Need Help with huge banyon tree removal

[jaystihl]

Hey guys, I am in the middle of removing a banyon from Hurricane Mattew that slowly came over in the storm and rested right on the peak of the second story home. ( will include pics). In my past experience with these trees they usually start lifting back up as you are removing the canopy of the tree. This aleveates the weight and alot of times the tree will almost completely right itself . I have seen this happen even when the root structure is perpendicular with the ground and the tree has fallen completely over. In my case the tree is angled about 45 degrees and much of the roots are still intact. All i need is for the tree to come back up 5 or 6 feet in order peice down the main trunck. As you will see in the pics i still have a few branches over the house to remove but im going to leave the liter opposite of main trunk to serve as a counter weight (hopefully) . Then i was planning on pulling on the liter i left as counter weight with my 450 dually. I know that sound ridiculous on a tree this size but they usually dont need alot to get them to come back up. This one may be the pain in the arse. Only thing i can think of is hiring a crane if that doesnt work, which im sure will be very expensive and chew up profit. Check the pics , and let me know your thoughts thanks.

 

[Jed1124]

The crane will cost you but you can get that one done and get another done the same day. I would go with a crane.

 

[Zale]

I would get a crane.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

I do not really understand what your problem is. Your tree is not that big. If it was only half of the house would be visible. Take everything off first as you say canopy. The tree as you say will likely move a bit once the weight is reduced. Then chunk it down. You could save the larger branches to make a tripod and a 50 ton jack to lift it up a bit or secure it from doing more damage to the house. As far as using your 350 to pull it is not a great concept because you have other trees nearby to use as anchor points to pull it from. Even 6" trees times 2 or 3 will be more than enough to do any pulling that needs to be done. A crane at this time will definitely be pricey, but if it means making a profit of $200 and going on to many smaller jobs that can be done in a day it might be worthwhile to consider. I have spent days setting up safe removals only to realize that my profit was eaten up by all the manhours spent. Thanks

 

[tree MDS]

I have heard of people using large tow trucks to right trees down south before. Pretty sure a company I worked for 100 years ago did that once after Andrew. I wasn't on that job though. Just a thought.

 

[jaystihl]

I do not really understand what your problem is. Your tree is not that big. If it was only half of the house would be visible. Take everything off first as you say canopy. The tree as you say will likely move a bit once the weight is reduced. Then chunk it down. You could save the larger branches to make a tripod and a 50 ton jack to lift it up a bit or secure it from doing more damage to the house. As far as using your 350 to pull it is not a great concept because you have other trees nearby to use as anchor points to pull it from. Even 6" trees times 2 or 3 will be more than enough to do any pulling that needs to be done. A crane at this time will definitely be pricey, but if it means making a profit of $200 and going on to many smaller jobs that can be done in a day it might be worthwhile to consider. I have spent days setting up safe removals only to realize that my profit was eaten up by all the manhours spent. Thanks

Well the pictures dont really do the tree justice. The tree is pretty big. As far as trees for anchor points , there arent any, not to pull in the direction i need. Like i said my goal was to cut all limbs off , get it to rise up enough to chunk it down. Thats in a perfect world. Was just trying to get some ideas because i dont think thats going to happen. Like you said man hours or a crane. Does anyone have any idea how much a crane would cost. Just a ball park

 

[Jed1124]

I pay 1200 a day for a 30 ton.

 

[jaystihl]

Thats not too bad jed, i was thinking they would charge that just to come out. Of course im in south florida and everything is double down here, crossing fingers. I will call around to get some quotes, thanks for the input.

 

[Griff93]

Don't be surprised if the crane company won't give you the time of day. The ones around here are extremely picky on who they work with. Also they may be booked up due to all the storm work.

 

[BC WetCoast]

As was described, I would recommend, you strip it completely until you have a couple of branches on the roof edge. If it hasn't lifted (and I don't think it will, the root mass in the air is too small), I would block underneath the stem and use a heavy duty bottle jack to lift the stem. You only need a couple of inches. Once it's lifted, you can add additional supports.

The other way is to strip the canopy, build a support (cribbing) at the roof edge and then under cut the stump end of the log. Then work your way up the log undercutting it until you can pull it back.

Or leave it stripped resting on the roof, cut it off at the stump and use a knuckleboom on a truck to remove the log.

I don't think you can get a good angle on a rope to pull it with your truck.

Many ways to skin the cat.
Good luck.

 

[DR. P. Proteus]

What a mess!

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Work the problem. Small picks, and feel the tree. You have a lot of canopy left to remove. Get it down to contact points, and the tree will tell you whether it wants to stand up or lay down. As long as you're keeping your picks small it won't surprise you. It's just a whittling job. Welcome to storm work.

 

[jaystihl]

Well we got the trunk down to bare minimum. Going to undermine one side of the tree and have a crane come out and lift her up so i can chunk her down. For 500.00 i couldn't pass it up, and it seems the safest route. Hoping everything goes smooth. Heres the latest pic.

 

[Zale]

Good call. $500.00 is nothing compared to doing it the old school way.

 

[jaystihl]

Well guys im happy to say the crane was by far the best and safest route. Was able to stand her up with alot of digging out under the tree and burned up a little 193 chain cutting roots in the dirt. All in all everything went well! Thanks again for everyones input. Here are some ending pics.

 

[crotchclimber]

Well done. Looks like it was growing in sand? Not too surprised that it blew over in that soil...

 

[Ted Jenkins]

Excellent decisions you have made. Many times have looked over a tree and made calculations to see what it will take to get this thing down and thought no big deal. Every time my thinking was that step one, step two and on only to realize the man hours could exceed the cost of a crane. In my area a crane cost $600 for travel and setup with a 3 hour minimum at $200 per hour. So in the past have tried to set up several jobs for a week in one area saving a bit. You got your job done very reasonable, now you can go on with a big smile knowing you can handle most anything. Great Job. Thanks

 

[jefflovstrom]

Good job,,
Jeff