6 free starting plans
Treehouse without a tree
A treehouse on its own posts goes where you want it, at the height you choose, and no tree gets bolted or hurt. 6 free freestanding plans, 8x10, 10x12, 8x8 and 6x6, each with its footings, bracing and guard drawn and checked.
- Plans
- 6
- Deck, sq ft
- 36 to 120
- Structure, about
- $2,423 to $6,104
- Preliminary checks
- All passed at 20 psf
Every plan, drawn by the designer
Pick a freestanding treehouse 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.
Drawn by the designer from this plan8x10
Raised playhouse
A playhouse 6 ft up with a 3 ft porch, a gable roof, two windows and stairs.
- Footprint
- 8 ft x 10 ft, 80 sq ft
- Deck
- 6 ft
- Roof
- Gable
- Posts
- 6, 6x6
- Way up
- Stairs
- Swing set
- None
Preliminary checks passed for the loads you entered. Local approval not checked.
Materials about $5,832, before tax and delivery
What it needs
What the posts have to do that a tree did.
A tree held the deck up and kept it from swaying. On posts, five things take its place, and each is drawn and checked on every plan, for 20 psf of ground snow and a 12 in frost line.
02Footings
Footings below the frost
Each post stands on a concrete footing with a round pier up to just above the ground, and the post in a cast-in standoff base rated for uplift and a sideways push. The depth follows the frost line you enter in the designer and is never less than 12 in.
The footing size comes from the load on each post and from the wind: where the wind could lift a post, the footing is made wide or deep enough that its own weight holds it.
03Bracing
Knee braces in both directions
With no tree to hold it still, the frame is braced. Every post gets 2x6 treated knee braces in both directions. No code table covers a freestanding deck, so the designer calculates them: the wind on the fort or a 200 lb push at the guard, the braces, their bolts and the posts checked by the NDS wood rules.
04Where it goes
A clear use zone
Keep 6 ft clear on every side of the deck, away from fences, sheds, trees and posts, and 9 ft from any other tall play structure. The designer draws the zone so you can see it on your lot.
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 6 freestanding treehouse plans compared.
| Plan | Kind | Deck | Posts | Way up | Materials, about | Of it, surfacing | Build time | Checks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8x10Raised playhouse | Playhouse | 6 ft | 6 | Stairs | $5,832 | $1,540 | 58 to 86 h | Passed |
 10x12Big six-post tree fort | Fort | 6 ft | 6 | Stairs | $6,104 | $1,820 | 60 to 88 h | Passed |
 8x8Half-wall tree fort with a roof | Fort | 5 ft | 6 | Step ladder | $4,450 | $1,190 | 46 to 68 h | Passed |
 8x8Open tree fort | Open deck | 5 ft | 4 | Rung ladder | $2,898 | $1,120 | 36 to 52 h | Passed |
 8x8A-frame tree fort | Fort | 4 ft | 6 | Step ladder | $4,116 | $1,190 | 46 to 68 h | Passed |
 6x6Low deck for little ones | Open deck | 2 ft 6 in | 4 | Stairs | $2,423 | $1,050 | 36 to 52 h | Passed |
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 freestanding treehouse costs to build.
$2,423 to $6,104 in materials across these 6 plans, the safety surfacing under each included.
- Lowest
- $2,423, Low deck for little ones
- Highest
- $6,104, Big six-post tree fort
- Safety surfacing, required
- $1,050 to $1,820
- 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 freestanding treehouse plan
- Raised playhouse$5,832$1,540 of it safety surfacing
- Big six-post tree fort$6,104$1,820 of it safety surfacing
- Half-wall tree fort with a roof$4,450$1,190 of it safety surfacing
- Open tree fort$2,898$1,120 of it safety surfacing
- A-frame tree fort$4,116$1,190 of it safety surfacing
- Low deck for little ones$2,423$1,050 of it safety surfacing
Home Depot prices read October 2026. Each total is the structure and the required safety surfacing under the play area at shelf prices. Lines with no price read yet are left out of the total and named on each plan page.
Build time is total labor hours from the planner's own count, a broad reference and not a schedule.
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
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 freestanding treehouse plans
Set 6x6 posts on footings, join them with beams and joists, brace them both ways, add the deck and guard. The freestanding treehouse guide has the steps.
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.
Materials run $2,423 to $6,104 here at shelf prices, the required safety surfacing under the play area included. Home Depot prices read October 2026. See the treehouse cost guide.
For small children keep it low, and pick ages 2 to 12 in the designer: the CPSC guards a deck for under 5s from 20 in and makes it climb-proof above 30 in. These plans run 2 ft 6 in to 6 ft. More in how high a treehouse should be.
The planner draws one kind: a concrete footing sized to the load and to the wind uplift, a round pier up to just above the ground and the post in a cast-in standoff base. Other footings are for your builder to decide.
Other ways to browse
Not quite what you picture?
Your yard, your treehouse
Start from the raised playhouse. Make it yours.
Change the size and the options. The framing and the materials list follow every change. Free, no account.
Customize this design, free- Designing
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- Builder's plan
- $29 once
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