Twelve steps lead Jake Ejankowski, 8, to a lofty oasis. There, nestled in the thick trunk of a sturdy hedge tree with four walls surrounding him and a roof over his head, Jake’s free to do what young boys do best: Read a book. Toss water balloons from a sixteen-foot perch. Survey his backyard kingdom. Wait out a summer rain. Daydream. Dose.

Under their humble roofs, tree houses make space for magic, memories, and pure entertainment. “My neighbors watched me build this, and they said it looked like I was having more fun with it than anyone,” says Bruno Ejankowski, Jake’s dad and his tree house creator/builder.

Dave Jacobs, yard manager and millwright for Sims Lumber, still pictures the tree house he built as a boy. “It was thirty feet off the ground — which was way too high — in an old hardwood tree,” recalls Jacobs. “I enclosed it and built a six-by-six foot deck around it.

“Tree houses give kids a vantage point they don’t normally have,” he adds, “and, once they’re up there, imagination runs wild. On the ground, kids abide by adults’ rules. In their tree houses, they feel like they rule. It’s exhilarating.”

Beyond euphoria, however, several well-grounded tips are essential for tree house construction and safety. Jacobs says the first rule is to nix the thirty-foot height.

“Specific height will depend on the age of your kids but, in general, the tree house floor should be no higher than sixteen feet,” he says. In terms of size, consider your “target market” — the ages, weights, and numbers of kids likely to make their home in your tree.

Next, test the tree’s strength and focus on exactly which branches will support the tree house. “It sounds a little goofy, but the best way to determine strength is to jump up and down on the tree limbs,” Jacobs says.

Finally, assess amenities and tree house access. Do you want an upscale tree house enclosed with a roof and walls? Or is your backyard crowd more the platform-with-rail type? Will kids climb steps to reach the tree house, or will a rope ladder suffice?

“Among my priorities was to build a deck in front of the tree house,” says Ejankowski, who opted for sturdy steps over rope. He also added finishing touches, such as roof shingles, retrieved from a home re-roofing project, and scrap wood, which was resurrected as tree house trim.

Ejankowski also positioned the tree house so a thick branch runs through its center — both for added support and for the look of a “chimney” on the tree house roof. Still ahead: Window screens, a shutter-type front door; and a name for the residence. Ejankowski constructed much of the tree house mentally, relying on his own rough sketches and engineering and construction skills. And even if you follow a book or specific diagram, there’s still some guesswork involved. “I’d rank tree houses a 6 or 7 on a 10-point difficulty scale, due mostly to guesswork,” Jacobs says. “They’re not for beginners. First, you do most of the work on a ladder, and in an awkward position. Second, it takes skill to figure out where to put the support and how to provide access.

“Joe Homeowner shouldn’t expect to visit the lumberyard, go home, and build a tree house in a day.”

If Joe Homeowner is up for the challenge, however, a few tips can help:

•To be tree house worthy, a tree must have at least three points at the same level where platform corners can be attached and must be at least one foot thick at the base. The best sites are those provided by trees whose trunks divide into two major limbs at about 8 feet off the ground, and which also contain one or two large branches at lower levels. Best tree types include northern catalpa, hedge, live oak, black oak, silver maple, white ash, and sycamore.

•The most important part of tree house construction is a strong, level platform. Build the frame first on the ground, and then hoist it into position in the tree. Do as much building as possible on the ground. Finishing work, too, says Ejankowski — who thought of that tip after painting for hours atop a ladder.

•Jacobs recommends using construction grade white SPF (spruce-pine-fir) wood rather than treated, deck wood. SPF is lighter, he says, but also requires treatment with water sealer or exterior, oil-based paint to prevent rotting.

•When in doubt, attach the house to the tree with extra screws for strength.

•Ejankowski devoted about eight weekends to Jake’s tree house, and invested about $500. Trickiest parts: Constructing the steps — “I built twice as many as I needed the first time and had to start over” — and calculating the right spot for the base, with enough tree strength to support it.

Bottom line? Tree houses are labors of love that their builders feel are well worth the effort.

“Freestanding playhouses and play sets have somewhat replaced tree houses, ” Jacobs admits. “But for people with imagination, or for those of us who had tree houses as kids, there’s nothing like them.”

Jan Mathew, a freelance writer based in Forsyth, IL, is editor of Decatur Magazine.