# Did this one over a house yesterday...



## Blinky (Mar 8, 2007)

This ailing white oak had two dead limbs directly over a pricey, newly remodeled (and re-roofed) house in an old Chapel Hill neighborhood. Actually it had several dead limbs but they were on the neighbor's side and she wasn't participating. Anyway, the landing zone was nice and small, a 6' wide by 12' long area between the house and some ornamental shrubs... smaller really, because the shrubs overhung it by a few feet. Everything had to be line lowered.

I would love to know what's killing this tree, it has extensive areas where the bark is completely gone and the underlying wood is light grey... kind of bacterial looking, always on the sun side of the limb. The tree is eaten up with sapsucker wounds too including a particularly perforated section of trunk that is greasy black... not hypoxalon black... more runny, drippy black; 20' section of main trunk about 40' up, only on one side. It's a nice old tree and it would suck to cut it down.

First was a big lead that was dying... 






In this shot you can see the size of the branch we had to remove better, it's the one I'm standing in and had to go all the way back to the trunk. Ultimately I think we took it in about 7 pieces because of the size of the LZ. The wood was so diseased that one guy could comfortably carry a 9" or 10" dia. section about 10' long.





After that it was just one small limb, also dead...





Perfect position for the last piece of the day...





It was one of those days when just about everything went right. Sunny and 65 degrees, nothing on the roof but twigs... nice way to end a job...





My thanks to AS member Ryan Willock, bird dog on the job and one handed photographer... cuz he had the lowering line in the other.


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## soutz (Mar 8, 2007)

nice. love it when a plan comes together.


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## Fordman99 (Mar 8, 2007)

*Attah Boy!!!*

Sorry to jump in here...I'm still new to this site,just wanted express my amazement and gratitude to you PROS for the work you do.Definately a great bunch of people on here,willing to share a wealth of knowledge,and a life time of learning.You guys(and girls) most certainly earn every paycheck!!!I'm just a small-time firewood man,but the pics. and stories from you PROS never ceases to amaze me!!! THANX!!...and happy,SAFE,sawin' to you all!!!


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## sperho (Mar 8, 2007)

That's getting up there!

Lightning strike(s)?


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## Ironxylem (Mar 8, 2007)

Blinky, Those are great pics. How was the view. I never know how to price those jobs. Can I ask you what you charge for a job like that in NC.


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## Blinky (Mar 8, 2007)

sperho said:


> That's getting up there!
> 
> Lightning strike(s)?



I'm not sure about the lightening strike. I'm gonna talk to Treeseer when he gets back in town... he knows about stuff like this.


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## Blinky (Mar 8, 2007)

Ironxylem said:


> Blinky, Those are great pics. How was the view. I never know how to price those jobs. Can I ask you what you charge for a job like that in NC.





The view was pretty nice in the direction of campus but not close enough to scope any cute coeds.

I was only a contract climber on the job but we ended up splitting the proceeds because it took longer than he estimated. $500 for the two limbs and carrying the brush to the curb. 

It was priced about right for a two person job with no heavy equipment. If anything big had hit that roof it would've gone right through into the newly carpeted living room. You can see how flat it is and the rafters were on 24" centers, the sheathing couldn't have been thicker than 1/2". Instant claim and rate hike on the insurance.

I like jobs where it's more important to be careful than to go fast.


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## tawilson (Mar 8, 2007)

I've been here a while and these pics reminded me of something I don't think I've ever said. I have a lot of respect for you climbers out there.


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## Adkpk (Mar 8, 2007)

Ya, tawilson, you got it. I don't climb and love to see pics like that on this site. Way to go Blinky and Ryan. It is an amazing thing for us ground lovers to see you guys up there in the trees.


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## hornett22 (Mar 15, 2007)

*nice pics and work!*

i traded my broom for the new husqvarna backpack blower.really speeds up the clean up.i usually do the gutters when i'm on their roof.folks really appreciate it.


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## Adkpk (Mar 16, 2007)

hornett22 said:


> i traded my broom for the new husqvarna backpack blower.really speeds up the clean up.i usually do the gutters when i'm on their roof.folks really appreciate it.



A broom for a backpack blower, hmmm.:jawdrop:


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## Blinky (Mar 16, 2007)

hornett22 said:


> i traded my broom for the new husqvarna backpack blower.really speeds up the clean up.i usually do the gutters when i'm on their roof.folks really appreciate it.



