Carburetorless
ArboristSite Guru
I noticed that it looked like it had been topped in the past. Seems it should have been a much taller tree than it is, and healthier too.
Big 100+ year old Oak- can it be saved ?
- Thread starter davidbradley360
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I noticed that it looked like it had been topped in the past. Seems it should have been a much taller tree than it is, and healthier too.
davidbradley360
ArboristSite Operative
It's the overhead and insurance costs that drove the price of tree cutting up, and also fuel for the saws and trucks. 2 guys on the ground have to get paid a decent wage, and also need to match their SSI deductions, pay their workmens comp, and UC deduction, and the company liability insurance. It all adds up.
And what is left from $500/tree or even $1000/tree, after fuel expenses, and INCOME TAXES.
And what is left from $500/tree or even $1000/tree, after fuel expenses, and INCOME TAXES.
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davidbradley360
ArboristSite Operative
no one "worked it" much at all. When the tree developed a dead limb, an uncle climbed up there on an aluminum extension ladder, then climbed into the tree with a David Bradley 360 saw, and cut the limb off at the trunk. I remember watching it when I was a kid about 7 years old.
We still have the saw. I put a kit in the carb and it runs well. Damned heavy thing, imagine using that as a climbing saw.
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davidbradley360
ArboristSite Operative
well the tree is down, started in the morning 8 AM, and finished at noon. The 65 foot boom truck was fully extended to cut the top, and barely was able to do it with a pole saw fully extended as well. That tree was all of 80-85 feet tall at least.
the entire inside of the trunk at the base was hollow, there was barely anything holding it up, and once it was dropped, we could see where the worst cracks were, and how thin it was, the tree was definitely going to fall on the neighbor's shed, most likely this winter, or next windstorm
it was the right thing to remove the tree. The only way that tree could have stayed, was if it was cable anchored to the ground, and also steel banded all the way up the main trunk, to hold it together.
what happens is, the tree became like like a pack of vertical pencils bunched together, and every time a limb would break, it would have the effect of taking one pencil out- until the entire tree fell over.
not worth the risk of someone riding a quad, snowmobile, mini bike, or walking past underneath, and it falling on them. I often would metal detect around the tree.
will put up some pictures of the job. I don't feel as badly now that I know, just how badly it was rotted inside- there was barely anything holding it up around the edges. It was a dangerous tree and accident waiting to happen.
the entire inside of the trunk at the base was hollow, there was barely anything holding it up, and once it was dropped, we could see where the worst cracks were, and how thin it was, the tree was definitely going to fall on the neighbor's shed, most likely this winter, or next windstorm
it was the right thing to remove the tree. The only way that tree could have stayed, was if it was cable anchored to the ground, and also steel banded all the way up the main trunk, to hold it together.
what happens is, the tree became like like a pack of vertical pencils bunched together, and every time a limb would break, it would have the effect of taking one pencil out- until the entire tree fell over.
not worth the risk of someone riding a quad, snowmobile, mini bike, or walking past underneath, and it falling on them. I often would metal detect around the tree.
will put up some pictures of the job. I don't feel as badly now that I know, just how badly it was rotted inside- there was barely anything holding it up around the edges. It was a dangerous tree and accident waiting to happen.
davidbradley360
ArboristSite Operative
before today 8 AM
davidbradley360
ArboristSite Operative
during the job- 65 foot boom fully extended, and using pole saw to cut the highest tops
davidbradley360
ArboristSite Operative
the bitter end, whittled down to size, and then the main trunk cut down.
take a good look at the trunk. There was almost nothing left around the edge holding the tree up in several locations. I'm one to always try to save old trees and not want them cut down unless unavoidable- this was a wake up call. Definitely not worth the risk of letting it standing. It was coming down soon with or without help.
That was a nightmare waiting to happen. Fortunately we were able to cut it down before anyone got hurt by it, or any more property damage.
take a good look at the trunk. There was almost nothing left around the edge holding the tree up in several locations. I'm one to always try to save old trees and not want them cut down unless unavoidable- this was a wake up call. Definitely not worth the risk of letting it standing. It was coming down soon with or without help.
That was a nightmare waiting to happen. Fortunately we were able to cut it down before anyone got hurt by it, or any more property damage.
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davidbradley360
ArboristSite Operative
Cutting it was the right choice.
Reminds me when I cut a similar tree for a local town. People saw me cut it and called the newspapers to complain. A reporter came by and took a nice picture of me standing inside the stump (only my head was sticking out!). He then wrote a nice article explaining that this tree was really dangerous. Too bad for the ones who complained! What really annoyed me is that the people complaining never came to ask me why I was cutting the tree. They called the newspapers instead. We all love those old growth trees. Nevertheless, there comes a time when they just need to come down.
Reminds me when I cut a similar tree for a local town. People saw me cut it and called the newspapers to complain. A reporter came by and took a nice picture of me standing inside the stump (only my head was sticking out!). He then wrote a nice article explaining that this tree was really dangerous. Too bad for the ones who complained! What really annoyed me is that the people complaining never came to ask me why I was cutting the tree. They called the newspapers instead. We all love those old growth trees. Nevertheless, there comes a time when they just need to come down.
Had to go
Definitely needed to go. Just a comment on the ants. Ants didn't have anything to do with the demise of this tree. Ants are a secondary invader of trees. They mine out wood already compromised by decay organisms and use it for their galleries. Ants are not the organism weakening the tree. Just a pet peeve of mine, get alot of questions on how to get rid of the ants "to save the tree".
