Tree House Structure...

 

Growing Upward.... 

In Case you wondered, Dear Readers, the Tree House Structure was deliberately designed from the beginning to be a bit flexible, but based on a few basic principles. The House would be vertical, like a tree trunk with the rooms stacked one on top of the other as far up as would fit the landscape of The Folly Garden, with the opening doors to access the rooms all on one side of the Tree, and hinged to a sturdy post which was attached at the base and runs all the way to the top of the tree trunk. The other "corners" of the rooms, or the tree trunk depending on how you look at it, are made from a sturdy metal wire that also attaches at the base and runs all the way up to the top of the tree trunk. Because the wires can be bent a little and are not rigid, the size of the rooms can vary in shape and dimensions. Each floor, above the ground level kitchen, that is, is made from a piece of thin plywood which has holes drilled through it where the wires go up and can therefore be slid onto the wires forming a very sturdy structure when it rests on the walls of the room below. If you look closely at the above picture, you can see several of these wires as they continue upward between the floors and stick out at the top. The only problem with this structure happens when you add rooms to the side of the main room and then need another hinged outer door on a different side... so I managed to add several other wooden "hinge posts" along the way, notably for the dressing room and the Nanny's Room. They have to be carefully "based" on a part of the floor that can be screwed into from below in order to be sturdily attached. As I was recently reviewing the Tree House structure, I realized I was going to want or need another sturdy corner post at the top for the "branches" of the Tree House to be attached to when we get that high!

 But before we could get to that step, I realized that I would need to have the next "floor" or the ceiling of the Nursery properly cut and fitted, which required making a floor plan or map in order for it to fit right on the wires and around the posts already in place. Here you can see my beginning steps... a piece of paper poked through by the wires and cut to fit around the existing posts. Then I could cut the plywood and know right where the wire holes needed to be drilled!

 

Here you can see the new correctly fitted Nursery ceiling or Attic Floor.

 It will not be glued in place until all the construction and decorating

 for the Nursery and Nanny's Rooms is finished,

 but it can be slid up or down and provides a very sturdy 

alignment guide for the room walls as I construct them.

 

And while I was making new correctly fitted sections, 

the Nanny's Room opening Door inner wall frame

 needed to be re-cut as the first (very old) version

 was an eighth of an inch too short

 and a 1/16th of an inch too narrow. 

 

And another wall section that needed lots of fixing was

 the inner wall of the bump-out that will hold bunk bed

 sleeping nooks on the side wall of The Nursery.

 This had been started all those years ago

 but had very poor shaping to the opening. 

I made the opening more symmetrical by carefully cutting

 a patch to fit the already cut opening 

and gluing them together.

 The crack will be covered by all the future

 construction so it is not a problem.

And Along the way, Dear Readers,

 I was constantly "strengthening" many small parts 

of the previous construction. 

The windows all will need a layer of the "paper twist"

 that resembles a wooden root or something like it,

 as an edging before the paper-mache outer bark is eventually added. 

 

As you can see here with the Bathroom outer window.

 

And along the outer edge of the Balcony structure.

 Because the shape of the balcony roof is irregular,

 the twist didn't want to stay put while the glue dried....

 

 So I had to wrap it with thread to hold it in place

 for several hours as the glue dried.

 

While I wrapped the twist the rest of the way

 around the opening and glued it in place. 

And those bunk beds...? 

I have been planning them forever, it seems,

 and finally just got going on them!

 

I am using plain old corrugated cardboard for the shape of the hollow.

 

Adding the platforms for the mattresses... thin plywood scraps.

 

 

And starting to add the thin

 matchstick paneling to the insides....

 yes, these are cut from match sticks!

 

 

Of course, It has to be constantly tested in place

 in the Nursery to see how it fits and looks!

 

And eventually getting the matchstick paneling all around the bunk beds.

 

The bunk beds have to have some of 

that Twist to frame the openings...

 

And a coat of stain applied... 

although it doesn't exactly match the other walls... 

that old can is long gone!

 

And then we finally get to the point of needing to remove

 all the walls to The Nursery and Nanny's Room

 so I can "engineer" the attachment of the Extra Post

 at the back of the structure beside the stairs.

And in order to be able to use my drill, 

I discover I even have to remove most of the stairs! 

 

And the next steps were so complicated 

and required so much careful focus..... 

