Trampoline Clubhouse?

After many abortive starts I think I have settled on building a club house at the yarden.
I plan to use the trampoline frame I have as a starting point, so there will be built in place to hang hammocks from.

The assembled trampoline frame is 13' 8" across.
The 8 legs are about 5' 3" center to center.
The 8 legs are connected in pairs by horizontal feet/skids.
I will be reusing the pole's that held the safety net to elevate the trampoline ring.

I have some ideas for building out the walls and cladding them, and plenty of materials to get it done.
There will be a rain screen design, and I'm thinking about these layers, ordered like this from inside to out:
-Vertical steel posts
-Stretched chicken wire
-Stretched plastic tarp
-Vertical battens on each steel post
-Horizontal furring
-Vertical pallet board siding

The inside would be finished with stucco or adobe.
The walls will probably be flat, rather than curved, meaning the club house will be octagonal.

The roof will probably be  walkable and flat, but that remains top be seen.

If you have ideas about the wall details, please let me know.
I am not sure about using the plastic tarp layer, and I am open to alternatives.
I also did not include an insulation layer, and I'm open to suggestions on that.
Thanks for looking!

Sounds like fun.

I'm trying to visualize your vision.

Does the trampoline frame make up the perimeter of the structure?

Are you intending to add structural framing beyond the steel from the trampoline? I imagine if you're building stucco walls the weight will be considerable. I don't really know much about framing though, can adobe walls be load bearing on their own?

Where are you going to hang hammocks? I've been thinking about where I can hang a hammock for the past 15 or 20 years without ever buying one... Can't ever seem to find the right place.

Yes, this does sound like a fun project!
Regarding the walls, maybe consider wattle and daub? An image search reveals lots of round buildings that use the wattle and daub technique.
One more thought, since the trampoline has specifically sized parts, how about creating a model with dowels that are 5 inches instead of 5 feet and a 13 inch plate to play around with the varying the wall height (tall by the entrance and shorter in the back)? Gather some willow, mix up some flour or clay “play-dough” and create a series of mini-forts. Try some roof angles. Yes, angling the roof will take away the walkable lookout feature but you might discover some new design idea that helps with the water runoff. The trampoline could offer an overhang to protect the smaller inner circle from rain. With the model, other amenities (like a rocket heater) could be considered.

I'm having a really bad math day, so let's just write this all down:

13' 8" is 164 inch diameter  (13 x 12 + 8)
Circumference is 2 Pi R or Pi D

164 x Pi = 515.22"

Divide that by the number of legs (8)  = 64.4"

So your legs will be a little over 5 ft apart. I realize that trampolines may have more than 1 person on them, but their legs are also normally fairly short. You are extending their legs, and I'm not convinced the legs will be strong enough at 5 ft apart to support people on the roof. I realize that snow load isn't the same as "people" load, but around here I've seen too many metal pipe constructions collapse under snow load.

Options: 1. actually make your walls structural rather than just "filling"
2. add some structural members like wood 4x4's in between each metal leg which brings the span from 5' to more like 2 1/2 feet. And you go from an octagon to a 16agon (OK a hexadecagon - but I wouldn't have known that without looking it up!)

Both options still preserves the spots for hammock hanging!  Let's not under-engineer this though - safety first.

I was over there with the kid today, got some stuff done, but I forgot to take any pictures...
We decided framing it as an octagon would be way easier than framing it as a circle and still look very cool.

After bolting the frame together with 1/4" bolts I focused on orienting it relative to the property lines.
After lining up four of the posts square with the sides, securing them with stakes and leveling the sections of ring between each them,  I noticed something looked off.
I checked the corner where my lines came together, it was not 90°.
The lines are equal distance off the property lines,   the property lines just don't intersject at 90°.

I had to leave it for the night, but I think I'll need to move two of the four posts.
Going forward I will affix boards to the inside edges of each section and make sure there each inner corner measures 135°.

Once I get it all squared up and level I plan on pouring a very narrow slip form masonry wall underneath it.
This will give me a place to build framing.
I'm imagining 2x6 sill plates and headers, with who knows what in between.
I have many ideas, will probably default 2x6 studs.
The trampoline ring will probably end up inside the framed out wall, but that should be ok.

The trampoline frame is in fact, unnecessary.
I considered a hex or octagonal build without it, but the ideas kept me coming back to using the posts of the frame anyway.
Not only has the frame gotten me started, it also means the building will be useful at most stages of construction.
Even with no walls or roof, it will be a place to hang hammocks from.
The most popular DIY hammock tripod stands are  made of 2x2 lumber, so I am not really worried about the strength of the frame for hanging hammocks.
A flat walkable roof will need its own support.
I think I will aim to get a slopped roof in  place first.

A 3" pvc pipe could  be the center post for a conical tarp roof.
Rachet straps can be the rafters and a 12/12 roof pitch will need a tarp that's about 20 feet across.
This seems like a simple way to protect things from weather, plus I like the big top circus tent flavor.
I imagine it might be rather sloppy as well.


I have cheap hammock that I will try out on the frame as soon as I have it stable.

I am struggling with realigning the posts.
I think a few more clamps and better lumber will get me where I want to be.

I stopped early to harvest the last of this years tomatoes before tonight's frosts.

William Bronson wrote: I am struggling with realigning the posts.

I remember when I put our trampoline together... oh man. That was abuse on my hands. Not so much aligning it, but stretching the actual fabric over the frame was really hard work.

Anyway, it looks like it will be a nice hammock hanger!

Got some time in on the club house today.
I had to use some ratchet straps to plumb up the frame, but it's looking good now.
As it turns out, this octagon is 14 feet across the longest diagonal, 13' (12.93) across the second longest diagonal, 10' (9.899') across the shortest diagonal,  and 5' 4.5" (5.358') to a side.

With these measurements and the materials I have on hand ,I anticipate using two built up beams and  4 interior posts.

I built a form of 2x6 lumber and staked it in place.
I think I will build 4 of them in total.
Once they are in place , I can dig out the center of the site.
I hope to level the floor and find stones to put in the forms.
I might erect the center pole and tarp roof before I build more forms, since rain is what stopped me today.

Have you made more progress on the clubhouse? I'd love to see how it's turning out!

We use springs to hold exhaust pipes onto racing motorcycles.
\They are small and fiddly so we used a tool with a hook on it to stretch the spring and pop it §over the loop.
It looks like a wool bale hook, or a cork screw with a hook instead of a screw, although you may be able to bend the corkscrew
if you have screw tops on the wine bottles!

The clubhouse went in hold over winter and it's still on hold as I prioritize spring planting.
It's all good, I was able to let ideas percolate and materials accumulate.
I now have water on hand  from my irrigation "pond" ,something not available last year.
This will make any concrete work a lot easier.


I have resolved to temporarily feed said pond with a tarp, now I'm wondering if the tarp can cover the clubhouse at the same time.