Treehouse Progress, Part 2

in the last treehouse post we got the treehouse to this point

Monday we made {yet another} trip to Lowes and bought more materials. That afternoon I installed most of the decking after adding some more bolts to the posts and more joist nails to the joists (I'd run out of both on Saturday). I also propped the slide and stair stringers up, trying to decide on where to put them. The angled 2x4's between the upper and lower decks is the beginning of the climbing wall that I'll be building.

River photobombed the treehouse :) 

the stair stringers are upside down in this picture

After another trip to Lowes Wednesday, I finished the decking and installed two of the 4x4 posts for the railings. If you look closely, you can see the ratchet straps holding the back right post straight. Once I got the 2x4 railing pieces attached, I was able to remove the straps. They were very helpful in keeping everything square as I built.

Thursday I finished installing the 4x4 posts, figured out where the stairs were going to go, and attached the 2x4 railing pieces.

the stair stringers are now oriented properly

Friday I was able to get a lot done. With Mr M home, he was on kiddo duty while I worked. I have a vision of where the treehouse is going, Mr M needs to not be kneeling and putting pressure on his toe,  and he can make doctor appointments and look for a job while watching the kiddos, so I had a good block of time to work on the treehouse.

I secured the stairs (they were just toenailed in before) to the frame and dug in the concrete blocks that support the bottoms of the stair stringers. Then I cut and added the stair treads. It's so nice to be able to walk up the stairs instead of climbing up a precariously balanced step stool. I also started adding the balusters to the 2x4 railing pieces. Those are relatively easy to do, but time consuming since I have to clamp each one in place top and bottom to make sure the balusters don't move while I'm screwing them to the 2x4s.

stairs done, some of the balusters added in

There's two openings on the side of the treehouse with the slide. One is for the slide, the other is for the lower climbing ramp that I haven't built yet. I added 2x4s across the top of the railing posts that frame those openings for increased stability.

I intended to finish the balusters Saturday afternoon, but I was too tired by the time we got home from the Renaissance Fair (more on that in a day or two), so this is as far as I got last week. It's starting to look like a real treehouse :)