I forgot to take any photos...

 but the "operation" was a success! 

The Post got firmly attached (glued and screwed) to the floor...

 

Here you can see it in place at the back on the left side,

 with the Nursery Walls and the ceiling in place to make sure it all fits right.

 

Here you can see the new Post with the 

bunk beds wall in place and the stairs reattached. 

And you can see the tiny little piece of floor I had to attach it to!

 

And here's the view from the front opening side... 

those taller posts can now have the tree branches built onto them

 and the bulk of the weight will be at the back

 of the Tree instead of the front side...

 the Tree does lean a bit out towards the brook... 

it needed to be balanced!

 

And the Balcony also needed the matchstick paneling

 added to the inside of the opening.

 This increases the sturdiness and will look more "finished"

 when the outer bark surface is added.

 

And lest you think I have ignored the original 

sleeping nook in the opening door wall, 

I have added little steps up to the bed level

 and am adding more of the paper twist around the opening.

 These are supposed to be hollow interiors of old cut off tree branches...

 so they need to look cozy and very rustic.

 

And the matchstick wall paneling too,

 to match the rest of the Nursery walls! 

These will be stained to (hopefully) match the first walls. 

 

And even the tiny wall with the tiny window

 in the Nanny's room is getting the matchstick paneling!

 

I hope I have not completely bored you, Dear Readers,

 with this very technical description of the 

Tree House structural improvements, 

But at least we can see it is finally 

Growing Upward again!

 

Revisiting The Tree House....

 

Revisions, Repairs and Rocks.....

I Will not bore you, Dear Readers, with every tiny alteration I have made to the Rocky foundation upon which The Tree House sits, but suffice it to say that progress has been very slow! This is partly due to the very hot weather we have been having this summer, which saps one's energy and causes the need to keep the windows and blinds closed making visibility a struggle inside even in the daytime, and mostly due to the indecision about exactly what shapes I am trying to create in these rocks. And even the local Geology has to be taken into consideration... because I need the landscape to look somewhat natural. And in this part of the World, we have some very interesting geology! I am not a geologist, but the simple explanation is that the Connecticut River Valley (in which I reside) is formed by the ancient collision of two tectonic plates on the Earth' surface... when North America collided with North Africa long Long LONG before anyone was calling them such. The North American plate went under the North African one, and then when the land masses decided to split up and move apart (what a divorce that must have been!) the North American Plate took a large chunk of North Africa with it! The evidence of this happening is in the rocks to this day... on the Western side of "the divide" ie The Connecticut River Valley, the rocks are largely Shale and the mountains are waaaay older than the ones on the Eastern side of the Valley, which are mostly Granite of a type that is only found in North Africa! The collision formed what is now the White Mountains, the tallest mountains on the Eastern half of North America, with Mount Washington standing at approximately 6000 feet tall and only about 100 miles inland from the coastline. And all this is the reason I will tell you that the Bedrock at The Folly Garden is made up of the shale type of rocks, a dark gray multilayered and flat type of stone. It is used often for making slate roofing shingles because it can be so easily split into smooth flat layers. In the above picture you can see my "extended" base is trying to look like this sort of bedrock. The "real" rock you can see next to it is attempting to help me match the colors right.

But that is only Half the story! The other half is all the boulders that were brought in to support the foundation of The Folly house which are made from the Granite which is so prevalent just across the Valley from here. Granite is a much harder rock less inclined to erode and is mostly a much lighter gray tone, but can be found in tan and pinkish colors too. The structure allows it to be quarried in large blocks or chunks. And those are the grayer boulder shaped rocks in this small setting.

So while the rocks get endlessly fiddled with and altered and primed and painted and varnished and re-varnished and painted all over again, Dear Readers, I am also beginning to find my way around The Tree House again. One of the dangers of leaving a half-finished project for so long is forgetting what you did.... to make the various parts.... where you put the materials.... and what you intended to do in the first place. And what all the "not quite right and need fixing" parts there were already started and you would get to fixing someday when you had the time. Well.... those are completely forgotten now!

So I am searching high and low for the same type of wood that I used to make the stairs.... so I can complete that half finished staircase to the top floor (dare I say it will be the last floor?) and surprise of surprises, I found the already cut sections of wood!!! I almost didn't recognize them!

