What Was That?

It was an exciting day around here. Late this morning we all felt our first earthquake. We were glad to hear that there were no reported casualties, and that it wasn't bad here. It was quite bizarre though, not experiencing it before we weren't sure what was happening at first. Elyse was up in the treehouse and it gave her a good scare. 

We made huge strides today. Most of the canopy is up and we are installing the curb on the floor. Most of the day was spent assembling the frq. 0 and maneuvering it around V3. When it is up there will be a perfect spot to hang a hammock, I know you guys were wondering about that. It is quite hard getting back to the yard so we are going to clear a path through the riverbed soon. 

We are looking forward to tomorrow and moving on with two treehouses at the same time! We haven't done it before so its pretty motivating!

Finally We Can Stand.

The floor is installed and it is beautiful. The best floor we have done I do think! The grains are matching up wonderfully and it looks really top notch against the greens we chose. We are raising the canopy this morning, and we plan to have the whole thing complete by the end of the day.

We are quite excited for you all to get back and see everything. We made a large purchase yesterday of swivel hoist rings, which is really only exciting if you are an O2 Treehouse nerd. They're pretty slick lookin'! We haven't been enjoying the pool much as the weather has been pretty mild here. Surprisingly since we were expecting to be working in much hotter weather. Of course working in the shade helps.

I met with Bernardo yesterday and we discussed how we would stabilize the rope bridge on the ground. Tomorrow we will start assembling the frq. 0. There is a chance that the frame might be up when you get back.... stay tuned.

We Leveled the Treehouse!

We just leveled the treehouse! No, not destructed it... its perfectly level! We also lined up the fraq.2 entry to the rope bridge with the frq.0. Its going to be so sweet! Now time to slip in all of the floorboards. The canopy is connected to all of its plates and ready to be hoisted up once the floor is in. After that...not much at all. Elyse will give it the finishing touches and TLC that it deserves. The struts are waiting at the bottom of V3 and the cable is laid across the valley.

Our next big task is to purchase the wood for the rope bridge and assemble the frequency 0.

Mark and Jen, if any of your friends are avid metal detecting pros they will have a field day in your woods with all of the hardware that we have dropped on the ground!

Gail we certainly hope that we have a chance to meet you before we leave. If you are a fan of contemporary architecture I'm sure the treehouse will be a delight for you...and quite a surprise! Its one thing to see it in a picture but its another world to see it in person and get up in the tree. I'm sure you'll have no problem with the rope bridges, we're making them as easy, safe, and user-friendly as we can!

I talked with Bernardo today and he is going to come over so we can consider our options.

Goodbye and Thanks Wade!

Yesterday I gave the team the day off after working 90 hours in a week and a half! A well deserved break. We went to Santa Monica and hung out on the beach/pier. It was also Wade's last day on the job unfortunately so we decided to give him a farewell send off. Fortunately for Wade after many rounds of interviewing he was chosen for the position of Gortex "Rain Van" tour manager. The Wade of all Trades will be touring the country in a big van for the next six months soaking people in the back of his artificial storm Gortex van.

Today was a productive day with an early start. We stained all of the frq. 2 floor panels and created the floor curb. We also installed many of the permanent 1/2 aircraft cable hanging components. We also laid and cut the cable for the main rope bridge cables and zip line. Tomorrow we will finally start installing the floor beams and floor panels.

Elyse has been trying her hand in the kitchen lately and scored high marks with the team tonight after cooking up a breaded lemon chicken delight with all the fixins'. Go Elyse! We don't mind testing her creations. Thanks to Mark and Jen for their gracious hospitality! We're keeping the place tidy with frequent sweep jobs.

We finished the the skeleton today. It looks crazy out there, kind of like Mardi Gras took place in your backyard... there are multi-coloured straps hanging from all over the place. 

Kind of cool how you can't really see it in the picture (but we swear its there)!

Tomorrow we are installing all of the cables to hold the structure permanently. Then, da da da, putting in the floor beams and hopefully get the floor itself laid out.

We had a visit from Bernardo and Elisa? (the wonderful cleaning woman) today. Neither of them knew quite what to think. As most people don't when you tell them you are building a treehouse and then show them a large steel dome hanging in the tree. They were both quite impressed though.

The Exoskeleton

The frequency 2 skeleton is 50% complete already and we plan on finishing it today! It looks great out there so far. Blends into the trees very well. We are having beautiful weather here and its nice to work in the shade of the canopy!

The Escape

We escaped from Colorado on the 14th and arrived in California on the morning of the 16th. Everyone was pretty burnt out from the long drive but we put in  a full day setting up shop, painting the frq. 0 struts, riveting the frq. 2 canopy and hauling materials down to the tree.  After a good nights rest we started strong on the installation of the frq. 2.  Wade accompanied me in the tree as we hoisted the top and bottom half up into position Thursday and Friday.  The frq. 2 structure has gone up very quickly with out any trouble from the tree.  Today we plan on connecting the top and bottom hemispheres and installing the floor beams. Our goal is to get the structure completed by the 22nd.  The team is very appreciative of the comfortable accommodations and would like to thank you guys for allowing us to stay here during the build! 

Today is slow start as some of us are getting over some cold symptoms we seam to have caught on the way out.

Gas (flowing like water)

Oh, I forgot to mention before we arrived in the lovely town of Silverthorn we encountered quite an unusual problem. As I was pumping gas Cory realized not all of the gas was actually making it into the gas tank. After a swift analysis of the situation we moved the van and took a closer look. It turned out that there was a hair line crack in the rubber gas line that leads to the tank. After locating in the van some of my handy dandy sticky gum tape we repaired the leak and we were off once again. The situation was sticky and dirty!

Stuck in Silverthorn

Posting from Silverthorn Colorado. It is here that our 96' Econoline Ford Van encountered some radiator trouble coming through a steep mountain pass. We are optimistic and spirits are still high but we will need to stay here until Monday. The kind mechanics are allowing us to start on certain parts of the build that are not contingent upon us being on site. This should allow us to stay on schedule in light of our delays. Last night we completed a frequency 0 pre-assembly to ensure speed and accuracy on site.


















We are going to put in a full day today and hope to later enjoy the accommodations of a full spa and health club just a few blocks away.

The Send Off

Welcome everyone to the Flacket-Levin Family Treehouse Blog! It is here that you can get the latest happenings of the two treehouse rope bridge builds. We are hitting the road today with a long drive in the rain. We can't wait to arrive in sunny Beverly Hills in a couple days! It is then that my fearless team and I will be making stuff and then posting stuff on this very blog.

We will also be shooting video for the Changents EarthKeepers contest for innovative environmental projects. This video will also be uploaded depending on the tech-savviness of the team and our willingness to work on a computer after a 12 hour day. Keep checking back as we'll tell you more about this exciting opportunity along with all the treehouse wonderment!

The Sweet Smell of Stain! Your floor is ready and waiting, can't wait to stand and relieve the sensation of the harness after we install it.

Knobber Jobbers. This is our first time adding colors to the treehouse, so that's cool. 

What Is It? This is the nerdy excitement of a treehouse designer, but we've redesigned all of the joints to dock into this fancy plate. Aren't they gorgeous!

Elyse the Riveter. Look Mark! All of your panels are cut, sewn, and hinged. Elyse riveted in record time, only 3.5 hours!