Treehouses & Landscape Bridges

Not everything we build is bolted to a house. Treehouses, landscape bridges over creeks and drainage swales, elevated walkways, freestanding platforms — at heart they're all deck-building problems: structure, fasteners, and weather. We've been building in the Truckee and Lake Tahoe area since 2003, and these are some of the most fun projects we take on.

A Sierra treehouse has to carry snow like a roof and move with a living tree. That means specialty hardware that lets the tree grow and sway without tearing the structure apart, decking and railings built to the same standard as a ground-level deck, and a safe, sane way up and down for the kids using it. Built right, a treehouse takes hard use in every season and works with the tree instead of fighting it.

A bridge over a seasonal creek or a soft stretch of yard is a short span with real loads — snow on top, moving water and ice underneath. We set footings below frost depth, size the span so it doesn't bounce or sag, and surface it in wood or composite to match the rest of the property. The result reads like landscaping but is built like structure.

Detached structures still have rules — height limits, setbacks, railing requirements — and they differ by jurisdiction around the lake. We flag what applies to your project before work starts, so there are no surprises mid-build. And like everything we build, these projects are priced as a guaranteed bid contract: one number, agreed up front. A few favorites are in the portfolio, and if you've got a spot in mind, tell us what you're imagining.

Have a project like this on the list? Get a ballpark started online, or reach out directly — either way you'll get a straight answer and a firm number.