The steps to owning a custom tree house are to design, plan, and finally to build. Let us know where you are in this process and how we can help.

Please contact us if you haven't already. We want to give you enough information to help you decide whether or not to build a tree house, and if so, whether or not we are the right company to build it for you. We want to hear your tree house construction questions or concerns and help you to make an informed decision.

We carry insurance that specifically names tree house building as the primary business activity. This is very expensive and hard to get at any price. If you consider another tree house builder for your project, make sure that they are not carrying a tree worker's or general carpenter's policy and telling you that they are fully insured for tree house construction. If their insurance company finds out that they primarily build tree houses, then you will not be protected.

We stand behind the quality of our work. If it is later discovered that in any part of a tree house project, we performed work in a sub-standard or un-workman-like manner, then we will attempt to fix the problem. Either we will come out and bring the tree house up to high quality standards, or we will make other arrangements that keep everyone as happy as possible. That being said, if the tree house is damaged through normal use, normal weathering, pests such as squirrels or bugs, or an act of nature or act of god, then it will not be our responsibility to make repairs free of charge. Sometimes the difference can be blurry with tree houses because of the movement and interconnection with nature. So there is no hard line, but we do promise to try reasonably hard to keep you happy and do what we honestly believe is right to keep our integrity and commercial standards of honor.

Sure, please give us a call and we may be able to help you out with a free estimate for your treehouse. Please be advised, however, that production of custom tree house designs and plans, and most tree evaluations will cost at least a nominal fee. Please see our tree house design page for more information on your options for starting your tree house, some of which are free.

Depending on what you want and where you are located, tree houses can cost between $14,000 and over $250,000+.

The average basic kids treehouse/platform costs between $14,000 and $40,000. Higher end tree houses typically cost between $35,000 and $75,000+.

Tree House homes/AirBNB rental projects start around $100,000 and go up from there, and Commercial projects can range between all of the numbers above, depending on what your project entails.

 Our Sales and Design Consultants will walk you through all of these projects and help you determine what you want in your treehouse project and what your budget needs to be, understanding we can work with most budgets to help create that back yard dream you are looking for.

The factors that most affect cost are size, height from the ground, quality of finishing details, the grade of materials, the cost of getting electric and/or septic to the area, our travel expenses from Chester County, PA, USA, and what degree that the local building departments are involved. If you have a budget in mind, please contact us and we'll tell you approximately how much tree house it will buy.

SAFETY IS OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY. For example, tree house railings are strong and substantial, high enough and close enough to protect small children.

We have children too, and so our tree house construction methods are influenced by watching our kids play in our tree houses.

• We avoid placement of nails where they may loosen over time and create hazards.
• We sand down any rough edges on the tree house to eliminate potential splinters.
• Tree house entrance ladders are situated where they will be easiest to climb, keeping potential falls to a minimum height.
• We can use Plexiglas for windows or even plan to have operating windows situated over verandas or balconies to keep kids from jumping out.

We help you determine the appropriate safety measures that make you feel comfortable. In fact, if you have any safety related tree house questions or concerns, we will be happy to have an honest discussion of safety and risk on play structures and tree houses. In many cases, building codes are not applicable to tree houses because permits may not be required. However, due to our previous experience in the ground house building industry, we know how to build our tree houses so they are code compliant.

Many nostalgic tree house features such as rope ladders or natural branch railings would not pass code on a ground house. Most of our tree house options such as zip lines or rope swings aren't mentioned in the building code books either. So we will explain the codes to you, and then let you choose how you want your tree house built. We want you to know what the codes would be and why they would be that way so that you can weigh your aesthetic preferences against what the code books consider to be safe. We consider that informing you of those issues our duty as professional tree house builders.

A simple kids treehouse can be completed in 2-7 working days. A complex tree house with rope bridges, multiple tree house platforms, or anything really high in the air could take 2-6 weeks. Commercial tree houses and exceptionally large or challenging building tasks with exacting standards can take 6-12 months to complete.

We are accustomed to getting last minute tree house requests as birthday or holiday gifts. Some parents like to have a kids tree house built start to finish during 1-2 weeks that their kids are away at summer camp as a welcome home surprise. We will try our best to accommodate all special tree house requests.

Our tree houses are safe because we use strong materials and professional tree attachment methods that allow for tree movement and tree growth over time. Where prudent, we may also install backup support systems in critical places. Expert consulting arborists, engineers, challenge course professionals, fabricators, carpenters, and builders have helped us refine and improve our support systems and tree house construction practices over the years.

