My daughter outgrew the treehouse long ago, but now my three year old is begging to use it. The rope ladder was not built for a little guy like him, so I want to put up some stairs or other access. I still want to retain as much of the treehouse vibe as I can, and I think a staircase that goes up 20 feet to a tiny treehouse will look odd.
Perhaps adding a platform, or an enclosed rope ladder? Any thoughts or pictures for inspiration?
catapult and slide to get down
Spiral staircase? 
Old wooden apple picking ladder
Edit: Silo ladder
Wooden ladder?
From his bedroom window right to the tree house.
You'll be the coolest Dad in the neighborhood! 
In reply to trucke:
bedroom window, psssht, at least run a slip n' slide down the roof making it so he has to grab the zip line handle before tumbling off the roof and ride the line to the treehouse of safety.
^^^^This 
Speaking of tree houses. I have meant to build one for years, but I have no wood working ability at all. How would one go about doing something like this with little talent? We have loads of pine trees in our yard, and I have scoped out 4 that are fairly close to each other that I could use. Of course my oldest is almost 13 now, and the youngest is almost 9, but I still want to do something. Probably too late eh?
Nah, that's a great age because they can help with the build. The important thing is a solid foundation. Search the webs, you'll get some great tips. Lag bolts are your friend.
Reminds me a bit of the time I bought my 7 year old nephew a boat with a 9 hp outboard.
When I walked in to the cottage to tell my sister what I had bought my nephew, she went ballistic letting me know that a 7 year old could not drive a boat.
I told her that she had better run down the canal and tell her son that cause he was doing a fine job as far as I could tell.
Moral of the story is that I bet he figures out the rope ladder long before you stop worrying about his ability to climb it.
A basic approach is just a ladder style: (you could buy the ladder)
Since I like to do things the hardway, I would want a spiral:
If you want to make people look, go with this approach:
pinchvalve wrote: Nah, that's a great age because they can help with the build. The important thing is a solid foundation. Search the webs, you'll get some great tips. Lag bolts are your friend.
I was thinking lag bolts, and possibly slightly oversized holes in the boards that the lags are holding to the tree. I was thinking this, and also maybe not burying the lag bolt so as to allow the trees to sway some. Do you think large pine trees are okay for a foundation?
Mazdax605 wrote: Speaking of tree houses. I have meant to build one for years, but I have no wood working ability at all. How would one go about doing something like this with little talent? We have loads of pine trees in our yard, and I have scoped out 4 that are fairly close to each other that I could use. Of course my oldest is almost 13 now, and the youngest is almost 9, but I still want to do something. Probably too late eh?
When I was that age we were building our own. Of course none as awesome or as engineered as shown here. More like just platforms between trees. Get scrap wood wherever we could, borrow tools from someone's dad. Start screwing and nailing stuff to trees. No one died. Some of the later ones we built were pretty high up, like 15-20 feet.
Fun stuff, makes me look forward to helping when my kid grows up.
Clearly, the ideal solution is an outdoor elevator.
failboat wrote:Mazdax605 wrote: Speaking of tree houses. I have meant to build one for years, but I have no wood working ability at all. How would one go about doing something like this with little talent? We have loads of pine trees in our yard, and I have scoped out 4 that are fairly close to each other that I could use. Of course my oldest is almost 13 now, and the youngest is almost 9, but I still want to do something. Probably too late eh?When I was that age we were building our own. Of course none as awesome or as engineered as shown here. More like just platforms between trees. Get scrap wood wherever we could, borrow tools from someone's dad. Start screwing and nailing stuff to trees. No one died. Some of the later ones we built were pretty high up, like 15-20 feet. Fun stuff, makes me look forward to helping when my kid grows up.
I was doing the same thing at that age, but we didn't know what the hell we were doing and I still don't. I really would like to do it with them as it will make it a bit safer and possibly better built. Also I like to interact with them. Maybe I will try to start something this weekend.
Not sure what, but I do have some spare 2x4s kicking around. Do you think it would be better to use pressure treated lumber?
Chris
In reply to Mazdax605:
Start small, gauge interest that way. Your 2x4s could make a good ladder or a simple small landing on one tree.
I guess you need to start with a way to get up the tree anyway, right?
To OP, I always like the simplicity of screwing 2-3 foot wide 2x4s to the trunk of the tree horizontally. Simple and elegant. Plus, the tree is round so there is some space on the ends of the boards to grab with your fingers for added safety.
I have built a lot of beautiful treehouses and play sets.
I am much prouder of the ugly one my 8 and 10 year old built themselves. 
Spirals are a bit difficult to build for a novice.
Consider an "alternating tread stair". It is essentially 3 stringers (including one in the center), and 1/2 width treads on either side. You have to start climbing it with the correct foot, after that all goes well.
They are much more vertical than "normal" stairs, but easy to negotiate.
Similar to a ship's ladder.
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