Posted on September 10, 2011 by admin | in Nanny
Every child loves a tree house right? Shouldn’t everybody have a tree house? There are more than a few things you should think about before you decide to build a tree house. Check out 8 reasons you should not have a tree house.
- Home owner association won’t allow it: With a large portion of Americans living in neighborhoods with homeowner’s associations now there are a lot of rules that govern what you can and can’t have in your yard. Most covenants will state that tree houses are not allowed in your neighborhood. Before you build a tree house check to make sure that it’s allowed in your neighborhood.
- Dangerous: Kids and adults can potentially fall out of a tree house and break an arm or leg or heaven forbid their neck. Having a place that high off the ground intended for kids is irresponsible and just plain dangerous. The same could be said for the adult that is building the tree house. They could fall off the ladder or out of the tree while they are putting in the supporting structures.
- Kill the tree: In order to secure the tree house to the tree you have to screw or bolt into the tree itself. This can cause the branch to die or the whole tree. If the branch dies it will become weak and could cause the tree house to fall when it has children in it and they could be seriously hurt. Even if the house fell while uninhabited it could cause property damage to a car or something else that could be under it.
- Child has a fear of heights: Having a tree house will not cure your child’s fear of heights. You might think that having a fun place to hang out that is high in the air will help them overcome their fear, but it won’t. There are a lot of other things you could spend your money on that you child would enjoy. Make sure that your child has no fear of heights before even considering building a tree house.
- Make sure your child wants it: Often times what happens is that the parent has always wanted to have a tree house and now that they are an adult they can finally have one. Make sure that your child wants a tree house and will get some use out of it. Tree houses are a lot of work and if you are making it for the wrong reason you should rethink the idea. Your childhood is over and you cannot live vicariously through your child. And I promise you that people will point and laugh if they see you up there playing.
- Don’t have the skill: Before starting on a job like this you need to make sure that you have the skill required to make a tree house properly and safely. There are so many schools of thought when it comes to how to create a safe tree house that we need to consider that there may not be a way to make a tree house completely safe for your child. Weigh your child’s safety against their desire to have a tree house.
- Cost: There is a lot of cost associated with building a tree house. You have the lumber, the screws, the lag bolts and nuts; shingles to finish off the roof, not to mention making sure that you have the right tools for the job. How are you going to work safely in the tree? Do you need to buy a special ladder? Are you going to paint it? What kind of floor are you going to have? All of these things cost money when you are building a house that will last and be safe for your children and their friends to play in.
- Maintenance: Wood invites termites and other pests to infest it. If you use pressure treated lumber it will contain a chemical that could then be dangerous for kids to come in contact with. Regular wood will rot and fail over time and may cause the tree house to fall. You will need to plan routine maintenance for the tree house. Replacing any rotting pieces and painting it to keep it looking nice. If it’s an eye sore you will have people complaining that you should get rid of it. Hardware rusts and may become unreliable over time. Make sure you are planning for the time and money involved with maintaining the tree house after it’s built.
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