Courtyard Trees

[cjohnson]

I recently got a job to remove four maple trees from a courtyard. The trees are about 30' tall and 12" Dbh they have been topped many times to keep them small. There is a lot of brush on them and it will need to all go through the building down the hall about 40' and out to the parking lot. Does anyone have any suggesstions on the best way to get it through the doors. Crane can't reach to lift them over the roof. Thought about tieing the brush in bundles with twine but that seems like alot of hassle but maybe that will be the only option. Anyone ever had to do this?

 

[Lumberjack]

How about makin borritos with tarps, put the brush in the tarp, close it and tie it, and throught the halls it goes. That would keep the debris down in the hall, and save time by not having to wrap the brush up in twine.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Find out if you might be able to hire a baler for Christmas trees. Unless you live in the hard rock desert there's probably a grower nearby. I'll bet that they'd like to make a few bucks in the off season.

Can you get a mini-chipper to the courtyard? Chips are much easier to move than brush.

Tkae plenty of pics.

 

[Lumberjack]

Originally posted by netree
...If they've been topped, the brush probably isn't very forked.

Thats what i was thinking. He said that they had been topped many times before, so the brush is probably shoots, without manyforks at all.


Hadnt thought about the x-mas bailer. I though they just slid a prefab from the bottom up, kinda like a fish net corset.

 

[DadF]

We have several courtyards here that we occasionally have to work in. We usually remove a window on an outside wall and just run the stuff through the courtyard access and out the window. That way we don't have as much interior clean-up. Don't know how your courtyard is set up though-just a thought.

 

[Reed]

Lumberjack hints at what I find amazingly void in most small outfits doing clean-up after the deed.

Went to work for a former northern logger-turned hazard removal expert post hurricane mess and stayed for the duration - palms and pines mostly, saw his crews struggle with handloads of palm fronds and dogs and showed them the values of a tarp. They said no one else uses tarps either so there. They all do now.

Cheap, easy, oh so cool. I like the term "burrito", can I use it too?

 

[Lumberjack]

Originally posted by oakwilt
Lumberjack hints at what I find amazingly void in most small outfits doing clean-up after the deed.

I guess that is a good thing?

Originally posted by oakwilt
Cheap, easy, oh so cool. I like the term "burrito", can I use it too?

But of course.

 

[blue]

i used to do a lot of work in central london where 50% of the jobs were in back gardens with no access we used to cut the brush up dead straight and pile it up into bundles you can get your arms around.pick it up squeeze tight and off you go.or if the houses were really posh with stuck up owners it was time to break out the plastick trashcans usin the same principal.major headach those jobs,never again i hope

 

[rborist1]

:Eye:

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Originally posted by oakwilt
Cheap, easy, oh so cool. I like the term "burrito", can I use it too?

Yeah you can, Reed; it's an old term. to get brush into my 6" chipper I have to roll it up into a burrito first, and have schooled chipperfeeding personnel on that texmex cuisine.

Yeah tarps are a big laborsaver; I spread em right under the tree to catch all the twigs (I hate rakes)

 

[tshanefreeman]

I've had to do this in the past...........and I can't see why my method wouldn't work in your situation............but then again I haven't seen the job!

If you are considering taking the trees out through the building, why not go over the building. I too was working with 12" dbh trees, mine were birches, and the pieces weren't bad for lifting onto the roof. Use your lowering line as a lifting line. One person on the ground and one on the roof makes this job very easy. Just buck the wood into manageable pieces. (And for those of you shaking your heads .... my roof worker was tied into a safety line that only allow him to reach each eave.....not the ground below!) Then simply carry the pieces up one side and lower or throw to a drop-zone. The only mess is the odd branch that will accumulate on the shingles.

I would hate to think of dragging four trees through someone's house/building..................but that might just be me!

 

[cjohnson]

Sorry I am so behind on responding to your ideas been extremely busy lately. I like the idea of the tarps think I will give that a try this saturday. One good part of this job is it is a school and the janitors will clean up the hallway after we are done. I appreciate all the input and ideas might try a couple different things to see which works best and if it doesn't go well this time there probably won't be a next time. Thanks again!

 

[Dadatwins]

Did a lot of those through the house jobs in N.Y. Cut it small into trash cans works. Check building for basement that might not be finished and do not have to worry about paint. Tarps are ok as long as you have a straight run through the house front to back. Have lifted brush up to roof and pitched it over front, make sure you have a spotter out front before dropping anything off the roof. Carried a small leaf chipper into one yard and left chips in area save a lot of carrying. Those jobs can be profitable but they are a PITA.

 

[VTclimber]

We have a ton of burlap sacks that have been cut open that we use for that purpose. They tend to hold up as good or better than the tarps, and they make for smaller packages when transporting. We throw one under the chipper too to catch all the little stuff that doesn't go through. Really cuts down on cleanup. We also use the burlaps to protect small plants and flower beds when dropping lots of wood. Very handy.