Tiny Straw Bale earthen Tree House

The Picture kinda explains everything,


The advantages of this is, you dont have to cut down your trees, you already have a good foundation, and great support beams. Also this Idea can be played with, and is very easy to build.

Thanks, Peace

So then what happens as the trees grow?

Or when the wind blows, creating movement with each and every sway...and water runs down the crevices of the bark in a downpour..or the storm is such that it blows one of them down, lightning strikes one, one dies, etc.

Good point, Im going to use tree house lug bolts to hold roof on, roof is not attacheted to top of wall but there is a gap there. You can seal it not to get water in. Also how week are your trees? the evergreens up here is Washington dont move at the base at all, unless its going to fall over which is rare. And they dont grow that fast to break apart everything as fast as you think, it may be that every five years you may need to take just a tiny bit of straw away and recob, the walls that you would have to do anyways.

I dont know about baby evergreens, but the ones we have up here have such good coverings that nothing under them gets wet..... and trust me they dont move! they are like post in the ground. if you built this 25 feet up the tree i could see a problem. Also the roof holds the trees together at the base with bolts.

Anyways, have thought of these and dont really think you have much of a problem that one could not fix without a little thought. Like putting a frame between the two trees so the walls move interdependent of the the tree.

Thanks for the comments....

Levi nonya wrote:The Picture kinda explains everything

Levi nonya wrote:

Levi nonya wrote:

Levi nonya wrote:The Picture kinda explains everything

In pic cob 10, you can see the outside wall of the house, with the roof attached to the tree for base and holds the trees together so there minimum movement in the lower part of the evergreens.

in pic 11, you can see a cut view of the inside of the straw bale cob tree house. You can see the foundation, large rocks to smaller for drainage of water. with sand as the top layer. Over that earthen cement, and then a cob floor. The walls are on the wooden frame, that is resting on the earthen cement. Roof is separate from that walls holding the trees together and giving a cheep roof.

In pic 14, and 13, you can see how a house can be made to fit any circumstances. Depending on level of the ground, and how the trees are growing.

Thanks, any questions?

Levi nonya wrote:

Levi nonya wrote:

Levi nonya wrote:The Picture kinda explains everything

This pic is the same as the top with solar panels in the yard and a root cellar in the background...

You can put these bolts up for the roof, and make then tight so the trees move less at the base...

This would be perfect....

Go for it -- and let us know how it comes out.
I fear that you will be disappointed by how difficult it would be compared to the same building built under the trees and NOT attached. I am sure you will not save any time or money building it as you describe.

Howdy Levi, welcome to permies ! Sounds interesting and inovative. I guess we wont know until you try it out and keep us updated.

Welcome to you too Brett !

I apologize for jumping in so late in the game. Two things:

First, as the three Austrian Pine I have in my patio have grown over the years (Utah big, not Pacific Northwest big), I have been worrying about them toppling over and crushing my house during one of the violent wind storms we get here every so often. The simple solution would be to cut them down and start over, but trees grow ever so slowly in this environment (except box elders and cottonwood). I have considered linking them together as a living truss using spars and cables, then planting one or two large metal posts deep in the ground next to them and linking them all together. Your discussion of tree sway reminded me of it.

Second, I tend to agree that you will get some sway, even if just a few millimeters, at the base. You may be better off using the trees to support a canopy/roof that would be structurally separate from the walls. You could then use some sort of flexible insulating seal between the walls and the roof.

You have presented some nice ideas. I hope whatever you try works to your satisfaction.

My daughter and I learned to make tree houses one year from a guy in Seattle who does that for a living, and his main maxim was not to bore or nail into the tree ever, because he loved the trees. Everything was hung from the limbs. Platforms and roof were built plenty shy of the trunk (like a chafing ring) to give room for sway and growth. So I'd be partial to the canopy suggestion, moving your walls inside the perimeter a bit. I tend to think the beams would pitch over time, due to different growth rates and so the question I wonder is why not just load the straw bales with the roof load, especially since, except for some dead fall, it would be light under the canopy. Also, foundations (and cellars) usually go below the frost line and that's not addressed in your drawings. The tree's root structure is typically right at the surface to just a few feet below and putting in a foundation that close would damage the roots. Post and pier crawlspace would be better for the trees, which would kind of negate the whole exercise of using the trunks as the support structure. I'd probably also look for a slower growing tree or hard wood with strong limbs and complex branching structure in an area with a low water table so the roots have depth and the tree is secure from topple. I think the best way to think of tree house design is to think of the house conceptually as a suspension bridge, and that's going to be difficult to insulate in a light weight manner without resorting to high tech materials. I think of Northern tree houses as seasonal recreational getaways and not permanent dwellings, though on a micro scale it might be done. Anyway, just some points you might want to ponder.

But to me, the whole experience and magic of tree houses is to be up high, sway and all...to have a prospect and protection from predators; to be up with the birds and squirrels...

Btw, I love your drawings..but in all seriousness, tree roots extend out and just below the surface, so your floor build up would have to be much higher than you've envisioned.
Have you thought about earth bags instead of straw bale? Then you could built your earth floor up to a one or two courses of the bags...

Miles Flansburg wrote:Howdy Levi, welcome to permies ! Sounds interesting and inovative. I guess we wont know until you try it out and keep us updated.

Welcome to you too Brett !

Wow I never knew so many people posted I have not checked into this thread in a wile....

The drawings are not perfect..... I only drew the root system that way because it was the easiest to draw for me.... LOL But i'm not that good at drawing and it was easier for me to make the roots go straight down instead of along the ground....

I have thought about this and also built alot of tree houses.... and have done landscaping all my life.... so I know about tree roots intensively, even as we rip them out with excavators....

I didn't make this because I thought it would be easier, I thought it wound be cool to live in a house of my own art work and designing.... even if it takes a little more work and thanking to achieve this goal...

The whole idea of using earth bags then making a cob earthen cement floor is very interesting.... Thanks so much!

I also know the cellar needs to be below frost level.... I only drew it in that part of the picture to fill in the rest of the background..... LOL never did thank about that wile drawing...

Also about haing everything off the limbs.... cool idea never thought about that... who is this Guy in washington?

I have attached the lasted picture to my art collection of dreams.....

Not much different... lol

Suki Leith wrote:Btw, I love your drawings..

Thanks, means alot..... I have a different art style... but I kinda like it...

Maybe you guys would like to help me in my newest project..... I have added these pics in there to.... just for fun and creativity.......

Thanks....

Watch Video on Indiegogo....

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/spoteffh--2/piad

Hope you like....

Levi