I had been looking for strip wood in the right thickness... in this case 3/16ths of an inch, which is fairly thick for strip wood. It turns out I had made mine from sheets of basswood cut to the right width (1/2") and then divided into squares for the steps. Yes, this makes for very narrow little staircases running up through the walls, or in this case spiraling up through the side of the tree trunk. (Remember, this is a 1/48th scale project set into the garden of a 1/12th scale project.... just to be confusing.)

But meanwhile, one of the very first fiddle around and fix it steps I accomplished was adding a tiny strip of wood to the bottom of the Nursery outer opening door. Can you see it in the picture below? 

 

The repair is not perfect... 

but it makes the bottom of the door actually meet

 the floor of the Nursery  at one edge, 

and helps the door stay closed even without the magnet to hold it.

 (For how many years has it been annoying me

by swinging open and needing to be taped shut......?) 

And when I could stand on my new step ladder

 and actually see into the Nanny's Room from above, 

I noticed a big hole where the floor did not meet the support post accurately....

 

Can you see the tiny patch   I put in place....?

 Oh, Dear.... time for the flash again.....

 

There.... now you can see it on the left by the post... 

as I said, not perfect, but much better!

And another small thing I had noticed was that

 many of the outer opening doors I had built

 stood "outside" the edge of the floor of the room they were closing.... 

so those floors needed small "extensions"

 to make the structure more "finish-able" 

when I get to adding the outer tree bark!

 

 In particular the Tree House Toilet Cubicle

 needed the floor extended.... 

you can see here the "before" picture....

 

And the "after" picture with the increased floor structure.

 

And the little Bathroom Dressing Cubicle too.... 

which still is not all completed. 

It needs the window panes and the furniture at the least!

 These doors both need the magnet closures,

 even though they don't swing open on their own.

 

And yes, the little spiral stairs are continuing upward now...

 I had to straighten the support wire a little bit first... 

This is how far they had reached twelve years ago.....!

 

Now they reach just about to the level of the next (and I hope final) floor!

And while I am revisiting all these doors, Dear Readers,

 there is the Bedroom Door with the "promise" of

 a "Juliette Balcony" overlooking the brook below....

Do you remember me mentioning this "Someday" Balcony? 

 

Here I have added the first layer of the balcony "surround" 

to the floor that has been there since the beginning.

 

And the rest of the "surround" structure.... 

it is another place where a tree limb was cut off long ago

 and left a big scar..... and a hollow ...... 

it will eventually look much more "tree-like" 

when I get to adding all the outer bark to the Tree!

 

And this morning, I surprised Lady Arabella

 out on the Balcony for a moment of fresh air!

And did she look down at the Rocks 

and wonder if the brook would ever run past below....?

 

The bright morning light reveals so much about those rocks....

Can you see the "real" rocks up front for help with the painting....?

 

Oh, yes, and with the Final Rock... 

The "Balance Point" of the Brook.....?

 

And shall we have the Rhododendron in its place... 

showing how much it hides the Tree House from view....?

And can you spot all my "Pet Rocks" in the picture....?

 

And yes, you can rest assured... 

Mr. Gnome is keeping a watchful eye on all the "Rock Business"!

 The Balance Rock is not yet complete and will blend in better soon...

But I make no promises about the Brook for now....

Some things just will not be rushed! 

I am really Loving, Dear Readers,

 Revisiting the Tree House

 and Finding little things to

 Repair and Revise

And even if the Rocks take Ages to make.... 

They are finally becoming Rocks! 

Realizatons...

 

And Remembering...

As I have been laboring over those rocks, Dear Readers, and Dreaming of bedrocks and geology and the ice ages, and wrestling with the way the rocks must nestle against the Tree House's Roots, I have found myself looking up at The Tree House again and again! And the key word is looking "Up"! I am not a tall person and am used to looking up at things... but if you are trying to build it... it is very frustrating to not be able to see the project from above! It makes it quite impossible to see how things are fitting together....

The Tree House Nursery is right at my eye level... and I can't do anything without standing on a chair or a step stool! And as I looked around my many unfinished project this spring, I realized I had "maxed out" on all my buildings and everything was getting above eye level for me! No wonder I was having so much trouble with building them! And because I am no longer as young and spry as I was fifteen years ago... I don't trust the step stools or chairs.....! So I finally bought myself a new "trusty" step ladder with  a safety handle! (see the top photo if you haven't already noticed it!) I can't tell you how reassuring that handle is! And while we are talking about the Tree House...

