How do I convince my parents to let me build a treehouse?

I'm 14 and my parents think I'm too old to have a treehouse. I've told them that it will be my get away place to do homework or just relax. They STILL won't let me! Any ideas?

Believe it or not, tree houses aren't permitted in many cities, counties and townships. Two years ago, in my county, a dad built one in a large oak on his property. It was quite large. The homes in his area easily go for $500,000.00 and up and overlook our river. The next door neighbors complained to the City that the tree house was a code violation. Which it was. The dad was fined for every day the tree house stayed in the tree. He tried to fight it legally but lost in the end and the tree house was demolished.

Do yourself a favor and check to see if such a structure is permitted in your area. If it is, then come up with a plan that you think your parents might accept. If it isn't permitted, you've saved yourself and your parents the embarrassment and expense of having a case filed against you.

Your parents are probably telling you you're too old partly because they might not want an eyesore. Draw up a plan of what you plan to build and how you plan to pay for the materials etc. Also have an answer to their inevitable question of "what happens to it when you really ARE too old for it?" It might not be as cool as you think. Get some pictures off the net of what you're thinking of and most importantly, make sure what you're doing won't kill the tree--no parent wants a dead tree AND an abandoned tree house to deal with when their kids move out of the house. Why not build a shed instead and make it your own space? kind of like a separate garage conversion into a studio apartment.

Have them read "The Swiss Family Robinson".

Wait one weekend when they go out of town, build one in the backyard and see if they notice.