How to Make a Stilted Tree House

Stilted tree houses make kids feel like they are on top of the world. They are a lot easier to make than a tree house actually placed in a tree. There are no branches to take into consideration. You don't even need a tree. Here is how to make your own in the backyard.

Things You'll Need

• 4 telephone posts
• Quick-drying cement
• Saw
• 220 2-inch by 4-inch boards
• 25 2-inch by 6-inch boards
• Nails (at least 4 inches long) and hammer or nail gun
• Plywood (enough to cover 6-foot by 6-foot area six times)
• Paint
• Wooden ladder

Instructions

1. Cut the poles to the height that you want the tree house, with four feet extra length.

2. Dig holes that are four feet deep and six feet apart, and place the poles inside.

3. Stabilize the poles by filling the hole with quick drying cement. Make sure to hold the poles upright while the cement dries.

4. Make a square by laying four 6-foot-long 2-inch by 6-inch boards on the ground.

5. 

   Cut a foot-long section of 2-inch by 6-inch wood and lay it over the corners and nail it down, as shown in the illustration.

6. 

   Turn the square over and nail two-by-four boards along the square, as shown in the illustration.

7. Cover the boards with a layer of plywood, cut to fit, and nail it down. This is your finished platform.

8. Repeat steps 4 through 7 to make the walls and roof. Remember to leave openings for a door and windows.

9. Set the platform onto the poles and nail them down.

10. Nail the walls to the platform and each other.

11. Nail on the roof.

12. Add a wooden ladder and paint.