Cut The Root and The Tree Falls

[Koa Man]

Earlier this week one of my customers wanted me to cut a very large exposed root that was on the opposite side of a leaning tree. I told him I thought that the tree would fall over if I cut that root. He insisted I cut it, so 20% through the cut, I noticed the cut opening more than it should. I stopped and told him again that the tree would go over. He did not believe me, told me to cut it and if it did fall, we could just remove it. I completed the cut and down it went. Nothing got damaged and now he is actually happier because he did not realize how much of the ocean view this tree was blocking.

 

[treeman82]

How big of a tree was this? How big was the root where you cut it?

 

[MasterBlaster]

The title of this thread sounds like the first two songs on a lumberjack album!

 

[Koa Man]

The tree was a hau tree, related to the hibiscus. It is a small tree, but the trunk can get very thick with many twisted, crossing branches. This tree was about 20 ft. tall, with a canopy spread of about 15 ft. Trunk was 24 inches DBH and the exposed root was about 12 inches in diameter.