  I am Sure there are a few of you, Dear Readers, who actually remember the Tree House way back at the beginning of building it in 2012! Has it really been that long, I hear you ask? Well, the first six rooms consumed nearly all my attention from May 2012 until September of 2013, with a few distractions along the way. And I think it was sometime in the summer of 2014 that I began the construction of the Nursery with it's curtained bed nook and the ceramic beads stove, but I didn't get terribly far with the construction and was distracted by all my other buildings and stories. The Tree House has waited patiently ever since for my close attention to resume. 

Well, DO You remember the Tree House? All those 1/48th scale little rooms tucked inside the huge old tree (still so incomplete!) beside The Folly? Perhaps you would like a reminder....

 

It is quite challenging to get all six stories

 (so far!) into one photo... 

and I am sorry the pictures are a bit dark. 

In this hot summer I keep the blinds closed a lot...  

but perhaps you want to come closer....

 

Here are the lower three rooms

 with the outer doors open and the lights on....

 but still, you need to come closer...!

 

Here is the kitchen at the bottom

 tucked between the roots underground.... 

I am sorry it is so difficult to get good photos.... 

I will show all the rooms first without flash....

they have more "atmosphere" that way. 

 

And above the kitchen is the Salon,

 the first ground level room...

 everything in these rooms is entirely hand made by me... 

you can read all about it in the blog archives...

 just click on May of 2012.... and keep reading forever!

 

Oh, and there is a painted domed ceiling too.....(of course there is!)

 

The next floor up ....

( and there are staircases winding up to each level inside the walls...!)

 is the Gothic Library... and all its many collections...

 

This room took me months to complete!

 August through December of 2012...

 

And the next floor up is the Chinoiserie Bedchamber.... 

with the hand painted wall murals

 and the Pagoda Bed with the hand embroidered silk bed curtains...

 (embroidered by me over several years...)

 

Here it is showing the fireplace wall and the recamier.... 

alas, it is so dark.... 

I will do another batch with the flash... 

but it washes out so much detail in its own way.......

 

And the next level up is the abalone shell bathroom.... 

a complete fantasy of seashells....

Here you can see all the rooms with their doors open and the lights on.....

 

 

And the incomplete Nursery level....

 really just barely begun.

 

 

Oh, and I almost forgot to show you

 the tiny Dressing Room off the side of the Bedroom... 

with the rose garden murals....

 (hand painted of course....)

 

And how could I forget the tiny toilet cubicle... 

and the seahorses dressing room... 

also on the side of the Abalone Bathroom

 and not quite complete!

 

So, Dear Readers... 

I have promised you the flash views....  

so here they are....

 

The Kitchen.... 

with the stairs curving upward to the right side... 

you can't see the fire properly with the flash on...

 but you sure can see the other stuff! 

Remember this is all approximately 1/48th scale.

 The entire room is about 4 inches wide and 4 inches tall.

 

And the Salon with the flash..... 

I had to angle it so the flash wouldn't reflect

 in the mirror over the fireplace...

 

And the Gothic Library..... 

so many tiny details... 

collections in all those glass domes...

and all those cupboard doors do open...! 

 (But the flash destroys the ancestor portraits on the walls...) 

 

And here is the Chinoiserie Bedroom with the flash.... 

it does make terrible shadows... 

but you can clearly see the embroidered curtains...

 and the hand painted wall murals...

 

And the Abalone Shell Bathroom....  

with real beach shells gathered over the years....

 including the tiny scallop shells..... 

and the curtains for privacy.... 

well.... it is a fantasy after all!

 

And the beginnings of the Nursery... 

with the ceramic stove and the window bed nook...

 just waiting...

and waiting...... 

 

And the Tree House beside The Folly with the flash..... 

(just so you can see how closely together they are fitted.)

 

And has there been any progress at all with those rocks...?

 

Well, it is slow going!

The rocks need several layers... 

first primer then paint and polyurethane varnish... 

and each layer needs to dry when I can open the windows to ventilate the fumes.

But bit by bit the rocks are taking shape... 

and meanwhile I am climbing the new stepladder

 and fidgeting with the Nursery walls! 

And I am Realizing, Dear Readers,

How good all those memories are!