Yep, a blower is definitely on my list... take a look at that broom... it's pathetic. Took me twice as long as it should have at least... with a blower it would've taken less than 5 minutes.


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## osb_mail (Mar 16, 2007)

Hey thought I would say thanks for the great pictures .


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## Blinky (Mar 16, 2007)

osb_mail said:


> Hey thought I would say thanks for the great pictures .


All I can say to that is, Thanks for saying that!.

I've learned that the branch death is a result of hypoxylon canker which infects stressed trees. The prognosis is bad, there is no treatment once the tree is infected.

That's too bad, this is an old, big, beautifully shaped tree.


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## treeseer (Mar 17, 2007)

Blinky said:


> The prognosis is bad, there is no treatment once the tree is infected.


 2 things, froggie.

1. Most trees contain hypoxylon all along but it just starts growing when the tyree's resources are strained.

2. the treatment is to sanitation pruning and building new resources by improving the rootzone.

Man that's good money; can I move to Chapel Hill without rooting for UNC?


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## treebogan (Mar 17, 2007)

*Blinky*

Nice job mate!Great pic's too,come to Norway and get above the Bush!


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## hornett22 (Mar 18, 2007)

*Lol*



Adrpk said:


> A broom for a backpack blower, hmmm.:jawdrop:



it was a very nice broom.


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## Blinky (Mar 26, 2007)

treeseer said:


> ...
> 
> Man that's good money; can I move to Chapel Hill without rooting for UNC?



No. :monkey:


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## ropensaddle (Mar 27, 2007)

Blinky said:


> The view was pretty nice in the direction of campus but not close enough to scope any cute coeds.
> 
> I was only a contract climber on the job but we ended up splitting the proceeds because it took longer than he estimated. $500 for the two limbs and carrying the brush to the curb.
> 
> ...


Good job; man I'm lucky to get 500.00 to remove and haul that whole tree here, I'm impressed at the pay in other parts of the world I may start looking at jobs someplace where they pay! I have got to do a dead hollow oak leaning 45 degree toward and over a house tomorrow wish I had memory card for cam. Another service started and got scared so I agreed to get it on the ground for the 350.00 that was bid, at least no clean up I may go get card so can post pics.


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## sweetleafburner (Mar 30, 2007)

*over house*

nice pics i could not see your rig job did you use blocks? or folse croch? the pics  where good man you did a hell of a job my favoret saying is we tree climbers do it from the ground up and take the top down fast and easy


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## Ed Roland (Mar 30, 2007)

Hey, Blinky.
Thats mighty fine work. Hats off.


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## rbtree (Mar 31, 2007)

Yep, I gotta chime in and congrat ya on the good work, Blinks....even though you're a poor ole Nikon fella......:hmm3grin2orange: 

We just finished a huge week...my great new crew didn't get home till 7 pm, with nary a complaint....Craned all day today.. 4600 board feet of fir between me and Eli.....

took a madrona down that was over an apt complex Tuesday..had over 2500 feet of rope and the GRCS in use for it and another dead madrona. 

Here's Eli balancing 990 board feet of fir on his finger....the log was 33" inside the bark at 21 feet.


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## Blinky (Apr 1, 2007)

sweetleafburner said:


> nice pics i could not see your rig job did you use blocks? or folse croch? ...



It's a little hard to make out but the red rope is the lowering line (green was lifeline, blue was an SRT access line), you can also see the block (yellow); had a porty on the base of the tree. No false crotches but one redirect if I remember right.


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## Blinky (Apr 1, 2007)

rbtree said:


> Yep, I gotta chime in and congrat ya on the good work, Blinks....even though you're a poor ole Nikon fella......:hmm3grin2orange:
> 
> We just finished a huge week...my great new crew didn't get home till 7 pm, with nary a complaint....Craned all day today.. 4600 board feet of fir between me and Eli.....
> 
> ...



Thanks Roger, from you even a backhanded complement is a welcome one. If you wanna give me some of that Canon gear you aren't using I could become a convert.

I suppose Eli might have needed another finger if that was white oak instead of fir.

Beginning of last week I was taking down a bunch of pines... never really spent all that much time on spikes and all I could think was, "Damn I'd never make it in the PNW, these gaffs and no overhead TIP are killing me!" After a few days I got used to it, not bad work when you can get it. I'd still rather walk limbs and prune though.

So what do you do for your adrenaline fixes when the snow melts?


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