If you are the kind who built your first tree house at the age of 10, then the Dan Chesnut story is for you. He has proved it is never too late to pursue your dream, even if it is building a tree house. After years of service in the Army he built a tree house in his Sewell backyard that he had envisioned long back. He put to test all the skills he had learned in his classroom. The structure definitely testifies to his skills, as the house can hold up to 20 adults and is 12 feet above the ground. His building adventure started in 2005 with $1,000 by just building a platform. But he wanted to build much more, so he started drafting plans to get permission from his township.
While all this was going on, he took 18-week long shed building class at Gloucester Community College. The first step toward building this tree house was that he built a carpenter’s table, so that he could build the parts of his tree house. He worked on the house every night after work and on the weekends. He worked on it mostly by himself, except for sometimes when he could not lift heavy platforms. He asked for expertise from his colleagues when he had to build a drawbridge, connecting one platform to the other. His carpenter friend lent him his tools and 30-foot scaffolding. His electrician friend amalgamated all the new and the old ideas for cooling, heating and lighting.
He finished building his dream last winter. The result is that of a structure having two massive platforms and a spiral staircase. This staircase is held by 10 sassafras trees and is suspended by an intricate scheme of cables. It also resulted in the swaying of house and platforms in the breeze. The ladder inside the tree house leads to a loft that can accommodate a full-size air mattress. The oak ceiling has been curved to make it resemble the bottom of the ship. Four skylights, two picture windows and a bay window allow for ample light to come in the house. The element of modern modularity has also been integrated in the house in the form of a fold-down table, which is still under planning. Chestnut is also planning another tree house which will connect to this one by a long bridge.
