Two Pines Tree House

Memorial Day Weekend !!!

2010-04-22T18:35:00.002-04:00

May is near and Memorial Day is creeping in. This will be second year anniversary of the start of our tree house. I'm planning a big party for family and friends. We'll have a huge BBQ ,plenty of games,fun and new memories. I'll have to go and prepare everything for a big BASH! There is only a few weekends left ,and a lot of work. My friends had great time last year and I can't disappoint them now. I will post new pictures and maybe some videos .

Tree house gets "make up"

2009-12-25T14:59:00.003-05:00

Just before the winter snow storms I had a chance to stain our tree house.I chose a nice cedar shade to add to a rustic look that this house already had.First i tried to spray it on with little success.Old fashion pain brush did a much nicer job.I hope you like the new look too.

Sauna cabin ?!?

2009-10-25T23:18:00.003-04:00

For the past few weeks I've been working on a new addition to the Tree House. It was suposed to be an outdoor bathroom/shower but now I'm thinking to convert it to a spa/sauna cabin. It still needs some work but a lot has been done.Platform, walls and roof was done some time ago and now I'm working on the interior.One major problem is to get enough money to purchase a wood burning sauna stove.There are three major categories of sauna stoves:electric,gas(propane) and wood burning.Since wood is abundant and off grid it was the best choice.I already picked the one that i like ,but still need some $$$ to buy it. I spent some time researching sauna web sites and found many good tips and techniques of building one.I have many pictures which were taken during construction and I will add them later.Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.

Tree house Birthday!!! Memorial Day 09'

2009-10-01T22:06:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday Tree House!!! Well it's been a year since we started building the tree house and we invited some friends to celebrate this occasion.All in all we had almost 30 friends that came and had fun.All the kids had a blast and we are planing to celebrate it next year.I will add more photos later as soon as I get OK from everyone to post them.Ares was all worn out too.

Reptiles, amphibians and other neighbors around tree house

2009-09-27T01:06:00.009-04:00

There is plenty things to do and see when you go on expeditions from the tree house.Every frog,snake,salamander and turtle gets attention and curiosity of our children.After careful analysis of each "neighbor" they are released back to the environment without any harm.In the end we are the ones invading their domain.In these pictures you can see Northern Water Snake, Wooly Bear Caterpillar, Slimy Salamander ,Gray Tree Frog,Eastern Garter Snake, North American Millipede,baby Gray Tree Frog, baby Common Snapping Turtle, Northern Green Frog, Northern Red Salamander and another Northern Green Frog.

April 09' spring cleaning

2009-09-27T00:42:00.004-04:00

Summer was near and we were planing a little celebration for our tree house. It would be one year since we started this project and we invited our friends to come and party with us. We finished all the spindles and we also added some planters for flowers and herbs to the handrails.We also build a little wooden bridge under the house to get easy access to tire swing.This vacation season we would have our little place to escape the city and spend some precious time with kids.

February 09' outside

2009-09-26T14:58:00.004-04:00

The shingles on the tree house were finally finished.I still had to work on the spindles so that the platform was safe for kids to play on.Kids also got a tire swing ....every tree house needs one. I have few other play things in mind including slide,rope bridge,zip line and fireman's pole.They all need our careful planing ,time and will power lol.I have much more pictures and one day will add them all to the sideshow.

February 09'

2009-09-26T14:40:00.002-04:00

This is how our tree house looked like in the middle of February 09'.I added fence to the loft so that we don't roll off in the middle of night.You can also see our new folded table and dog pillow for Ares.Both beds were covered with cedar planks to add some colors and fragrance.The two chairs that you see along with three more were salvaged from a house that was renovated in Queens NY. They are fold able and easy to store when not in use.My wife Jola helped me decorate the place with stuff that we found at home and at TJ Max.

Monkey say ,monkey do...

2009-09-24T22:54:00.002-04:00

I think it's appropriate that if we all hang in the tree we could act like monkeys sometimes .It took a few tries before we got everyone to act together, but in the end we succeeded.

New Year cont'd

2009-09-24T22:29:00.003-04:00

While mostly resting and enjoying time with my family, i managed to install the two beds:one with fold able leaf on the bottom and loft bed with ladder on top. I also installed a shelf for all our book including collection of Tree House books that I'll discuss some other time.Now all we needed were two mattresses that later we got from IKEA.The inside of the house began to look as good as the outside.This was the time I shot our first tree house video that you could see at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjyrGwC1gnM&feature=channel_page

New Year New Memories

2009-09-24T22:06:00.003-04:00

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Well we spent our New Year Eve in Vermont but we come to the tree house the following weekend and we had a blast.For the first time we used our chimney and we had some Polska Kielbasa that taste awesome when cooked over fire. We also brought our snowboards and tested few hills near by.

