You want to hang a swing, a lounger, a nest, or part of your treehouse from a branch and wonder if the branch will hold up?
The huge, thick branches of an old tree are an invitation to hang something on them. This is what you have to watch out for:
- Be careful with branches – the lever arm must not be too big! The further away the suspension is from the tree trunk, the greater the lever arm, the torsional forces and the eccentric load.
- The branch connection to the trunk can tear off abruptly if overloaded.
- During gales and rocking, the connection will experience to heavy stress
- Platform and treehouse can sway strongly and can be destroyed
- Branches rot faster than the tree trunk.
Therefore, only build in very stable branch connections close to the tree trunk! With a large lever arm, we always recommend securing the branch additionally with a rope + tree strap diagonally upwards on the tree trunk!
Can I drill a GTS Tree Screws into a branch? How thick should the branch be?
- In principle, the same applies here as for installation in the tree trunk: The diameter ø of the branch should be > 30 cm so that the GTS Treehouse Screw has enough space and does not damage the branch too much.
- The following also applies here: Avoid a large lever arm, build as close as possible to the tree trunk!
- Caution: The GTS screw-wood connection can withstand much less than in the tree trunk, as the wood fibers in the branch are not loaded along the grain. Transversely to the fiber, the wood strength is only about 1/3 of the longitudinal compressive strength. The wood can tear out more easily under transverse load!