5 free starting plans

Tree fort plans

5 free tree fort plans on four or six posts, 8x8 and 10x12. No tree needed: each fort stands on its own footings, passes the guard and gap checks and is priced line by line. Change the size, the height and the roof in the designer.

Customize the open tree fort, free Compare the 5 plans

A half-wall fort with a shed roof on tall posts, a cargo net and a ladder on the front, in a stand of trees that do not touch it

Plans: 5
Deck, sq ft: 64 to 120
Structure, about: $2,898 to $7,243
Preliminary checks: All passed at 20 psf

Every plan, drawn by the designer

Pick a tree fort plan.

Each one is a full starting plan: framed, checked for 20 psf of ground snow and a 12 in frost line, and priced. Switch the view to see the frame or the dimensions.

The Open tree fort, drawn by the designer

Drawn by the designer from this plan

8x8

Open tree fort

An open deck 5 ft up on four posts, a climb-proof guard and a rung ladder.

Footprint: 8 ft x 8 ft, 64 sq ft
Deck: 5 ft
Roof: No
Posts: 4, 6x6
Way up: Rung ladder
Swing set: None

Preliminary checks passed for the loads you entered. Local approval not checked.

Materials about $2,898, before tax and delivery

Customize the 8x8, free View the 8x8 plan

What it needs

What a tree fort has to get right.

Five things decide whether a fort is safe to climb and sound to build, and each one is checked on every plan below, for 20 psf of ground snow and a 12 in frost line.

01Height
How high the deck goes
The decks here run from 4 ft to 6 ft off the ground. Higher is not better: a fall costs more, the guard gets taller and the way up gets longer.
A guard is drawn on every open side once the deck is more than 30 in up; how high a treehouse should be goes through the choice.
- Open tree fort5 ftguard drawn
- Half-wall tree fort with a roof5 ftguard drawn
- A-frame tree fort4 ftguard drawn
- Big six-post tree fort6 ftguard drawn
- Tree fort with a swing set5 ftguard drawn
02Guard and gaps
A guard a child cannot climb or slip through
The guard stands 38 in above the deck, and a deck more than 48 in up gets a barrier with vertical infill and nothing to climb. The balusters leave a 3 in gap, clear of the 3-1/2 to 9 in band where a child's head can be trapped.
Details and the sources are in the treehouse railing height guide.
03Roof or open
Open deck or roofed fort
A roof adds shade and about $1,552 to the structure: the open tree fort comes to $2,898, the half-wall tree fort with a roof to $4,450, both before sales tax, delivery, labor and site work.
- Open tree fort$2,898$1,120 of it safety surfacing
- Half-wall tree fort with a roof$4,450$1,190 of it safety surfacing
04Posts and bracing
Four posts or six, braced both ways
The smaller forts stand on four posts and the big six-post tree fort on six. Every post gets knee braces in both directions, sized by calculation for the wind speed you enter, and the footings are made heavy enough to hold the fort down.
- Open tree fort4 posts
- Half-wall tree fort with a roof6 posts
- A-frame tree fort6 posts
- Big six-post tree fort6 posts
- Tree fort with a swing set6 posts
05Permit
Local approval is yours to check
Local approval not checked. Many US jurisdictions exempt play structures up to about 200 sq ft (IRC model), but thresholds, setbacks, HOA and zoning vary. Confirm with your local building department.
The designer also works in Canada, on the NBC 2020 loads for your city.

Side by side

The 5 tree fort plans compared.

Plan	Kind	Deck	Posts	Way up	Materials, about	Of it, surfacing	Build time	Checks
8x8Open tree fort	Open deck	5 ft	4	Rung ladder	$2,898	$1,120	36 to 52 h	Passed
8x8Half-wall tree fort with a roof	Fort	5 ft	6	Step ladder	$4,450	$1,190	46 to 68 h	Passed
8x8A-frame tree fort	Fort	4 ft	6	Step ladder	$4,116	$1,190	46 to 68 h	Passed
10x12Big six-post tree fort	Fort	6 ft	6	Stairs	$6,104	$1,820	60 to 88 h	Passed
8x8Tree fort with a swing set	With swing set	5 ft	6	Climbing wall	$7,243	$3,010	58 to 86 h	Passed, 1 before you build

Each row is the starting plan as drawn, for 20 psf of ground snow and a 12 in frost line. The materials total is rounded shelf prices, before sales tax, delivery, labor and site work, with the required safety surfacing under the play area in it. Home Depot prices read October 2026. Build time is total labor hours, a broad reference. Passed means the preliminary checks passed for those loads; local approval is not checked.

What they cost

What a tree fort costs to build.

$2,898 to $7,243 in materials across these 5 plans, the safety surfacing under each included.

Lowest: $2,898, Open tree fort
Highest: $7,243, Tree fort with a swing set
Safety surfacing, required: $1,120 to $3,010
Build time: 36 to 88 h

Excluded: sales tax, delivery, permits, site work, engineering and equipment rental

The treehouse cost guide breaks it down by group, and every plan page lists each line.

Structure cost of each tree fort plan

Open tree fort$2,898$1,120 of it safety surfacing
Half-wall tree fort with a roof$4,450$1,190 of it safety surfacing
A-frame tree fort$4,116$1,190 of it safety surfacing
Big six-post tree fort$6,104$1,820 of it safety surfacing
Tree fort with a swing set$7,243$3,010 of it safety surfacing

The $29 builder's plan

Free to plan. $29 to build from.

Every plan above is free to open, check and price. The builder's plan is drawn from the treehouse you finish, for one payment. These are real sheets from the 31-sheet plan for the 8x10 raised playhouse.

Free

The design in 3D, and every change you make to it
Every preliminary check, with its rule and its source
The structure and its safety surfacing priced line by line
A summary PDF of the design and its checks

$29 once

Posts and footings dimensioned from one corner, with the hole depth for your frost line
The platform framing, the guard with its baluster gap, and the way up with every rise
The roof, the playhouse walls, the slide and the swing set when your design has them
The cut list, the shopping list with store prices and the build, step by step

Customize the open tree fort, free

You check out in the designer, with your design loaded. If the plan has an error, we fix it or refund you within 30 days. Guarantee terms.

Real sheets from the 31-sheet sample plan for the 8x10 raised playhouse

01Posts and footings
02Guard and access details
03Safety surfacing
04Connection details

Questions

Anything else? Write to us or read the questions about all plans.

Questions about tree fort plans

You set the posts on their own footings, tie them with beams and joists, brace them in both directions, deck the top and add the guard. Nothing touches a tree. The freestanding treehouse guide walks through it.

Yes: the open tree fort is the simplest, an open deck 5 ft up on 4 posts with a guard and a rung ladder. It comes to about $2,898 in materials, the safety surfacing included.

The designs, the checks and the materials list are free, no account. The builder's plan, drawn from the fort you finish, is $29 once.

For these freestanding forts the structure runs $2,898 to $7,243 at shelf prices, before sales tax, delivery, labor and site work. Home Depot prices read October 2026. The treehouse cost guide breaks it down.

Lower is safer. Up to 30 in needs no guard, and the plans here start at 4 ft. See how high a treehouse should be.

Other ways to browse

Not quite what you picture?

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Treehouse without a tree
Freestanding on its own posts, from a low deck to a playhouse 6 ft up.
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Swing set fort plans
A fort or a playhouse beside a swing set on its own frame.
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All free treehouse plans
Every design side by side, with a finder by kind and deck height.
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