Fell it or blow the top out

[ozy365]

Spruce with lightning damage top to bottom, perpendicular to lean, preferred fall. Do you bomb out the top or fell as a single unit? Check out my drawing tonight and I'll have photos tommorrow.

Think Charity, no cranes, etc. If I can't do it, it will be one of the local guys with a poulan than runs budweiser. I go to the church and would like to keep it free of sky lights.

Thanks

Todd

 

[ozy365]

Drawings of project

Here they are

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Another option would be a vertical speedline. Which is just a rope anchored at the top and bottom which the load is attached with a carabiner.

The line is rather slack, it's only purpose is the keep the load from flipping or rolling once on the ground.

If you take a large top, you may want to have it separate fast enough so that it is less then perpendicular to the spar, so that it will not spring back at you. ie, make it las but first, not tip first.

 

[ozy365]

Thanks JPS

The problem I have with this tree is the huge split that is perpendicular to the fall. At the top it is midline and I just smell a barber chair waiting to happen. I'd rather whip the bottom with 10 to twelve foot worth of wraps and fell the whole thing than barber chair it 40 feet up. I'll post pick tomorrow.

 

[treeseer]

pics showing lightning damage would be cool. sounds like this one is too damaged to keep if cracked on 2 sides, but lightning-struck trees with less damage should be assessed. Here is one protocol, from this month's TCI magazine (story on page 8 here http://www.tcia.org/PDFs/TCI_Mag_June_07.pdf:

Lightning-Struck Tree Assessment and Mitigation.

When lightning strikes a tree, the owner will often assign an arborist to help determine the appropriate response. Depending on the tree and on the arborist, what they hear will range from “It’s going to die, so we should remove it”, to ”It looks okay for now, let’s wait and see.” Neither of these extremes adequately addresses the owner’s or the tree’s needs. Both neglect useful tree care techniques for assessing and mitigating lightning damage:

1. Bark inspection. Tap the bark with a mallet to determine whether it is detached from the wood. Measure the detached areas. Probe any cracks in the xylem with a thin instrument to determine the depth. If the damage to the lower trunk is not extensive, inspect the crown.
2. Consider the species’ relative tolerance to lightning strikes, based on its compartmentalization qualities, grain pattern, and genetic vigor.
3. Consider the individual specimen’s vitality, and its location relative to people and property. Assess the risk.

Present treatment options to the owner, providing a prognosis of recovery if the treatments move forward. If the client is an insurance company, the arborist is often asked to make a recommendation because the tree work is part of a claim. If the owner decides the risk is acceptable, these steps can be taken:

1. Reattach the bark if it is still moist inside. Thin bark may move enough if it is wrapped tightly for a few weeks. Thicker bark may be reattached with fasteners such as staples.
2. If the bark cannot be reattached, it should be trimmed—“traced”—back to the point where it is attached to the xylem, so there will be no hollow area as callus tissue grows over the wound. This applies to all the bark, from the top of the tree down to the buttress roots.
3. The exposed wood should be treated to repel insects. Reapply as needed
4. The soil around the roots, especially those that carried the current, should be aerated as needed and inoculated with beneficial microorganisms such as mycorrhizal fungi. Any mineral element that is lacking should also be applied
5. Mulch the root system 2-4” with organic material, and irrigate as needed.

 

[ozy365]

Treeseer

Thank you for the response and link. We don't get alot of calls for lightning repairs, so it is good to get the info. We work in a really rural area where most people are still shocked that we get paid to take "all of that valuable firewood". I'm going out in a couple of hours to take photos; hope to have them up by 900pm.

Looking for input latter. One of the local guys does sawmill work. Would it be worth a 15 mionute drive for him to pick up "free" logs from this tree? Look at tonights pics.

 

[ozy365]

Small photos for quick look

 

[ozy365]

Small photos for quick look, part 2

 

[ozy365]

Tree paces out to about 75'.
About 40' to the end of the church

Plan:

Climb and limb first 40-50', set pull line (GRCS to yard tree)
Wrap the tree for 5' around 30' up
Wrap base a couple of feet up to about 10'
fell down the pull line. wedge back ups

Some one pull this apart on me. All of the pictures are available as bigger files so let me know what you need

Also, do I offer wood to my local farmer/sawyer or does this log just bust up his equipment?

Thanks

Todd

 

[Dadatwins]

Hard to tell from the pics but I have seen worse damage from lightning. This might be a wait and see what happen to the tree decision. I would advise getting a qualified arborist on site to check out the damage and base decision on complete info. Just because it was hit by lightning does not guarantee it will die or fall. Depends how far in the crack is and other factors.

 

[Toddppm]

If you are going to remove it why wouldn't you just use the tree next to it to rope out the top and bomb down the trunk pieces? Guess I don't understand why you're set taking a chance on dropping the whole thing?

