High Seats

[Diceman]

I just built this one for about £200:

 

 

I put the slide on it so everyone will think it is playhouse for Dicegirl...

 

The base is the hardest bit and the most important, get that level and solid and you can make the rest up as you go along.

[henry d]

I`ll try and get piccys of one I helped build, 4x telegraph poles etc etc. and if you leave the roof as a removable unit you also get to shoot woodpigeon like driven grouse, top sport !

Have a word with any local farmers as they tend to buy the poles in bulk as cheap fence strainer posts.

[palombier]

Mungler

 

A friend of mine built one of these towers from traditional timber. Cost of materials was just over £400 and took less than a day to construct for 2 people. The best high seat I've ever seen.

 

P

[nathanhutchison]

i helped a gamey build one. it took 2 of us a couple of days.

wee made the side pannels from 1"x6" planks nailed to 2x2s. we left these un joined

we made the roof from a wood frame and som corrugated iron that was lying about.

we then made the stilts from 6"x2" boards with a platform on top the same as the sides.

then we covered the bottom of the feet in roofing felt to stop rotting (experianced on preveous highseats)

we placed the stillts with each foot on a large slab then stabilised it by putting in a strainer near all four corners and attache with fence wire.

we then pulled up the sides and screwed in place. we then put on the roof.

i reckon it mst have cost about £100 and it was easy to make and its still in use three years later.

 

it looks like the one in the smallest picture of the origional post btw

Edited October 20, 2010 by nathanhutchison

[Paddy Galore!]

How high do you want it mung?

[Mungler]

I dunno, the height was going to be determined by the price and availability of the timber for the 4 main uprights - that's where the real cost is.

 

The top shed bit will be easy to frame out and board - I have my eye on a pallet of reclaimed boards on ebay; 50 boards of 600mm x 1100mm x 27mm (50 No) for about £25

 

So, in answer, I dunno. High enough to be worthwhile, but not that high that I have to think about guy ropes and serious anchoring to the whole sail, wind, tipping thing.

 

Any ideas?

[Paddy Galore!]

Yep,

i can't draw you a doodle on here, but it doesn't have to be above the tree canopy to be effective, at a rough guess maybe 10 - 15ft high at the base.

splay the poles so the footprint is larger than the elevated platform, not like an "A" frame, more like a slanted "H" frame, the top of the frame will determine the roof height. personally i'd use railway sleepers or at least 6x4 for the base frame and stud out the floor in 6x2. Using threaded rod and dogtooth washers to connect the base to the legs, i would house out the legs for the frame approx 1/3 the thickness of the leg, i'd also use at least 2 bolts per joint, if it's static then use polyuerethane glue on the joints aswell. that's your main frame work sorted, fit a deck, then stud between the poles to form your hide, clad in waterproof ply, insulate, and line, fit doors and windows, the base can be extended to over shoot the perimeter of the poles to form a walkway/ verandah if you fancy pimms in the evening

For a 15ft high hide then you'll need 24'ish poles, approx 1' dia

Edited October 21, 2010 by GRAM71

[Mungler]

Cheers for that Gram and all.

 

I am just breaking into a sweat at the price of 24' anything with a 1' diameter.

 

I drove past a place knocking out cheap railway sleepers yesterday - I was thinking maybe a massive Jenga tower made out of railway sleepers with a platform on top. Well, it was that or getting the 3 latest dumped cars off the farm and stacking them on top of eachother and shooting out the top one. Ah, if only you could build a high seat out of asbestos - there's a never ending supply of that dumped as well

 

 

EDIT:

 

I reckon scaffolding has to be the way to go £ for £. Not very nice to look at but portable and cheap.

Edited October 22, 2010 by Mungler

[Beardo]

A lick of green paint and it won't look that bad, plus it's easy to put up or take down

[Canis]

Cheers for that Gram and all.

 

I am just breaking into a sweat at the price of 24' anything with a 1' diameter.

 

I drove past a place knocking out cheap railway sleepers yesterday - I was thinking maybe a massive Jenga tower made out of railway sleepers with a platform on top. Well, it was that or getting the 3 latest dumped cars off the farm and stacking them on top of eachother and shooting out the top one. Ah, if only you could build a high seat out of asbestos - there's a never ending supply of that dumped as well

 

 

EDIT:

 

I reckon scaffolding has to be the way to go £ for £. Not very nice to look at but portable and cheap.

 

I think you are on the right lines with scaffolding for the structure - you can bolt it all together with scaffolding clamps and bed the pole ends in concrete as nick bearedo says it can be painted to cam it in with ther landscape. shove a sheet or two of thick marine ply across a scaffold frame on ther top and you then have all sorts of options as to what goes on top.

 

Do you expect/want to shoot through a 360 degree arc from this hut ? this will probably affect your end design- if you do a pow camp machine gun tower is going to be the basic design " motif "

 

I'd continue the poles high enough to support the roof and mount the sides to the "hut" off therse poles as well.

 

let us know what you decide!

[Mungler]

I reckon I have sorted the least cost option; looky here:

 

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Quickfit-Scaffold-Towers

 

SCAFFOLD TOWER 5' X 5' X 18' WORKING HEIGHT £159 delivered.

 

It may need some out riggers and some thought on what goes on top (I am think tarp on top and round the sides), but I reckon that's got to be the basic plan (ish).

 

Pour out 4 concrete blocks, set in some threaded steel rods, bolt on the floor plates and job jobbed. Any one got any clever calculations on how large, deep and or heavy the 4 concrete footings should be?

 

Not exactly rural but job jobbed for less than 4 telegraph poles.

[Dunkield]

Funnily enough I was going to suggest an access tower, I used one back in the summer to go up 5 metres and when assembled properly it was rock solid.

Cover it or spray it and the jobs a good un.

There is an article about comfy high seats in the new BASC mag too.

[mikee]

Mungler this is your lucky day,

 

i have a CAD drawing of a high seat exactly like the pics you posted, if you can find a way to open aN autocad 2004 drawing you are more than welcome to it, just need an email address and its yours, pm me

 

I was bored one evening and saw a similar thing on the stalking directory and thought i could draw a better one, its sectionl and just needs to be screwed together at your chosen location, its all dimensioned and angles etc shown.

 

mikee

[Mungler]

Mungler this is your lucky day,

 

i have a CAD drawing of a high seat exactly like the pics you posted, if you can find a way to open aN autocad 2004 drawing you are more than welcome to it, just need an email address and its yours, pm me

 

I was bored one evening and saw a similar thing on the stalking directory and thought i could draw a better one, its sectionl and just needs to be screwed together at your chosen location, its all dimensioned and angles etc shown.

 

mikee

 

Let me speak to the Essex draftsman - I believe that MC has access to such stuff that will open the file.

 

All that's putting me off is the cost of the timber.

[mikee]

Let me speak to the Essex draftsman - I believe that MC has access to such stuff that will open the file.

 

All that's putting me off is the cost of the timber.

 

 

its designed to be built out of mostly 100x50 and fixed together with those wood screw bolt things that you drive in with a battery drill with a socket not screw driver, 100x25 panelling around the top but fence panels might do aswell, i reckon you would see change out of £200 and if treated with a liberal dose of creosote would last for years, its a deluxe model with a shelf all round the outside top edge for resting the bipod on and has corner posts so a camo net can be draped over the top and a swivel seat in the middle, i know how you essex boys like a bit of luxury

 

mikee