keep mouth open or firmly shut????

[ROLLACOSTA]

whent to a custemers house the other day too grind out a few stumps when i pulled up out side her house i noticed accross the road a large mature sycamore with enourmous ganoderma brackets around the base ...being a nosey so and so i whent over to investigate ..gave the base a good old kick around the butt hollow as hell........looked up at the crown ..and decided this wasnt a good place too stand ..loads of dead boughs..anyway cut a long story short informed custemer that her neighbours tree accross the road needs some urgent attention [complete removal] as the tree had a lean and if it whent over would take the powerline down and half her thatched cottage..so me and customer whent POLITELY too neighbours house and told her the prob with her tree ..she looked me up and down and said iknow its rotten i had some proffesional tree surgeon ..who TOPPED lol half a dozen trees up the road lol..tell me this tree is ok so mind youre buissness and go away..anyway my now concerned customer asked me too bid for a take down as she SAID she will pay and put in writing that i beleive the tree to be a potential hazzard ...Q ...DID I DO RITE IN POINTING OUT A HAZZARD TREE OR NEXT TIME SHALL I KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT...PS I WAS NOT LOOKING FOR WORK AS I EXPLAINED TO BOTH CUSTEMER AND NEIGHBOUR

 

[PRUNER 1]

rightly pointed out, i would have opened my mouth about a dangerous tree especially if it was going to cause problems and hazards for others people. good on ya

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

what annouys me is the toppers new what they where talking about , but acording to her i didnt i occasionly which customers would ask for proof of qualifacations

 

[Base]

not sure if this is any help but have you thought about contacting the local council? and informing them of this tree? i have had a case where a branch was going through only just mind you..... a telephone wire for some reason the neighbours complaned to the council and the person that owned the tree was told to have the work carried out within 2 weeks or the council would have the work done and bill the owner....and guess whos phone line it was going through.........yep the tree owners.......go figure....just a idea..........

in my opinion you did the right thing, nothing wrong with trying to help people................unfortunalty some do not wish to be helped........or informed as ignorance is bliss oh yeah and can be cheap in the short term

 

[blue]

ROLLACOSTA,
you did the right thing IMO,i've pointed out dangerous tree's to customers and their nieghbors before and they have been thankful.had a few door slammers as well but just thought f%$£ em if their not prepared to listen to professional advice

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

i don't like people knocking on my door; so shy from extending that disturbance fairly. At some point, some kinda civic duty comes in when something is dangerous over a new kid's swingset, or something else that screamed out to me, cuz i'm more used to looking at then the next group of people.

Usually never got those jobs, but feel better when i see them down, and i wasn't too lazy to note a problem to someone.....

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

And the too deep trees you point out were "Professionally Installed" so you must not know what you're talking about.

I will point out any hazard trees. In the senario you describe I would ask the client to call the city and/or the power company and have here tell the story.

Since your client is willing to pay for it, she may go to the neighbor and offer to take on or share the cost.

You noticed it, notified the owner. IMO you have served your professional obligation.

 

[geofore]

The right thing?

I have had neighbors pay to remove hazardous trees on the other guys property to avoid what might happen if it fell (hit targets) on the guy that's paying the bills property. It is more of a who pays issue not that they didn't know it was a hazard that needed attention. You get the "I would like the tree down but don't want to pay for it." or "I don't want to owe old so-in-so next door any favors." The hard part is getting the owners permission to do the take down even when the guy next door is paying for it. Sweet talk the owner if you have to, it may be just an, " I don't talk to the neighbor thing." You are the diplomat here to work it out and get the tree down. If it's close enough to the street or power lines the power company or streets dept. will do it. You warned the owner then do some follow through.
Mouth open or shut? You made that decision, the follow through is your next question. How much time do you spend working on it if you do or don't get the treework? You have someone willing to pay you to remove it, you need the owner's okay to do the work. You're half way there, a little work on the owner you'll be there doing the work or you'll be shown the door by the owner again. Try approching the owner without bringing the neighbor along, you may get a different answer.

 

[NickfromWI]

Of course you did the right thing. I'd feel pretty bad if I noticed it, didn't say anything, then a week later the tree fell and busted up the house.

You should write up a formal statement stating your opinion of the tree and deliver it to the neighbor and the owner. That way, if something happens, it can't be said that you misled anyone.

love
nick

 

[Guy Meilleur]

HEre if the city or power co. won't act (first choices cuz they're free) a certified letter goes to the tree owner detailing the risk. Then the tree owner cannot claim ignorance. The cottage owner should be happy to pay you for your time in drawing up a report; action cannot be forced without documented reason.

No respect for work done free..

A patch or two of Ganoderma I would attack, and keep the tree for a time. Shrooms all round, hollow, leaning, do add up to immediate removal. Door-knocking imo puts the door-answerer on the defensive right away. Best done by phone or in writing.

 

[Dadatwins]

Most people do not like free advice but I would do the same if tree was hazard. Have had a few doors shut but picked up a couple jobs years ago doing the free advice thing. Never hurts to ask.