Redcliff Tree Deck
• Summer 2022 • Colorado
• Architectural Design • Carpentry • Project Management
This treehouse structure was designed and built as an observation platform and Ewok picnic deck on a private property in the 10,000 foot alpine forests outside of Red Cliff Colorado.
After doing a site survey and selecting the key trees for the project we felled two 45 foot Engelmann spruce trees to use as beams supporting the massive 8 foot cantilever of the deck.
To increase rigidity of the tree beams we installed an inverted king truss on the underside of the beam and tensioned the system with steel cable and turnbuckles.
Garnier Limb® style Tree House Attachment Bracket
This speciality combination auger / forstner bit creates the perfect stepped hole to install a Tree House Attachment Bracket. The 3inch steel boss of the TAB sits in the cambium layer of the tree where it has the most purchase and can best transfer the weight of the structure most evenly. This best simulates how an actualy tree limb would hold weight.
We used 9 inch sliding beam brackets that allow the vertical lodgepole pine trees to sway independently of each other as well as the deck structure. The material black between the TAB and the bracket is UHMW–PE used to reduce friction durring movment.
Nelson Treehouse publishes an indispensable manual which I highly recommend purchasing if you are considering building in the trees.
The Right Tool For the Job
This is only phase one of this project. Hopefully we will get to come back next summer to build a walkway / gangplank along the tree beams to get out to the deck. Right now this 13foot ladder is the only reasonable way to access the platform. Including a railing is still up for debate.
