If there’s no big old oak at the end of your garden, you can still give the children a treehouse. A treehouse playset stands on its own frame on the lawn, so what you need is a flat patch of grass and a tape measure. London Mums has already covered building a treehouse into a strong tree with hardwood. Most of us have something else: the long, narrow London garden with a fence on both sides and nothing taller than a buddleia.
Measuring is the step most of us rush. Then the boxes turn up and you find the swings would clip the shed. So measure the plot and the route through the house before you order.
Do you need a tree for a treehouse?
No. A treehouse playset is a raised, roofed platform on its own legs, usually with swings or a climbing net attached. Steel frames are popular here because they won’t rot through a damp British winter the way untreated timber can. You lose the charm of a real tree, and you can put it anywhere the ground is level.
How much garden does a treehouse playset need?
Run a tape measure down the length of the lawn and across its narrowest point, and write both numbers down. Then mark anything that can’t move: the shed, the rotary washing line, a manhole cover, branches hanging over from next door. Check the slope too. A lot of London gardens sit on clay and drop away towards the back fence, and a frame on a slope will sit crooked unless you level the ground first.
Vuly makes a three-level treehouse playset, the Quest 2.1 Treehouse, with monkey bars built into the side of the frame. It’s designed for children aged 6 and over. Before you order, mark the frame out on the lawn with garden canes, then measure 2 metres of clear space on every side so the swings and monkey bars have room to move.
Vuly’s fabrics are designed and tested in Brisbane, and the galvanised steel frame carries a 7-year warranty.
Leave the canes in for a few days. Hang the washing out and watch where the children run. If you keep walking into a cane on the way to the bins, you’ll walk into the frame too, so shift the layout now while it’s free.
Getting the boxes through a terraced house
Most London terraces have no side access. Everything comes in the front door, down the hall, through the kitchen and out the back. Before you order, measure every pinch point on that route: the front door, the turn at the bottom of the stairs, the kitchen doorway and the back door.
Length causes more trouble than width. The longest pieces of a steel playset are usually the beams, and a long, flat box that slides easily down a straight hallway can jam on a tight corner. Ask the retailer for the length of the longest box, then hold the tape diagonally across each corner it has to turn. If the numbers are close, you’ll know before delivery day rather than on it.
Some roads have a shared alley behind the gardens. If yours does, ask the courier whether they can bring the boxes round the back. It saves your hallway paint and a lot of swearing.
The night before, move the buggy out of the hall and roll up the runner. Drape old towels over the door frames, because steel corners chip paintwork. You’ll want a second adult for carrying, and again for the heavier lifting during the build.
Where should it go in the garden?
Think about your neighbours before you think about the view. A child on the top level of a three-level frame can see over most garden fences, so look at whose kitchen or bedroom window it faces. A quick word over the fence before it goes up is easier than a complaint afterwards.
Think about the grass, too. The patch under the swings will wear to mud by spring, especially in a London winter. Budget for rubber grass mats or a bark surface under the swings from the start, rather than reseeding every April.
If you rent, or you share a garden as a leaseholder, check your tenancy or lease before anything goes on the lawn. Landlords and freeholders can have rules about structures in shared gardens, and it’s an easier conversation before the order goes in.
Before you press “buy”
Have the numbers written down: the clear space with 2 metres on every side, and the narrowest corner on the route through the house. With those in hand you can compare playsets properly and pick one that fits your garden rather than the brochure photo.
Have you squeezed a playset through a terraced hallway, London Mums? Tell me how you got the beams round the corner in the comments.
Monica Costa founded London Mums in September 2006 after her son Diego’s birth together with a group of mothers who felt the need of meeting up regularly to share the challenges and joys of motherhood in metropolitan and multicultural London. London Mums is the FREE and independent peer support group for mums and mumpreneurs based in London https://www.londonmumsmagazine.com and you can connect on Twitter @londonmums