Definitely needed to go. Just a comment on the ants. Ants didn't have anything to do with the demise of this tree. Ants are a secondary invader of trees. They mine out wood already compromised by decay organisms and use it for their galleries. Ants are not the organism weakening the tree. Just a pet peeve of mine, get alot of questions on how to get rid of the ants "to save the tree".
davidbradley360
ArboristSite Operative
on the ants, well perhaps...but I know a sawmill operator, who also is a degreed biologist, he took me mover to a large tree on his property, with black ants walking up and down it- and they were depositing chewed up pieces of sawdust at the bottom of the tree. Ants definitely eat away at homes and trees. I had carpenter ants in my garage, and they hollowed out a section of the hard insulation bat in the wall, I removed the insulation section complete like a little ant farm, cut it open and found the queen, and all the small ant eggs.
yes this tree had to go, I don't feel bad about it, after seeing the condition of the trunk, there was little or nothing that could have been done to save it. The top weighed tons, and the bottom was thin and weak. A very dangerous situation A tree is a big, majestic natural organism, in its home environment of the forest, but growing near your home or yard, if falls, it will kill you without remorse, just the same as a bear or wolf would.
there is a lesson to be learned here, I had always maintained my trees, and removed quite a few smaller ones from my property in the past. I paid to get this large tree pruned a few years ago, and removed a few more branches that were dead. But large trees need to be maintained and checked on a regular 6 month to yearly basis, not just when something breaks and falls off them. There's just too much that can go wrong once they get very large and old. The first big branch that fell, was almost as big as the main trunk.
When these trees get this old, the trunk should be checked somehow, for rot. If it's hollow, they should be taken down. The mask here was, the tree was still very much alive, the outer growth ring was feeding what was left of the canopy with water and nutrients.
yes this tree had to go, I don't feel bad about it, after seeing the condition of the trunk, there was little or nothing that could have been done to save it. The top weighed tons, and the bottom was thin and weak. A very dangerous situation A tree is a big, majestic natural organism, in its home environment of the forest, but growing near your home or yard, if falls, it will kill you without remorse, just the same as a bear or wolf would.
there is a lesson to be learned here, I had always maintained my trees, and removed quite a few smaller ones from my property in the past. I paid to get this large tree pruned a few years ago, and removed a few more branches that were dead. But large trees need to be maintained and checked on a regular 6 month to yearly basis, not just when something breaks and falls off them. There's just too much that can go wrong once they get very large and old. The first big branch that fell, was almost as big as the main trunk.
When these trees get this old, the trunk should be checked somehow, for rot. If it's hollow, they should be taken down. The mask here was, the tree was still very much alive, the outer growth ring was feeding what was left of the canopy with water and nutrients.
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davidbradley360
ArboristSite Operative
yes it lost the main center of the canopy in a windstorm about 25 years ago. It was a very grand looking, well balanced, picturesque oak tree until about 1985. Then it kept losing limbs on a steady basis until now.
what amazed me was, how much leaves and acorns were on it anyway, even at this age, in this condition. It had a lot of leaves left on it
I hope you take pic's of the brush and wood on the ground that you have to clean up! Maybe show several pic's as you progress. Would be interesting.
Jeff
Jeff
Carburetorless
ArboristSite Guru
I used to work for a logging company, and we would come across those huge oaks, they would look solid from the outside, but when you dropped them most were hollow.
Sometimes they'd be full of water like a big tall water tank. I saw one cutter get his gas & oil jugs washed off the side of a mountain by one that full of water. lol
davidbradley360
ArboristSite Operative
Now that assumption, is what's funny....:msp_biggrin: figures it came from Ca.
I'll post a pic of the map, of the 52 acres we've owned since 1937 that its on, to show that in the country, you don't waste your time cleaning up stuff like that. We have acres of trees like that, that fall on their own on a constant basis.
WTH in their right mind, would go around cleaning that up ? Let the deer eat it.
The family (26 people and their spouses and kids) will take the big stuff for firewood.
Sound snobby ? No. My grandfather was a coal miner, with a 2nd grade education, who never made more than $3000/year, and died from black lung.
But he knew enough, to GTH away from the city, so he wouldn't have to worry about stuff like that. He bought the place for $3500 back in 1937.
maybe you should worry about cleaning up around your own trees, on what property you own.
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davidbradley360
ArboristSite Operative
yeh it was a big eye opener for me too. I'd never live next to one of those trees without getting it checked first, by that I mean some sort of sonic testing, or core sample. Imagine that thing standing outside next to your kid's bedroom window. What an ugly monster it would turn out to be, if it fell on your house and killed somebody. A tree will kill without remorse, just like a bear or wolf. They are majestic beautiful things to behold out in nature in the forest.
but not rotted, hollow, and next to your house.
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Like I said, I don't know the market there, but now I understand. I have seen a few of those crazy reality show's. Out here, we worry about fire hazard's, like downed tree's and brush!
Jeff :msp_rolleyes:
davidbradley360
ArboristSite Operative
no worry, except for brush and firewood laying on someone else's property, you found it "interesting".
judging from your post history and comments on what OP should do with their trees and property, you're right on que and up to par on this thread as well.
amazing, an actual tree care net troll- who woulda' known ?
do you have a large spread of acreage with standing timber in San Diego ?
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sgreanbeans
Treeaculterologist
Maybe homes, but not trees. Ants live in the tree and go out for food. What you see on the ground is just a little house keeping. Termites live away from trees and go to them for food. Why they hate each other. Ants view them as a threat to the colony when the termites start eating on their home. When you look inside of a rotten tree and see all the little holes, the ants are not causing the rot, they are just making use of the softer wood, borrowing in to make more nursery's. Their colony will use every bit of space they can, up to the boundary set by compartmentalization. U will never find where a ant has pushed thru the boundary into good wood. If u think u have, look closer, its not a ant.
