25 years I've been working on building treehouses.
When I first built my first treehouse,
they wouldn't allow me to apply for a permit
because they hadn't known of anybody
that had gotten a permit for a treehouse.
The foundation for these treehouses is a living tree.
And there's nothing written in the code.
It took 8 years basically to get a permit for the first treehouse.
It's a new industry.
My name's Michael Garnier.
I'm the owner of Out 'N' About Treehouse Treesort
It's the highest concentration of treehouses in the world.
From my standpoint, there's been a movement for 25 years.
Treehouses are becoming more and more adult treehouses.
There's a treehouse building show called Treehouse Masters.
It's raised the awareness of treehouses and the demand for treehouses.
In the last year the treehouse park business has probably doubled.
People are using them for offices,
they're using them for guest bedrooms,
they're using them for rentals.
They're not just for kids anymore.
For me it was a strategy for having my own life.
And creating something fun.
And living the lifestyle that we all value.
I've stopped taking guests the last year
just so that we could build up the treehouse
and now we're transitioning our guests here
to the treehouse.
We'll have a waiting list for at least a year
I would think.
The electricity is here now, plumbing, we're almost there.
When it's all said and done, this structure
will probably be about $80,000.
When I say I have a giant treehouse people are like "Oh, cool"
because they expect like- A kid-ish one
not like this one.
They expect one that we always play in
Yeah.
Small spaces teach you to get rid of your excess.
Things that aren't useful.
Sometimes you're cold, sometimes you're warm.
There's something about a treehouse that forces you to
to make light and to feel lighter.
I think it's because there's a child in all of us.
We as adults, we just work really hard
and we need to play.
And I think this helps.
I did a little bit of research on permits
and the city of Washougal, they have requirements
that if you build a storage shed, to do it without a permit
it can't be any more than 12' x 12'.
So, it doesn't say it can't be up in a tree.
yeah, I have a bed stored up here, I have a refrigerator stored up here
and a microwave and y'know, sometimes people sleep up here.
I like to build things
and I always like to have a little project to do.
I just kinda started day dreaming about building a treehouse for a couple of years.
And I was just laying in the hammock
and I jumped up, got in my truck
and started buying enough lumber to build the decking.
I put about $5,000 into the materials
and I had it done from start to finish in about 4 and a half months.
The living quarters is 8' x 10'
and the house itself, or the dimensions of it is 12' x 12'.
A friend a couple years ago suggested that I put it on Air BnB
and I thought, "Oh that's a cute idea."
Then, when I thought about retiring,
I thought, "Well maybe I can have some extra income"
and I put it on this summer, the beginning of July
and it's been full almost every night.
I never dreamed that I would have so much fun doing this.
I've had people from China, France, England, Spain
They get up and they say, "oh my God, I've never slept so good, listening to the river.
it's kind of like being a kid and staying in a tree-fort."
There's a guy about a mile down the road
that has a treehouse in his back yard that he also rents out on Air BnB
Last time I talked to him, he said he was
living in his treehouse and renting out his regular house.
That is it right there.
Beforehand a treehouse would last 3 or 4 years.
Now you can build a treehouse that last 20 years
30 years, 40 years.
Well the Garnier Limb, it was a way of putting a connection point
on a tree that was like a limb.
Like a tree prosthesis
that would enable you to attach to it.
It enables us to be able to design
bigger and better treehouses.
I've sold about 400-500 people parts this year to build a treehouse.
It took me about 20 years,
but I finally got my own treehouse.
It's a hybrid treehouse.
My son got this for me for my 60th birthday
he says it looks like me, what do you think?
Oh I know treehouses can be for adults.
Basically an adult is just an older kid.
Be you 15 or 45,
you can still have a treehouse.