Christmas 2008

2009-09-24T20:39:00.003-04:00

After spending Christmas home we went to our tree house to do some interior work. First I installed pine paneling on walls and ceiling .I dressed it up with some moldings. Next I finished installing the oak floor. While shopping at Home Depot, I found a propane heater that was perfect size and price for our budget.As you can see we also had our first snow fall. Having extra weight of snow on the roof proved that the whole structure was pretty solid.The only problem was that it would be too hot inside and to keep the temperature comfortable and to make sure that we had plenty of oxygen ,we had to leave one window open. Now we could "certify" our little home away from home as a four season tree house.

Insulation gets installed.

2009-09-23T22:30:00.006-04:00

It was early December and winter weather has arrived. Our tree house wasn't insulated yet and it was time to make it warmer. We were still sleeping on military beds, which were not that comfortable but kids liked them anyway. Our little house was looking better with every weekend .This only made me want to finish it faster and it put a BIG smile on my face :-)

Colors of Fall

2009-09-22T23:59:00.003-04:00

It was middle of October and leaves were already falling, and it meant that winter was around the corner.This time I didn't work on tree house but I enjoyed weekend with my family.These pictures will show you how beautiful this place is, no matter what season .

Adding roof over the porch

2009-09-22T23:34:00.003-04:00

Our porch needed a roof so that we could sit outside even in the rain or snow.This also added beauty and style to the house.I got a skylight from my friend Jon who salvaged it from an old boat.I also got a few porthole windows which I installed on the north side. The skylight will also allow us access to the roof.we had to complete this project first , before we could continue with the shingle siding.

Shingle siding....

2009-09-22T22:57:00.005-04:00

Now that the walls were all wrapped up and windows and door were installed we were ready to put shingles on the walls.This would make the house look handsome and cozy,but this would take a lot of patience and time....one shingle at a time.I decided to use undercoat shingles because all the walls were under roof so less weathering and money saved in the pocket.We started in late September and as you see the rainy season already began.Water in the creek changed its color to muddy brown and water level elevated a bit.

FIRST NIGHT !!!

2009-09-22T22:28:00.002-04:00

There it is!Our first night in the tree house.We had to sleep on bunk beds and sleeping pads,but it was great.It was a chilly late September night and we didn't have any heat or insulation,but we kept warm in our full down sleeping bags. The windows were in and the door was installed.This was a memorable night that hopefully kids will always cherish.

August 2008

2009-09-22T21:33:00.001-04:00

I just found few more pictures from August 2009 and wanted to share them.In these pictures you can still see that we were working on framing and walls.

Time for tar-ing up the place!

2009-09-18T21:39:00.002-04:00

The plywood on the wall was finished and roof was framed.Next step was to wrap it all with some felt tar paper which would act as moisture barrier.It was important to overlay it by starting from the bottom and making your way up.You should also remember to wrap it around window and door openings.The paper was fasten with hammer stapler.

MUD BATH !!!

2009-09-18T21:02:00.004-04:00

So you know about those spas in the city that charge a hand and a leg for an hour of "relaxation" in a tub filled with mud.We decided to do our version of that treatment ,but free of charge.The only member of our family who looked really tired and needed some time off was Ares ,but he didn't want anything to do with a mud bath....

In the end we had to hose our kids down with cold water from the well.They had great time.I wish my parents were more understanding when I was a kid.

Head deep part two

2009-09-18T20:53:00.002-04:00

The next day, we continued our work and stopped only for short breaks.Our family dog Ares was there every step of the way.Summer was almost over and with every weekend passing fast,we had little time to prepare for winter.

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I was head deep in to this project!

2009-09-18T20:28:00.004-04:00

Once we built stair case and we added railing ,it was safe enough to continue with the house.As you see in pictures ,we decided to use branches as banisters.Everything started to take shape.

Lets take a nap!

2009-09-17T23:32:00.001-04:00

Our first nap on the platform!It was great! August 08'

Redneck Hot Tub!

2009-09-17T23:08:00.002-04:00

Well we got a little dirty and had to wash,but had no bath or shower.I had to improvise and I made a redneck hot tub.This was a great idea and kids loved it too!

the next "step"

2009-09-17T22:41:00.002-04:00

The next "step" was to build some steps.There were many ways of getting up, but in the end we chose to go with simple and easy way -regular stairs.I had some help in building this from experienced carpenter Al. At the same time we started framing walls for the tree house.I added some pics so you could see what we've done.

2009-09-17T21:06:00.002-04:00

I got few more pictures from our first weekend ...

2009-09-13T22:32:00.003-04:00

Tree House platform construction...

this is re cap of how it all started

2009-09-13T19:08:00.006-04:00

It all started at my very good friend's property where we came to camp a few years ago.Pretty son we fell in love with this place.It was peaceful,quiet place where we could be closer to nature.The last picture on the bottom shows me and my son Max in 2007 next to a little pond .Notice two trees in the upper right corner.This is the spot where our tree house began its life.
It was Memorial Day weekend and I decided that it would be a perfect opportunity to start building a tree house for my kids.Little did i know that this project would get out of hand and it'd become a retreat for the whole family.I couldn't pick a better time, because that weekend not only did i have my family with me,but also a bunch of friends.Within three days,the platform was built .Here are some picture to show the work ...

2009-02-21T11:24:00.000-05:00

so this is it our tree house