Took out a window today

squad143 · Dec 6, 2007

Last limb syndrome? So that's what you call it. Yep been there, hope to not repeat it.

Last summer I was removing a large pine near a cottage. Had lowered every limb by rope. At the top on the last limb, before cutting the top, I decided to untie the limb (very small anyways) and throw it away from the cottage. It hit the ground tip side first and then springpoled 20' into a screened porch, tearing one of the full size screens. I replaced 3 panes on that side, due to the fact that the screens were old and would look odd with only one replaced.

The customer was so pleased with the job she gave me a $100 tip. That more than covered the $40 in screen that I purchased, but I learned (once more) to listen to that little voice.

ronnyb · Dec 7, 2007

I was sent to a job which was to remove a green ash that hung over a garage with an attached greenhouse. The ash was in a severe state of decline- lots of deadwood. i decided to basically deadwood the tree before removing it due to the greenhouse directly below it. Everything is going great until I butt hitched the top out. No dead wood in the piece, but it was kind of long. It brushed through the neighbors ash tree which also overhung the greenhouse. A dead branch dropped off the neighbors tree and fell towards the greenhouse. It landed at the junction of the window panes, and 4 ended up broken. The saga continues. At the time we didn't have any fancy lanyards for the saws, just a dog clip. This company was real cheap in that regards. Long story short- I dropped the saw from 30 feet above the garage roof (which was very, very steep) and watched it hit the garage roof, richochet like a rifle bullet off the roof, blast through a 3x4 foot window on one side of the greenhouse, fly across the greenhouse, and blow through a same sized window on its' exit from the greenhouse. Needless to say, my boss wasn't very happy with me that day.

woodchux · Dec 7, 2007

I know a guy in Atlanta who put a large limb through a plateglass window onto the diningroom table... While the customers were sitting there eating diner.

tree md · Dec 7, 2007

I know a guy in Atlanta that turned a crane over on a detached storage building behind a house that was full of antique cars!!! :jawdrop:

It was a guy that I climbed for from time to time. Glad I wasn't there that day!!!

murphy4trees · Dec 7, 2007

my broken glass blunder

I probably posted this story once before a while back:

I was taking down a dead ? maple maybe ? many years ago, at a school, behind the 2-story building over a drive...

It was so overgrown and untreated that there were many limbs growing out over and leaning on the top of the wall just above a flat roof... I asked my coworkers to go up there and cut all the limbs off the roof... I left the area for a few minutes and didn;t see the limbs were from the roof...

I started removing branches from bottom up and never saw it coming... As I cut one limb, it fell harmlessly, BUT another large limb hand been broken and hung up in the limb I cut... When the lower limb was cut the hung limb came down tip fist and bounced on a 45 degree angle right into the lower floor classroom window.... (sound of shattering glass)

The class on the second floor gave me my first and only standing ovation in tree work, until the teacher came over and shut the shades..

The I looked down and saw this kid in the back of the first floor class with his shoulder all scruntched up and shards of glass all over him and the classroom floor... Very embarassing...

We went in and I apologized to the class and drew a diagram of what happened on the blackboard.. No one was hurt Thank God!

teamtree · Dec 8, 2007

glad to know I am not the only guy repairing things

I would have to say we are pretty conservative and take few chances but sometimes there really is no choice but to take the chance of breaking something. I know there is really nothing I have done that could not be fixed but luckily i have never had an insurance claim except a drving blunder.

We did knock out a $400 antenna the other day. Climber took a big limb and the top brushed the antenna and knocked it out.

The other day I got lazy and put my outriggers down on the edge of a sidewalk and cracked it.

Here is a list of stuff we broke over the years....

knocked over a gazebo in shopping center with chip truck ($1600)
hole in the roof (dead limb fell out) ($100)
knocked off corner of concrete sidewalk with big chunk ($100)
50ft. of gutter and gutter guard with a small tree that the wind caught ($200)
50ft. of gutter ($200) hit with boom of bucket truck due to bad brakes
6 x 8 feet of decking ($50 of material plus our labor) chunk flipped twice
electrical service ($175) limb hit service wire and pull service out of rotted siding

I am sure there are a few other things I overlooked. This does not count some of the tools and equipment I tore up along the way.

I am feeling pretty bad about it now that I look back and think all off these things probably could have been prevented. I have to say most of them are probably just plain stupidity on my part or getting lazy. I usually just own up to all my mistakes and make it right with the customer. Most of them understand that taking out a big tree is not always the easiest and most "controllable" task.

Have a good one.