 

[treeseer]

nice pics, Todd. I like your plan of branch removal then felling in one piece.

Parallel to the building right? O and that is a MAJOR charitable contribution--bill for machine/eqpt rental so you can deduct (no you cant get get a deduction for time )

Dada that is a major amount of bark loss not to mention the cracking. A definite goner, this said by an avowed arborphile treehuggin fanatic.

Todd, after felling I would focus on the nearby tree, which sustained root and possibly other damage. At the least weed mulch and do the tap test to see if the bark is detached. Fuller details in the June tci mag, fuller yet coming in the ISA lightning proceedings, out soon.:biggrinbounce2:

 

[ozy365]

This is one of those, its coming down period situations. Business owner next door is insisting and has "a Guy" who can do it. He's already got an open insurance claim filed and is sure it is "leaning over his pavillion". Church wants zero hassle and is glad that our business attends their church. If I say no, somebody is going to fell it without stripping limbs and probably without a wedge or tag line. Small town politics. Not a lot of folks know what an "arbolist" is like our president does. Thanks for the input. Keep it coming.

Factors against the tree is that it is in a very solitary pair in the middle of town. Lots of recent contruction near by (church is only 16' away on one side, new parking lot and pavillion less than 20 feet on 2 other sides). Damage is 3-4 inches deep and as wide and spirals around to front of tree. Loose bark around the back for first 30' in about a 12" strip. Trees are large for the space they are in. Potential church expansion in next few years that would necessitate removal.

 

[ozy365]

Thanks for replies. The second tree is another story. Thanks for the tips. I am worried about the open side on the second tree when the first is removed.
That must change the wind loading immensely and that bad boy does want to be on the next door neighbor's pavillion. I will take pics after removal.

Yup, I want to drop it parallelt to the building. Limb it to keep it off the church on one side and out of the ash(?) on the other. If need be, I'll cheat it to the Ash, not the church.:chainsawguy:

 

[ozy365]

Toddppm

I don't want to keep banging wood into the tree that I hope stays up. Trying to get all of that wood down through the other spruce is tough as well. It is at a funking angle behind and awy from the removal; I would have to be on the back lean side and wood would be leaning over my head. Also, for damn near a charity job, 3 hours is better than ten. I would like to do it that way. If it was a simultaneous removal, I was going to do so. But the second tree stays for now. Thanks again.

Todd

 

[Dadatwins]

If it is coming down then limbing it and dropping parallel to building makes easiest plan. As for possible barber chair, a few wraps with chain will make a nice insurance policy. Also make sure you have a big enough saw to make the base cut quickly, many barber chairs caused by to short of a bar, slow cutting or even worse stopping in the cut. Of course the bore cut crowd will chime in shortly. Be careful.

 

[ozy365]

dada

Thanks for the input. I was waiting on the bore cut and leave a tab to cut to trigger the fall input. I figure I have to move the cut past the split before too much tension on the pull line in order to minimize barber chairing.

Also figured 2 pull lines in case the top is really friable. Figured I'd risk a lower tie in to be in better wood, let the wedges do the pushing and stay the hell out of the barber shop.

Limbing seems like the least force I can put on the tree for the most bang. I feel blowing the top with the vertical split is just too many forces to mess with.

Todd

 

[Dadatwins]

If the trunk is that split wedges are not going to be that helpful and might make things worse. As for low tie in, on that tree 2/3 the way to the top would be as low as I would go, tieing in the middle does no good. The tree is still green and is still standing so it not going to fall apart that easily. Placing a rope around the trunk 2/3 the way up as a pull line will give you all the pull you need to get that tree over. Depending on the lean I would set a truck as an anchor at the street the direction you want to go and use some pullies to get good tension before making the cut.

 

[ozy365]

Dada

thank you for the tip on the wedges.

The lean is toward the preferred fall line. I was going to use rope pullers and or GRCS to a tree that is spot on the line of fall. Thanks for the tip on 2/3 versus half way.

Doing the job on Monday. Likely I will post on Tuesday, as we are tossing in the clean up as well.

 

[booboo]

Seems like the easiest, safest way to do it is to strip the spar up high enough to bomb the top and still clear the church, then drop the spar parallel with the church. Cut the top fast to minimize spring loading the spar. Some wraps with chain or a heavy binder strap around the base above the felling cut should add some piece of mind. It might be a candidate for a plunge cut and release tab, but without closely inspecting the trunk there's really no way to say and it might add danger depending on the location and depth of the split. Shouldn't take much of a pull with a line to bring the spar over anyway, so fancy cutting probably isn't necessary. I'd say to tie in to the other tree for sure, even though it's going to be a pain working through all the crossing branches.

I'm in agreement with TS too. That one's a goner and the one next to it likely is too. Think grafted root systems and cooked roots.

Looking forward to photos of the job.
opcorn: