So a couple of days ago, a guy stops at our job site and asks if I'll do some chipping for him. He points at a medium sized spruce across the street and says that he's got 2 like that. He says that he'll fall them and I'll just drive up, chip 'em and go.
I won't give estimates to people without seeing the tree(s), but he "seemed" to know a little of the tree biz and I gave him a price for the job. He was fine with the price, so I said I'd show up this aft.
SO..........
I show up and I was in shock. And that was before he told me his story.
First of all, the yard looked as if a bomb went off. Branches everywhere, butts in all directions. The house was gutted and ready to be demolished,..... really..... no one was living there so the windows smashed out, the house was gutted. The guy/owner was demolishing his house to build a new one.
At the back of the yard is a 4 ft stump with a serious back lean into the alley. Middle of the yard, a 40 ft de-limbed spruce, top missing.
Still with me? Now the good part. He comes over and tells me the story of how he got this far.
We'll start with the 40 footer. He said he took his circular saw and duct taped the guard to the open position. Then hung the saw around his neck with a short piece of rope. Up the tree he went, leaving 6 inch stubs all the way to the top. Once there, he puts a small back cut in the top and ties a rope to it. Then he ties the rope to his pick-up in the alley and yanks it off.
Now the leaner. It had to have been 40 ft, right at the bcak of the property. In the alley, the typical rack of primary and secondary power lines, telephone and cable lines. The size of the tree, with the lean of the stump, really got me thinking. How did he have the entire (1 piece) laying in his backyard? How did he overcome such a back lean.
Here's how. Same method,... circular saw around the neck. Up the tree, de-limb. Tie rope in top. Run the rope from the tree through back window, through a closet, through punched out drywall, to the front yard. (Remember, the house was gutted) Tie rope to headache rack of pick up. He did know how to cut a wedge, so after he did the wedge and PUT A BACK CUT IN IT, he raced to his truck in the front yard and pulled the tree forward.
Incredibly, it worked. All I could do was laugh. He was waiting for a pat on the back or a compliment, but I could't stop grinning.
He had no idea how lucky he was. He could have been killed several times while climbing. And then imagine having your tree balancing on it's hinge, leaning towards power lines, while you run your A** off to jump in your truck to pull it over.
If that tree had gone the other way,........ well you can imagine.
Classic do-it-yourselfer. I chipped for 2 hours and got outta there.
Hope I don't read about him one day.
I won't give estimates to people without seeing the tree(s), but he "seemed" to know a little of the tree biz and I gave him a price for the job. He was fine with the price, so I said I'd show up this aft.
SO..........
I show up and I was in shock. And that was before he told me his story.
First of all, the yard looked as if a bomb went off. Branches everywhere, butts in all directions. The house was gutted and ready to be demolished,..... really..... no one was living there so the windows smashed out, the house was gutted. The guy/owner was demolishing his house to build a new one.
At the back of the yard is a 4 ft stump with a serious back lean into the alley. Middle of the yard, a 40 ft de-limbed spruce, top missing.
Still with me? Now the good part. He comes over and tells me the story of how he got this far.
We'll start with the 40 footer. He said he took his circular saw and duct taped the guard to the open position. Then hung the saw around his neck with a short piece of rope. Up the tree he went, leaving 6 inch stubs all the way to the top. Once there, he puts a small back cut in the top and ties a rope to it. Then he ties the rope to his pick-up in the alley and yanks it off.
Now the leaner. It had to have been 40 ft, right at the bcak of the property. In the alley, the typical rack of primary and secondary power lines, telephone and cable lines. The size of the tree, with the lean of the stump, really got me thinking. How did he have the entire (1 piece) laying in his backyard? How did he overcome such a back lean.
Here's how. Same method,... circular saw around the neck. Up the tree, de-limb. Tie rope in top. Run the rope from the tree through back window, through a closet, through punched out drywall, to the front yard. (Remember, the house was gutted) Tie rope to headache rack of pick up. He did know how to cut a wedge, so after he did the wedge and PUT A BACK CUT IN IT, he raced to his truck in the front yard and pulled the tree forward.
Incredibly, it worked. All I could do was laugh. He was waiting for a pat on the back or a compliment, but I could't stop grinning.
He had no idea how lucky he was. He could have been killed several times while climbing. And then imagine having your tree balancing on it's hinge, leaning towards power lines, while you run your A** off to jump in your truck to pull it over.
If that tree had gone the other way,........ well you can imagine.
Classic do-it-yourselfer. I chipped for 2 hours and got outta there.
Hope I don't read about him one day.
