figure out which
you want to be static and you figure out
which tree you want to move and you
engineer the tree house to kind of be
dynamic and move with the forces of
nature so how do these tree houses
actually cope with the growth of the
tree you're only going to see growth
outward so you don't need to worry so
much as trees growing different rates or
you know this tree is going to grow five
feet in this tree is going to go three
because they're kind of grown from their
tips and not so much at the base so the
tabs really stay where you put them and
that's where they're going to live and
it's good to see as well that you've
also utilized the space underneath the
tree house
yeah so this is a Kodama zone and I mean
what better way to hang a swinging chair
than from the bottom of the tree house
that's actually one of the really cool
things about tree houses as well
because all of the land underneath is
actually still understood isn't it right
yeah so you're basically taking the
foundation of the house and you know
lifting it in this case 14 17 feet off
the ground so there's still kind of like
a ground ecosystem that can exist under
the tree house well enough of being on
the ground let's get in the tree yeah
what setup I'll show you around okay so
we have a curved stair set outfitted
with natural cedar branch railing kind
of a code to the treehouse life style
this tree house is like 80% built from
cedar you know yeah
cedar stair tread cedar decking cedar
siding cedar railings I mean we have a
lot of cedar here in Washington and it's
great because cedar is actually weather
resistant so it can stand for years out
in rainstorms and it's never going to
rot which especially when you're this
high up is really employed
right yeah you don't want to fall
through the floorboards definitely not
right and what a great space you've got
up here having especially this balcony
area it really allows the house to take
advantage of its location doesn't it
right well I mean a big thing about
having a tree house is being able to be
next to the tree and so it's pretty
important that every tree house has a
deck and like I said we get a lot of
rain so the sleeping loft actually acts
as a canopy for the table here and we
have a curved hog wire paneled railing
here so it adds kind of a nice natural
detail and one of the other things I
notice obviously the treehouse itself is
quite squared but you do have a lot of
features that are curved in this as well
kind of hiking back to the tree right
right around yeah I mean it's definitely
somewhat more of a modern treehouse we
have a lot of 90
corners and lines and you know I think
it's complemented pretty cool with the
curse they're set in the curved deck and
it kind of just creates that contrast
between like new and modern and back to
nature can we have a look inside yeah
that's what we came for let's go check
it out welcome to the treehouse this is
really cool
standing in here it feels very much like
I'm actually in a normal house it's
incredibly stable and it's not until I
actually look out the windows that I
realized yes I'm actually standing in
the treehouse right now yeah I think
that's a big thing about tiny living and
treehouse living is that you know you
want to feel at home you don't want to
feel like you're living in a plastic box
and so you know all the wood and the
smell and the structure just really
makes you feel at home so when you're
actually building a treehouse to what
extent does the tree dictate what you're
able to do with the structure that
you're building on it you're definitely
confined to X amount of space because
you have to build off the trees so in
the design phase you know you're looking
at where does this branch go where does
that branch go and so you kind of build
the structure to fit within the trees
and so that actually drives a lot of the
design processes this tree house really
does look like it has been built so it
could be lived in full time yeah I mean
that's definitely an option we wanted to
keep open just because no one losing it
now doesn't mean someone can move in
later and I think the place is designed
with that in mind you know is that like
you got your kitchen and your reading
nook in your loft and it's like it has
all the things at least for an extended
stay at minimum so we've got the kitchen
over here then yep the kitchen space for
a little mini fridge you have a toaster
oven and a microwave it's actually kind
of impressive what they managed to sit
in this little space and I say you've
got to pull out table here as well yeah
yeah this is just will pull out table
made from some of the reclaimed
materials at the end of the project and
good to be resourceful
yeah easy to transform the space from
you know entertainment living room area
so more of like a dining room table if
you want to cook dinner or something and
is that it close up behind you this yeah
yeah this is a closet it's actually kind
of built into the structure there's some
beam's that cantilever out the side of
the street house and this whole kind of
nook was built around having a closet
here so some extra storage space and
just like these bins down here under the
the reading nook
you know those pull out and give extra
storage and what's out this tool whew
I'm glad you asked we have an outdoor
shower kind of cool oh no way yep what
better way to get in touch with nature
than literally reaching out and grabbing
a tree branch while you're taking a
shower I'll say showering and the canopy
what could you ask cool it's hard to
beat man it's really hard to be kind of
a complemented with this corrugated
siding it creates privacy and still
really allows you to feel like you're
outside and then up here still to go
we've got the sleeping area yeah yeah so
you know there's a whole queen bed up
here right above the entryway that you
walk in and you access it via this kind
of cool rustic ladder why don't we head
up and take a look let's do it oh this
is so nice up here there's a lot of
people who don't really like the idea of
a sleeping loft because of accessibility
issues but I think if accessibility is
not a problem then it's definitely a
more efficient use of the space I mean
this whole area is deceivingly large you
know you come up the ladder and you
almost feel like you're in a separate
room there's this aesthetic about it
that like you've almost entered into
like a zone you know that's totally
different from the space below and with
a treehouse like this of course you have
to have skylight yeah skylights I mean
you can lay in bed and literally look
right up at the canopy of the tree
there's even like enough room to stand
up and from up here there's a great view
of the rest of the house as well right I
mean it feels spacious you know for such
a small space this is a really
functional home but being a treehouse of
this nature there's also a ton of
engineering that's gone into it what
kind of cost would you be looking at to
build something like this with a custom
steel substructure fully engineered
material cost labor cost you're probably
looking at about $150,000 so
it's not super cheap but when you think
about everything that's going into it
it's not super expensive either is it
right
I mean it's essentially a fully
functioning home but 17 feet off the
ground so a big part of that is the
labor and the steel substructure and the
engineering and all the thought that
goes in to making it safe so when you
talk about that there is obviously this
real engineering factor to building
treehouses is there a big DIY element do
people actually go out and build these
themselves or do you guys not recommend
that yeah we've actually recently with
the whole tiny house movement seen a
whole lot of desire from people to do
DIY builds and we actually sell the
hardware to people online all the time
and we have multiple videos that
instruct people how to install our
hardware so I'd say that is definitely
becoming more and more trending as the
scene kind of expands we really do want
to give the power to the people and give
them the opportunity if they can't
afford 150 thousand dollar house they
can go and DIY it so what would you say
your absolute favorite thing about
treehouses is I'd say immediately what
comes to mind is to escape from reality
you know you open up the front door and
you walk in and you're kind of just like
totally taken aback from all your world
troubles and you're just like taken back
down to Ground Zero and basically just
become a kid again so that stress-free
feeling that is I think so important
ever since I was a kid I have been
obsessed with tree houses and getting to
walk into this space until this home is
an absolute dream come true for me
thank you so much for sharing it with me
going - pleasure to meet you ma'am
thanks man
I think this home proves that treehouses
are not just for kids
yeah it's adventurous yet maybe a little
bit crazy but when you think about all
the engineering that's gone into it this
is an incredibly safe and sturdy home
perfectly well-suited to full-time
living and if it were up to me I'd be
moving in tomorrow
[Music]
you