From pet project to palace: West Bend man builds ultimate treehouse

WEST BEND (WITI) -- A treehouse may be every kid's dream hangout. One local dad took that idea and gave it a twist to create something truly unique.

At first glance, it looks a bit like a lighthouse, but stare a little bit longer and you'll see it's about as land-locked as it's possible to be.

"I made the mistake of watching the Treehouse Masters show a couple of times and I decided that that was something that I could probably do," said Kevin Krause, a carpenter who built this silo house.

But instead of heading for the nearest tree, Krause gave the traditional format a twist -- and plopped a mini-home into a vacant silo on his family's property.

"We've thought about doing something like this for years and I've kind of amused myself by thinking maybe I'd build a deck on top of it or something like that," said Krause.

But this is a man who, according to his wife:

"When he does something, he doesn't do the minimum. He does the maximum-plus," said Debra Krause.

That's why what started as a deck soon evolved into a three-story house.

"Got a spot up there for a TV so we can watch the news when we need to," said Kevin Krause.

What started as a pet project, after thousands of house of labor, has now turned into a family battle to claim use of the space.

"We've been arguing quite a bit because I said 'that's mom's house' and then I said it was dad's office and now the kids just have confiscated it all so we have to incorporate it all. That's why there's three floors," said Debra Krause.

Whatever they end up settling on, you have to admit, their two kids are going to have bragging rights for the coolest play place.

"My daughter, her birthday is March 8th and she's pretty much told me that it needs to be finished for her big sleepover for her birthday," said Kevin Krause.

The family says they started the house last summer and they're hoping to have it completely done within the next few months.