Man ordered to remove 4-story tree house

upi ^ | Oct. 20

[JoeProBono]

WORCESTER, Mass.- A Worcester, Mass., man said he will not appeal the city's order to tear down the $12,000 four-story tree house he built on his property .

Michael Chapman, 48 -- who built the tree house over the course of three months from more than a ton of pressure-treated lumber, 1,000 feet of rope, about 500 lag screws and 48 feet of rebar -- said the city ordered him to remove the tree house by Nov. 2 and he intends to abide by the order, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday.

Officials from Worcester's Department of Inspectional Services said they visited the property after receiving complaints from neighbors and determined the tree house violated city ordinances by extending higher than 15 feet and reaching within 5 feet of the property line.

"It came out bigger and more conspicuous than I expected, and I'm saddened by the controversy," Chapman said. "If I had done it over again, I would have tried to be more detailed in my pre-negotiations with my neighbors. But hindsight is 20-20."- A Worcester, Mass., man said he will not appeal the city's order to tear down the $12,000 four-story tree house he built on his property .

Michael Chapman, 48 -- who built the tree house over the course of three months from more than a ton of pressure-treated lumber, 1,000 feet of rope, about 500 lag screws and 48 feet of rebar -- said the city ordered him to remove the tree house by Nov. 2 and he intends to abide by the order, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday.

Officials from Worcester's Department of Inspectional Services said they visited the property after receiving complaints from neighbors and determined the tree house violated city ordinances by extending higher than 15 feet and reaching within 5 feet of the property line.

"It came out bigger and more conspicuous than I expected, and I'm saddened by the controversy," Chapman said. "If I had done it over again, I would have tried to be more detailed in my pre-negotiations with my neighbors. But hindsight is 20-20."

[JoeProBono]

This 6,000 sq ft. tree house is the world’s largest. Located on the grounds of Alnwick Gardens, about 95 miles north south of Edinburgh, Scotland, the leviathan soars 56ft. above the ground and is connected with 4,000-square-feet of suspended walkways. There’s even a 120-seat restaurant — as well as wobble bridges, classrooms, turrets, and God knows what else. Naturally, this building was also built sustainably with the website saying Canadian Cedar, Scandinavian Redwood and English and Scots pine were all used in construction.

[Daffynition]

My heart bleeds for him.

[happilymarriedmom]

Wow! Thats not a tree house, it’s a TREES house!

[Brett66]

That is really cool, I guess this isn’t what he’s living in?

[Disambiguator]

After reading the article, I felt like I had read it twice.

[Daffynition]

Well here ya go: "...the structure, which he dubbed "Heart of Oak" on a plaque attached to the tree, will have to go."

[trisham]

What a shame.

[Ingtar]

If he wanted unobtrusive, Uncle Walt might have been a better inspiration:

Swiss Family Robinson Tree House - Disneyland

[RetSignman]

That is quite cool, but I think he left one equation out of tree house...tree’s GROW.

[Never on my watch]

$12,000?! I need this guy to do a room addition.

[Never on my watch]

Oh nevermind. The first tree house is not his.

[JoeProBono]

There's something magical about a tree house

[GeronL]

Has the idiot ever heard of a backyard?

[JoeProBono]

[bmwcyle]

That is a work of art.

[Daffynition]

Video & News story about the treehouse.

[Daffynition]

A screengrab from the video.

[Daffynition]

You betcha!

[JoeProBono]

Room with a view

[thefactor]

the poster of this thread has a really bad habit of posting an article then linking a photo that is NOT the subject of the story. it’s really annoying. he does it all the time.

[JoeProBono]

[JoeProBono]

[JoeProBono]

[JoeProBono]

It’s going around:

DALLAS, Oct. 21 (UPI) — Officials in a suburban Dallas city have ordered a resident to tear down the tree house in his front yard because it violates municipal codes.

The University Park City Council voted 4-0 Tuesday, with one council member not present, to order Matthew Johnson to take down the tree house he built for his two sons in the front yard of his home, The Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday.

Council members said installing a permanent structure in a front yard violates city codes.

“It’s a slippery slope you go down when you start making changes to an ordinance that’s been studied and around a long time,” council member Sydney Carter said.

The council has not given Johnson a deadline for when the structure must be removed.

[Daffynition]

[Daffynition]

[Daffynition]

Most P&Z groups are corrupt and stupid. Butt heads with P&Z and you'll soon find out how wrong-headed they can be.

[JoeProBono]

[Tainan]

It was like deja vu all over again.

...Thanks Yogi!

[Gordon Pym]

Most P&Z groups are corrupt and stupid. Butt heads with P&Z and you'll soon find out how wrong-headed they can be.

Probably just looking for a bribe, My father was told by an assistant building inspector to vacate a job he was doing some trim work on because he didn't have a construction supervisor license (he was the only person there so he needed a license to supervise himself.) The clear implication was "crush my palm with silver and I can make this terrible infraction go away." My dad bought a copy of the state code and brought it to the little weasel and showed him that anybody can do trim, flooring or painting without a license. Unfortunately he decided not to bring charges.

[Daffynition]

You’re dad is cool! That’s all it is with these people. Grease their palm or get out of the way. Then when they come within striking distance they run like the wimps they are.

Hero tag for your dad!

[latina4dubya]

take a look at these tree houses...