Our tree houses are as safe as a comparable deck, balcony, or cabin on the ground. We do, however, recommend that tree houses not be occupied when strong gusts of wind or lighting are possible.

Our tree houses are designed to hold many times the weight of their intended use. We account for the dead and live loading of the tree house and all the people that could fit on it. The actual weight depends on the strength of the trees that the treehouse goes in and the specifics of the design. But in general, for most tree houses, we're talking over ten thousand pounds when evenly distributed. Why take any chances when safety is involved?

If you are putting a hot tub in your tree house, or if you plan to build many stories high, then you may need engineering plans to ensure that your tree house platform is suitable.

Our full service tree house design option can help give you the confidence that your tree house has been structurally designed to carry the weight of whatever you plan to put up there. Please contact us if you have further tree house construction questions.

In 2009, we decided to offer our treehouse plans, kits, and hardware for other builders to purchase and build their own treehouses. However, we are doing this through a sister company called Treehouse Supplies, Inc or TreehouseSupplies.com. Rest assured, there is cooperation between both companies and Treehouse Supplies produces the hardware that we use for our top-quality projects. If you wish to build your own treehouse, then check out the Treehouse Supplies website where you will find:

• Treehouse Plans
• Treehouse Bolts & TABs
• Accessories, Rope, Netting, bridge kits, zipline kits
• Helpful Treehouse Installation Videos

There are numerous websites that sell simpler treehouse plans, but please be warned that we have never seen off the shelf plans that use professional grade tree house fasteners and most of the treehouse designs cause excess harm to the poor trees both immediately and over time. They have their place in the market, but our plans are for those who want to protect their trees and maximize the strength of the project over time. Just know that there is a difference while shopping around.

Treehouse Supplies can also aid in production of custom tree house plans including materials lists and phone or on site support. If you want a high quality, safe, and long lasting tree house, then you have found the right place. They are always available to answer your construction questions as you build your tree house.

Yes. Let's just get that out of the way. You can't walk within twice the radius or drip line of a tree without compressing the soil where its roots are trying to absorb nutrients from the air pockets that used to be there before you compressed it.

Digging holes or using pin foundations (for posts to support the treehouse from the ground) cuts some of the small absorbing roots, even when no big roots are cut. Drilling holes into trees to install tree house fasteners hurts trees. Treehouses are not natural and I have never seen a tree house that did not at least temporarily cause the tree some amount of stress.

Most trees have tree house building possibilities. We can arrange a tree house site inspection during the design phase to take measurements and assess your tree(s) as part of our tree house consulting service. An alternative, if you are far away is to hire a local consulting arborist to comment on the species, health, and suitability of your tree for a tree house. If the tree isn't up to the task of supporting the whole tree house, then we can use support poles from the ground to help the tree bear the weight, or carry it all. Although some treehouse purists might not like it, building a ground-supported treehouse around the tree still gets you up in the air enjoying your trees and your very own custom tree house.

Our Tree Houses have an average life span of 10-25 years, but can be made to last as long as the life of the tree. The materials we use are of the best quality and our methods of construction make for long-term use. As with any outdoor product, regular inspection and maintenance is imperative to prolong its life, and life expectancy would therefore depend to a great extent on the attention given to it.

We've seen great and terrible treehouses built by both types of people. Some welders and engineers and other related professionals also have mixed treehouse building reviews. To be successful, our team has developed core competencies in all of these areas. We focus primarily on building and construction management, but without neglecting the importance of each area. The first 10% of the time spent on a treehouse is determining whether or not the tree is suitable to carry the load of the treehouse, where the best attachment points are, what the overall health of the tree is, and installing the main fasteners.

While Dan Wright is an ISA certified arborist, it's not a bad idea to also hire an RCA certified consulting arborist with at least 20 years of experience as a professional arborist to consult on a treehouse project. RCA arborists have a higher level of knowledge and a local one will have more insight into how your particular tree species does in your area, a point not to be overlooked since Dan is mostly familiar with trees in Pennsylvania and surrounding states.

Carpentry and building skills comprise the majority of the treehouse project and must be carefully employed to ensure safety. You want to hire people who you can trust to choose proper fasteners for each part of the tree house, form tight joints, build sturdy walls and railings to keep people safe, and close in roofs and windows to keep the weather out. At Tree Top Builders, we cross train our staff in various fields so that each member of the treehouse team understands the whole process.

We also have a network of expert tree house builders and consultants (including other arborists, engineers, machinists and metal workers) who understand the tree house building process and their important roles in each tree house project. You can trust that the combined experience of our treehouse team is at your service.