DIY Network

Backyard Prefab: Hooch Build From "Assembly Required" episode DASR-203

It's building day for Yvonne Mathieu and George Reed, but there are no cranes, no heavy equipment and no trucks. All that's needed to construct the couple's Hooch is just a few trees and one creative builder, Jo Scheer.

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	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D
	Figure E
	Figure F

Hooch Build

The Hooch design is an adaptation of shelters that Jo saw when he spent time in Vietnam in the early 1970s (figure A). His version for Yvonne and George will sit nestled high among the tree tops, supported by cables (figure B). It will be a place to relax, to chat and to enjoy the natural surroundings of their 48-acre piece of land in Sonoma County, California.

Trees play a vital role in overall Hooch engineering. A stump is the foundation for Yvonne and George's Hooch. Jo scrapes the bark off the support poles with a "draw knife." The 23 and a half foot long, six-inch diameter Douglass Fir poles were harvested locally. The rest of the Hooch materials were prefabricated at Jo's shop in Oregon. Armed with high school trig functions and a compound miter saw, he carefully creates the angles needed to build the cupola which gives the Hooch its unique styling. Jo doesn't waste an inch of wood in making the pieces of the Hooch kit. He cuts a single piece of plywood to get a roof and cupola section...not one inch of scrap is left over.

Before the Hooch-raising, Jo must insert the last pole and secure it to the 10x10 foot platform. Earlier, Jo set the rigging on the trees that surround the Hooch. Some of these lines and pulleys will be used for lifting the Hooch and others will permanently hold it in place. Line handling is the most critical part of the whole build, and Jo makes sure his crew is clear on their job.

As the Hooch goes vertical (figure C), Jo hustles up and down the platform, tangoing with the trees to avoid cutting branches. It's a tricky process but Jo keeps up momentum, having worked out many of the kinks during Hooch prototype builds.

With a lot of climbing, some careful rope handling and a good dose of improvisation, George and Yvonne's Hooch is finally up and level. The crew then slides sections of the roof up on two spare poles to the Hooch platform, easing them into position.

Yvonne and George get to perform the final task, inserting a single lag bolt; it's the only connection between the Hooch and the stump foundation (figure D). Now all that's left is to build a permanent railing and, of course, decorate (figure E). The couple has great plans for the Hooch, including a suspension bridge to connect it to their new house and to host parties among the trees. They've also got plans to bring Jo back...for more Hooches (figure F)!

RESOURCES :

Hooch
Website: www.tropical-treehouse.com

T House
Website: www.tonysthouse.com

DeBoer Architects
Website: www.deboerarchitects.com