A thrifty super dad managed to build his two daughters an incredible tree house – for less than one-hundred-pounds.
TV and film prop maker, Joe Rackley, 43, from Watford, started to build daughters, Tabitha, 3, and Rosa, who is three months old, the hideaway cabin in his garden for them to have a space to play during lockdown.
At the start of April, he was lucky to find free pallets lying around, which he used for the main structure of the tree house.
Joe Rackley, 43, from Watford, enjoys the fruit of his labour along with his eldest daughter Tabitha
The plastic roof covering cost £7, £40 cork flooring, four slides which he had bought last year for £30 and spare boxes of screws.
Altogether the project cost him just £77.
The house has two rooms; one main room for his children to play in and a fairy door as well as a treehouse. The completed house, which he finished on May 4, 2020, turned out to be a big hit with his three-year-old daughter who thinks it’s ‘absolute heaven’.
His Instagram followers, who have been following him throughout his journey, love the result.
Tabitha, 3, explores her new tree house which she thinks is ‘absolute heaven’
‘I wanted something to pass the time and obviously a Wendy house for the kids would be good for them too,’ Joe said.
‘It’s almost entirely made from free scavenged pallets (all of which I had permission to take) apart from a few bits of random wood I had behind my shed.
‘It had to be extremely low budget as the industry I work in completely stopped due to the pandemic, plus I fell through the cracks, slightly concerning government funding and what with my wife on maternity leave we had seriously limited money for stuff like this.
‘[It was a] Lockdown project for sure. I had no plans or drawings, so I made it up as I went along. It actually started in a different place in the garden but when I’d made the platform/decking bit, decided to move it.
The whole family in front of the tree house which took just over a month to build
‘I finished the main Wendy house bit then still no word about returning to work so carried on and built the treehouse section although I did always have plans for something up there with the slides.
‘My three-month-old is a bit young to appreciate it but my three-and-a-half-year-old thinks it’s absolute heaven.
‘We can just have more fun at home now. I’m really looking forward to friends and family visiting and watching the kids run riot up and down the new build.’
Joe says that anyone can build something like this if you know what tools to use and it is possible to build it at a low cost.
The hideway cabin has two rooms and lots of the materials were donated by friends
‘The correct tools make a huge difference, luckily I own a lot of tools although most of my nice stuff is stuck at pinewood studios,’ Joe said.
‘Use pallets and ask friends and family what they have lying about. My neighbour Caine had a big box of screws he donated, the windows are polycarbonate and donated from my friend Mike who had some material lying around in his garage.
‘My dad had the pole that holds up the tree house for years in his garden, he poached it from his local park when the council updated the kids’ playground.
‘He also pulled the little ladder out from his stash which was apparently mine from my childhood bunk bed.
The plastic roof covering cost £7, £40 cork flooring, four slides which he had bought last year for £30 and spare boxes of screws
‘People love it, I’ve been documenting the whole build on my Instagram stories. I’ve had so many positive comments and people saying I’ve inspired them to build something which is really cool. I love that my creativity can spread and inspire others.
‘I just want to thank people that have helped and my wife for letting me have time to get on with it whilst juggling two kids.
‘The paint for my ‘anamorphic’ R was donated from Bristol paint. The awesome Macramé rainbow was a gift from my friend Rosie Westwood, the beautiful butterfly oil painting by my brother Tom Rackley and lastly my buddy James North who took most of these top-notch pictures.
‘Just have a go, it doesn’t matter what your skill level is, just be creative and make something.’
To follow Joe’s journey, visit his Instagram page: @joe–rackley