It's hard to beat the freedom of being outside in the branches of a tree. Whether you have some experience of working with wood, or you're new to the idea, these guides will take you through every step of the process of building a safe, modern treehouse in one of your own trees. Each guide gives a straightforward approach to the project with full cutting lists and detailed colour diagrams. After ordering a guide you can download a high resolution, printable PDF that's guaranteed compatible with your computer.

Frequently asked questions

What are Treehouse Guides?

They are complete plans for tree houses that are designed to suit a particular tree. They have cutting lists for every piece of wood, step by step instructions and colour diagrams throughout. The objective of each guide is that they can be built safely without any prior experience of treehouse construction.

Treehouses have many fans. Children love them as a unique place to play and learn about woodwork. Adults love them too, reminiscing back to when they first built a treehouse in the back yard from some old pieces of scrap wood. The guides on this site are designed specifically to be easy to make, durable and waterproof. They are much more than the forts most people remember building, and can be used for work as well as play.

Treehouse Guides is committed to making treehouse building more popular by providing treehouse plans without the hassle of complicated building techniques. The guides shown on this site are not just plans; they are step by step instruction booklets which take you through the entire process of building your own treehouse or playhouse. The level of detail makes them superior to general treehouse books which can simply not afford the space to describe every piece of wood you will need, how to cut it and where to position it in the structure.

What level of skill is needed?

These guides are intended to open up the idea of a treehouse project to people who might otherwise have avoided it through lack of woodworking experience, but you should have some basic knowledge of woodworking processes and of handling wood. This includes the ability to:

Why do these guides have specific tree requirements?

Treehouse Guides products are designed in a lot of detail so they are very predictable to build. You will be able to envisage how your structure will fit in your space before you begin. The guides must be produced to certain levels of safety and simplicity to keep to the general specification of 'waterproof, durable and easy to make' so the supporting tree (or site) must be able to accept quite a specific structure. Any variables may affect the structural performance so these are kept to a minimum. This will ensure your building matches the guide accurately.

Where can I get the parts needed for these designs?

The guides are based on readily available materials to avoid the complication and cost of special orders. Wood purchased direct from a sawmill can be considerably cheaper than from hardware stores. Some of the larger bolts used for the supports may not be available locally but can be ordered online from one of these suppliers.

I could buy a treehouse book for the same price as one of these guides. What makes them different?

If you have an interest in treehouses we always recommend you purchase a treehouse book or two to provide background and insight into the whole treehouse phenomenon. Several recommended books are available to order through our sister site, The Treehouse Guide. While you can learn a lot about treehouses from these books, and even read building instructions and see plans, none go into as much detail as Treehouse Guides does with the guides on offer through this site. It is this level of instruction that sets the guides apart. They are designed for specific situations and you will find every instruction you will need for every part of the process inside. Take a look through the samples for each guide (choose one from the list above) to see some of the actual pages.

Will Treehouse Guides produce custom designs for my trees?

Currently this is not a service that we offer. Custom structures need careful planning and preferably a site visit to produce a workable plan. You are welcome to ask questions about your own ideas. This may provide you with useful advice that will help you progress your treehouse idea.

Do you have any other treehouse designs?

There are always new ideas in the works - sign up to the mailing list for notification of new products before they appear on the website.

I have another question about the guides...

Please contact us with any questions or ideas you have about any of the guides on offer.