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I’ve collected the replies to my question about contract terms for a
universally accessible tree house, and cut and pasted them all below.   One
comment – I’m aware that California regulations have recently been updated
on what types of materials may be used (for example, the customary
pressure-treated lumber for decking is now verboten, and a substitute must
be used), so take what you read below as a guideline for what you might
check into in your own state.

Many thanks for information and referrals from Todd Happer (Natural History
Magazine), Dr. Ronen Mir (SciTech Hands On Museum), Judy Rand (Rand and
Associates), Tom Rockwell (Painted Universe, Inc.), Alan J. Friedman (New
York Hall of Science), Kathleen Krafft (Sciencenter), and Roy Griffiths
(North Carolina Museum of Life and Science).  Apologies for any misspellings
in the cutting and pasting!

Here is the info:

(From Tom Rockwell, Painted Universe, Inc.)
Hi Barbara,

Important things to consider might include:
- Designs should meet ASTM and CPSC playground safety and accessibility
standards. There are several ASTM standards that might apply but the
most common one is the most recent ASTM F 1487. The CPSC (consumer
product safety commission) document is called the Handbook for Public
Playground Safety. ASTM F 1487 covers (or used to cover) accessibility,
but the Access Board of the Justice Department (I think?) was due to
come out with ADA guidelines that would supercede ASTM.
- Include a clear scope of work re: volunteer construction and a plan
for what will happen if not enough volunteers show up. Usually coming
up with enough volunteers is the clients responsibility and if not
enough people show up then the contractor can bill extra either to do
the work professionally or to schedule and supervise
additional "community builds".

Hope this helps.

- Tom


(From Alan Friedman, New York Hall of Science)
Dear Barbara:

All of our contracts include some clause which simply says that design will
follow ADA guidelines for access.  This results in ramps, braille signage,
etc.  I can dig up the actual language if you need it, but expect there are
slight variations from state to state.  This is an obligation of the
designer or architect, I believe, and not the fabricator unless it is a
design/build contract.

More to the point, may I recommend to you the architect we used for our
outdoor science playground spaces, which are on four levels and yet all are
in compliance.  She is working on our new preschool outdoor area as well:

Full Name: Joan Krevlin
Company: BKSK Architects
Business Address: 28 West 25th Street
New York, NY 10010

Business: (212) 807-9600
Business Fax: 212: 807-6405

E-mail:  [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
E-mail Display As: Joan Krevlin ( [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]> )

Cheers,

Alan

(From Kathleen Krafft, Sciencenter)

Our Science Park was built 11 years ago at the same time as we created
our museum (converting and adding on to an old building). It is made out
of Pressure Treated Lumber--  #2 DSS (Dense Structural Select I
think).   At the time we were closely connected and working with Bob
Leathers and his crew-- architectural firm located here in Ithaca who
started a long string of community built playgrounds, well over 1,000 of
them.  So we followed his guidelines for materials, hardware, etc.

Our science park is 2 story and fully ramped.  But it isn't a treehouse
per se-- it is 8,000sqft of space.

Surfacing:  we used fibar-- hardwood fibers treated with lindseed oil I
believe.  AFter 10 years it has sort of quietly rotted, and doesn't have
the original bounciness it did originally.  But it has never grown
anything, and held up well for many years.  Strollers and wheelchairs
were fine on it.  It isn't like commercial wood chips-- smaller chunks.
There was 12" of fibar on top of 6" of gravel (with landscape cloth in
between).

We treated the lumber with linseed oil product every summer for most of
those years.  In the meantime Leathers company (now passed along to his
son as he has retired) has switched construction techniques.  Not sure
of the details, but for decking etc. they use a plastic/wood product
called Trex that I believe is also sold at big hardware stores.  It is
less stiff than wood, so requires more support that regular PT lumber.

PT wood has somewhat fallen out of favor, and there is now a new product
to treat the lumber with that we've switched to that really seals it--
looks like polyurethane sort of...  apparently we are to put 2 coats on
that will be good for 5 years or more;  someone else here has taken care
of that, so I don't know much about it.

We do not have a contract of any kind for anything outside-- the
exhibits were largely built by volunteers supervised by yours truly
(then a volunteer), and the construction of the structure was done under
supervision by Leather's crews during the community builds (a few of
their trained construction guys made sure everything was done to their
standards).  Leathers, having done so many playgrounds, has very
definite standards for construction-- the size joists, the hardware, the
sealing required every year, are all mandated by his insurance company
(at least it was 10 years ago).  He also specifies the yearly treatment.

We were zealous about rounding everything.  Putting in ramps and hand
railings required by the City building department (what a pain).  The
exhibits were one-of-a-kind that I masterminded with some input from
other folks.  The city also had definite standards for railings-- how
high (42" in our case).  No ends sticking out.  We had the pickets with
3 1/2" of space between them-- so they are not head entrapments-- I
think the normal standard for young children is no space between 3" and
9" but this was a "supervised setting" as our Science Park is completely
fenced in and accessible only from inside the museum.  YOu might have
different issues in a public park.

Wheelchairs:  we had to have 5' square landings at every turn etc.  So
your "treehouse" will have to be pretty big..

There are playground safety standards from teh Consumer Product Safety
Commission-- about 45 page PDF document you can download for free.
There are also tools for inspecting playgrounds-- for $100 or so you can
buy a kit to check for protrusion hazards, head entrapment, etc.

It is really Leathers group that has any real expertise in this
(607-277-1650).  In addition, Tom Rockwell of Painted Universe
(607-277-6393) has organized a number of community built science parks,a
nd is a certified playground safety inspector, so you may want to
contact him.

I'm happy to share some experiences with exhibits if that is where you
are headed-- voice tubes, delay tubes, whisper dishes are very popular.
We have a set of swings of different lengths, an overhead lever,
etc...    THe "sound and texture maze" is fun-- things to strike, tree
bark texture panels, etc.  I can send you some digital photos too.

Sorry I can't be more specific-- but hopefully at least have raised some
concerns and contact info.

Kathy Krafft
Director of Exhibits
Sciencenter 607-272-0600 ext 25

(From Roy Griffiths, North Carolina Museum of Life and Science)
Barbara:
I think that this is more of a design issue than fabrication, though there
is some cross over during implementation. Generally, design details and
specification need to clearly address the issues.

With that said, we typically include language in the fabrication General
Conditions as follows:

All designs shown in the drawings are intended to convey the appearance and
function intended by the Designer. The Contractor shall be responsible for
the structural integrity and proper and safe functioning of all exhibits.

The Drawings and Specifications illustrate design intent and are not final
engineering or construction drawings. Ensure that all exhibit components are
structurally sound, durable, safe for museum users, including unsupervised
children, function as described and meet the design intent illustrated in
the Drawings and Specifications. [Barbara- you may want to include wheel
chair users somewhere here, though I’m puzzled still how design won’t pick
up this and other uses.]

Good luck and let me know if there is another way to cut this.
Roy


Barbara Punt
Punt Consulting
409 North PCH, Suite 326
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Telephone (310) 937-3366
[log in to unmask]

When in doubt ... Punt!


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