Customer Corner

customer corner

Meet Brian LeSchander. He’s a sky diver, a pilot, a contractor, and as of two years ago, the proud owner of a tree house that he built himself! He built his tree house in just 2 weeks because he had a deadline: he and his wife were getting married and they needed the tree house to be done so that their guests could enjoy it at their reception. So Brian got to work.

He started on Craigslist. As a contractor, Brian is always checking craigslist for building materials to see what he can find. He came across an ad for a gazebo for $200, or best offer. The seller was only 2 miles from his house, so he drove over and asked if it was a misprint. Brian knew that $2000 would be a deal for a used gazebo, let alone $200. After explaining that she was having an edition put on and would need the gazebo removed anyway (and that her renovator would have charged her $400 to remove it), the seller gave Brian her gazebo in exchange for $200 on the spot.

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With his newfound gazebo, Brian’s mind went straight to a tree house. He told his then fiancé that he wanted to put the gazebo in a tree, and she said to go for it. “I knew she was the one for me when she said ‘That sounds like a good idea,’” Brian said. And so he began building.

Brian was no stranger to this sort of work; he’d built his own home out of red cedar logs over 30 years ago. A tree house would be the perfect outdoor addition to compliment his home. So he returned to the seller’s property, took the gazebo apart, and coded the pieces so he would know how to reassemble them after he transported the parts back to his property.

He knew he didn’t want an elaborate staircase: he wanted the focal point of the tree house to be the house itself. So he built a mockup of what the house would look like on the ground with dummy tree trunks. Next, he transferred posts deep into the ground for added support. Then, he did his homework on TABs. He came across two companies: Nelson’s Tree House Supply Company and ours, Treehouse Supplies. When he called us, our trusty treehouse guru Scott answered, and assured Brian his TABs would be in the mail that very day. Brian was excited to be able to get an early start on a project that had a quickly approaching due date. “I was ecstatic when the products arrived. They exceeded my expectations,” Brian said.

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After constructing girders, reengineering the different parts to suspend them safely, staining everything to match, and installing a few benches, Brian was finished in time for his wedding reception. 120 people gathered at Brian’s home to celebrate his marriage, and enjoyed his new tree house to boot. P1000331 P1000513 P1040707 P1040710 P1000355

Now, the tree house is a place that both Brian and his wife like to retreat to. Brian plays his guitar on the gazebo platform at night, and with the help of a garage screen door hung up to keep out bugs, the couple enjoy dinner on summer evenings.

All said, Brian spent around $3000 and 2 weeks of his time on a tree house that he can enjoy for  years to come. The tree house has withstood two upstate New York winters, and according to Brian, his property faces cranking winds and weather throughout. With a round bolt on one tree and a slider on the other, the gazebo remains secure in Brian’s trees.

In the winter, Brian and his wife put a Christmas tree in the gazebo, and their neighbors love how it appears to be floating in the night sky. After hearing his story, all we have to say is, what an amazing wedding present! Cheers, Brian!


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