The Best Treehouse Materials

If you’ve ever had a house built, or have done a remodel of any significance you’re well aware of the multitude of different wood choices for flooring, molding, trim, walls, custom cabinets, built-ins, etc. But what about the best treehouse materials ? Well, your choices aren’t so broad. The reasons for that can be summed up in two words—”The Elements”. You might know them by their everyday names—rain, snow, humidity, sun, heat and cold. So that said, what are your options for the best treehouse materials to use? Let’s go through the most common types used for treehouses today.

Let’s start with the framing and the posts if you need to have a support from ground to the structure. Some trees don’t have an adequate number or strong enough limbs for four corner anchors. Often posts will be necessary from the ground to the structure. For framing and posts the best treehouse materials we recommend pressure-treated wood. Firstly, because it’s durable, resistant to decay, rot and also insects. It lasts longer than natural wood and it’s easy to work with. A customer once asked about using steel girders to hold up their treehouse. They insisted we price out that option. Once they saw the outlandish cost of steel, pressure treated it was. Excellent choice.

Covering the Skeletal Frame

The best treehouse materials for framing are, again, pressure treated products. That is especially important for the treehouse underbelly. Sure, it won’t get direct rain, but moisture, heat and insects are still a consideration. If the treehouse is going to be completely enclosed with windows, doors and a roof—in other words, a fully functioning all-weather structure, the floor should also be pressure-treated planks or plywood. Again, weather, rot and insect resistant. If you’re wanting walls on your treehouse, we often use OSB, otherwise known as oriented strand board. Made from strands of otherwise unused parts of lumber that are made into strands and mixed with a waterproof resin and interleaved together. Bonded under heat and pressure they create a hard, versatile engineered wood panel that resists warping and distortion. We have had much success using something we also use for our home construction business—Hardie Board^®. It’s a fiber cement siding composed of cement, sand and cellulose fibers. It can be used for exterior finish and comes in many colors and can be painted as well. It absorbs moisture and has exceptional drying capabilities and will not deteriorate. At least not for the next 5 decades.

Cedar: One of the Best Treehouse Materials

So far, the best treehouse materials we’ve covered is pressure-treated. But if your treehouse does have a roof and walls, we have had a large amount of success with cedar accents. Adding cedar to the exterior of a treehouse adds an esthetic that can’t be beat. Another popular choice is redwood but, in our experience, cedar has some advantages that are hard to beat. Redwood is softer and not as strong as cedar. As well, it’s more porous. And if that wasn’t enough to sway a client, it is also more expensive than cedar. In our humble opinion, cedar is your best bet. Of course, if money is no object, you could use Teak wood on the exterior of your treehouse. Teak can withstand more extreme weather conditions and is highly waterproof. However, the cost tends to be beyond prohibitive for most, not to mention the dwindling supply of it. If you are in love with teak (and that’s not hard to do) once your treehouse is finished, treat yourself to a nice teak rocking chair for the outside deck. Win-win!

Cedar Ages like a Fine Wine

For any sort of rustic look or accent to a treehouse, our go-to treehouse material will always be cedar. There are many places where cedar can add a bucolic, old-world rural charm. Cedar shakes can be used on outer walls and roofs. It can even be milled in planks that can run horizontally along an outside wall that looks better as it ages. Of course, what’s the best treehouse materials for one person might not fit another person’s taste. And that’s fine; if you pick the products, we’ll build it. Of course, we’ll give you the best advice we can based on unsurpassed treehouse experience, just contact us!