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i got this far into building a tree house with the excuse that it was for my daugther's kids and was about to start on the 2nd story and a tower when I got told it needed a safety rail.
What is safety I wondered? Apparently it is to stop them falling into the green and yellow bush behind it. This seemed a good excuse to add some games to the design but not having kids of my own I don't know what is suitable. They are 2 and 4 at the moment but this should last a few years so what games to add? I plan to add a couple of seat boxes so they can keep some toys dry inside and then thought something like this, but what else beyond a nought and crosses and a chalk board?
Yes, it will have a second brace on the near side but didn't want to block the image
Class. We use to build them as kids, my eldest brother and I. We grew up in the grounds of a psychiatric hospital, there was plenty stuff to be reallocated from the working farm and estates areas.
The base was built so well it was still visible and parts in place over 30 years after we moved.
Safety rails are just for stuff that gets sold or opened to the public.
Forest School encourages a bit of danger and dynamic risk assessment through supervision.
Adults would probably appreciate a back rest whilst sat up there.
[i]Adults would probably appreciate a back rest whilst sat up there.[/i]
That is pretty much whatI am building. Also might form part of the structure for the turret and possibly catapult/siege engine I am considering
You could check out the stuff kids have in local parks. There are some cool setups with sand buckets and pulleys, buried pipes you can talk down, etc.
I built this about 4 years ago for my boys
Cost a fortune in wood because it had to be big to work in the location where we wanted it.
Kids wanted a second level. Instead I made a sail cloth roof.
The idea was for them to use their imagination and it could be a pirate ship, train, etc.
Tree house in neighbouring village has the build, windows and door at angles (not square). Looks ace.
Safety rail can mean a higher place to jump off from...
I would worry more about entrapment issues - feet, hands and head.
I can send you the BS and EU standards for playground construction if you really want, but trust me you don't.
As above, think about a balance of risk and challenge. Safe = boring and find the excitement (like climbing the handrail), adventurous in balance = engaging and learning.
This is the one I built for our lot at that age. As you can see, they found more excitement.
https://flic.kr/p/4KwUVk
Excellent work. As the owner of a set of kids I wouldn't bother with the formal games. The adventures will be had in their heads and re-enacted with sticks.
Every local park has loads of those interactive games like noughts and crosses, never seen a kid go near them. Save yourself the effort. 👍
http://www.playscotland.org › ...PDF
Design for play: a guide to creating successful play spaces
My dad built a treehouse that spanned three levels around an American Redwood tree, complete with a zip line across a field. It didn't have a safety rail on the top and we never fell off*. Put rubber pieces around the base if you're worried.
To be honest, it's a WCA Enterprises construction - the risk of serious injury is during the building... 😛
* well, once, when he greased the cable and fitted new bearings to the pulley and it catapulted me off the end into the nettles at about 30mph.
I'm bored enough to watch you do this!
Definitely needs a rail so that the kids can balance on it while reporting loudly back to you whatever next door are doing in their garden 😉 It sounds like one of the other bosses in your house says it's needed so may as well make it useful.
More importantly what about a slide! Need one of those for racing diggers, dolls, sticks and bricks that they just found.
Chalkboard is nice but chalks work just as well on the side of any shed / house.
Noughts and crosses is a game for doing inside on a rainy day or long car journeys.