Construction materials repurposing reaches new heights

The Mohicans Conference Center & Cabins in north central Ohio was constructed from repurposed materials from Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Kevin and Laura Mooney put their trust in reusable materials to work last year by constructing the Old Pine Treehouse with recovered materials.

Old Pine is the third in a growing collection of residential treehouses on the Mooneys’ 75-acre vacation retreat along the scenic Mohican River Valley in Ashland County, Ohio.

Actually more “cabins” than “houses,” the Old Pine, Brew Haus and White Oak treehouses are heated and air-conditioned for year-round rental. All are fully furnished with dishes, bedding, microwaves, coffee makers and DVD players.

The 300-square-foot Old Pine towers 20 feet off the ground. Visitors climb a winding, lighted path to a wooden stair before venturing across a swinging walkway to the front door.

A galley kitchen, bathroom and living room, as well as both downstairs and loft bedrooms, accommodate four adults. Wrap-around front and back porches offer overviews of the forest and hills.

Why a treehouse?

Kevin Mooney contacted world-famous treehouse designer Pete Nelson in 2012 at the suggestion of an Ashland County neighbor. Nelson’s Washington-based company plans and builds custom treehouses in exotic settings across the globe.

The neighbor, who runs a zip-line business, thought a residential treehouse would fit nicely into Kevin’s plans to build a cluster of rental cabins and party house on his woodland property located about nine miles east of Loudonville, Ohio.

“It struck a chord with Kevin,” Laura Mooney says of her husband. “He has a good sense of what is going to work.”

Laura says treehouse guests like the quiet, remote setting of The Mohicans where there’s neither cell phone nor television service. Nature, wildlife and a DVD player are the only sources of entertainment.

A night spent in a treehouse seems to satisfy a childhood longing to escape the grown-up world.

“For many, it’s a bucket list item,” Laura added.

It’s also a romantic choice for a special occasion such as a wedding or anniversary. Couples have wed in the Grand Barn party house at The Mohicans then honeymooned in a nearby treehouse, she noted.

Thanks to widespread media exposure and Nelson’s television show, reservations for both the Brew Haus and White Oak structures soared in 2014. The Mooneys expect the Old Pine to be equally popular in 2015.

“Spring and summer reservations for Old Pine are actually running ahead of the other treehouses,” Laura says. “It’s going to be a hit.”

Built in 2012 and 2013, the White Oak and Brew Haus treehouses were designed by Pete Nelson, host of “Treehouse Masters” on cable TV’s Discovery, TLC and Animal Planet channels. A 2013 episode of the show featured construction of the Gothic-style Brew Haus.
 

Creative cost savings

Nelson’s website estimates construction costs of a residential treehouse at $20,000 to $100,000, but Kevin Mooney saw a way to reduce that price tag by using local labor and as much recycled building material as possible.

“It’s more time-consuming to acquire, but so worth it,” Laura Mooney says of using repurposed materials.

Taking a page from Nelson’s book, “New Treehouses of the World,” Kevin hired an Amish man from the area to design the Old Pine’s base platform. A second Amish carpenter and the man’s 14-year-old son began the five-month project in June 2014.

“He created the styling of the exterior based on materials we were able to collect,” says Laura.

Those materials came from all over. They included beams from old barns in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Members of Edinboro University’s wrestling team in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, helped Kevin dismantle the Pennsylvania barn.

A trailer of old wood purchased from an Ohio neighbor provided the interior siding, as well as rough-cut cherry for doors, cabinets and kitchen countertops.

Kevin nixed plans to reuse salvaged slate for the Old Pine’s roof after the tiles were judged too heavy for the structure to support. Cedar shakes scrounged from the website Craigslist worked fine and complemented the rustic feel of the treehouse.

Windows, including a spacious picture window and skylight in the main floor bedroom, came from a demolished house in nearby Danville, Ohio. Even old gas pipe found new life as the bathroom shower curtain rod.

Most other fixtures, furnishings and appliances were purchased from Cleveland-area retailers. But the Old Pine’s basic construction is from repurposed building material.

And the Mooneys don’t intend to rest on their laurels.

“We have a barn full of odds and ends which means, of course, more treehouses,” Laura says. “Our goal is to have a complete village of unique and beautiful treehouses.”

Recycled materials will play a role in future endeavors, say the Mooneys.

“Repurposed just makes sense,” says Laura. “It reduces landfill waste, looks beautiful, has more character and costs less.”


 

Jane Beathard is a retired newspaper reporter and ember of Outdoor Writers of Ohio. She lives in London, Ohio, and writes about the great outdoors. More information is available by visiting www.themohicans.net or by calling 440-799-3419.

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