On Wood and Home Depot: All wood that will remain exposed to the outside is pressure-treated pine. I bought most of my wood at my local Home Depot. They offer YellaWood which I like because it is a lighter than the treated wood at Lowes. I'm sure Lowes employees are just as nice, but I commend the employees at my local Home Depot. They have been very patient and helpful throughout this project.
For the floor I started with two 2x6x8 joists centered and bolted to each tree perpendicular to the center line between my 2x8x12s. (One pine was slightly thinner so the supporting boards were not parallel.) I then marked the same distances on two 2x6x12s and screwed them to each side of the perpendicular boards. Then I added the end 2x6x8s and the remaining floor joists. I couldn't have done this without my neighbor, David.
To keep the platform from rocking and to provide support for the corners, I put 4x4s at 45 degrees from the tree trunks to the outer edge of my platform. One end was notched to hold the platform side and the other was cut to rest against the tree and on top of a block bolted to the tree. Both ends were first fastened with long deck screws. Here's a detail shot:
The platform is rock-solid. I've had seven or eight people on it and it has never budged or creaked.
On Screws: You definitely want to use deck screws instead of nails for your treehouse. Screws are not only stronger, but they can be easily removed if you make a mistake or have to loosen a board. I had a few boxes of Phillipshead deck screws that I had bought to repair our deck. When these ran out I bought a bigger box of screws and noticed when I got home that they took a "Star drive" bit (included in the box) or Torx screw driver. These were SO MUCH EASIER to use that the Phillipshead screws. They held on the bit better so were harder to strip. I HIGHLY recommend using these instead of Phillipshead screws.
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