Tree removal question

[svk]

Should be a pretty easy removal but figured I’d run it past you guys. Helping take this out of my in-laws yard later this week.

White ash, about 16” diameter. Not particularly tall. But it’s core rotted AND has a crack from the root all the way up to the fork.

One fork reaches over the neighbors house. (Well technically the tree was there first and the neighbors rolled a modular home under it a couple years ago. But I digress..)

We have permission from the neighbors to access their roof. My thought is to remove the branch over their roof in small pieces to get all of that weight off the tree. Then (with chain hooked to truck as insurance) drop it with the now natural lean towards the street.

Am I missing anything?

Looking at the cracked side of the trunk towards the street



The arm that’s coming down by pole saw. Photo makes it look further above the house than it is.

 

[jomoco]

Sure looks like that tree wants that house bigtime.

Put a rope on it in the right place, with the right amount of pull on it, or else?

You too will be blue.

Jomoco

 

[unclemoustache]

Sounds like a good plan. That crack looks nasty, so I hope there is no climbing involved. You renting a lift?

 

[svk]

Sounds like a good plan. That crack looks nasty, so I hope there is no climbing involved. You renting a lift?

I’ll be standing on the neighbor’s roof with a (hand powered) pole saw. The limb is only about 8’ above the roof.

Once that limb is gone, all of weight is towards the street. Just using a chain as belt and suspenders since it’s near a building.

 

[sb47]

I would get written permission from the home owner first. Even if your just walking on there roof, they may came back at you later saying you damaged there roof. Or better yet hand them the saw and let them do the work from there roof and have them be the ones responsible for any damages.

 

[svk]

Good thinking however my in laws are willing to cover any damage as it would definitely be cheaper than repairing the house if the tree detonates during a wind storm.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

I'm more familiar with pulling with tractors and winches than with trucks, but my thought would be that I'd want to have a nice heavy load in the truck to help keep the tires from lifting and spinning. Either that or run the rope or wire rope from the tree through a block that is anchored low on another tree or something like that. Terry Hale has some good YouTube videos about pulling over trees and goes through the math and physics involved in a situation like this. It's all intuitive stuff, but it's fun to see it drawn out with various setups, such as a 2wd vs 4wd truck and the difference between having your tires on grass and pavement.

 

[jomoco]

It ain't that big! A Volkswagen beetle'd pull it over done right!

The guy cuttin better know his stuff!

Too much pull n bam!

Barberchair!

Get a pro to put it on the ground!

One with a bigshot!

Jomoco

 

[svk]

I’ve done a lot of pulling and know my limits. If it weren’t for the core rot AND split trunk AND limb over the neighbors house it would be nothing. With all three is the reason I posted up to make sure I wasn’t missing something. As I mentioned, once the rear limb is gone I could drop it towards the street without any assistance and am only going to chain it up for insurance.

 

[jomoco]

Must be an optical illusion due to your pic angle then!

The pic says I want that house.....

Jomoco

 

[svk]

Yes sorry, I should have gotten another pic.

The truck leans at probably a 10 degree angle towards the street. The back limb sprawls out over the house. If I tried to dump it as is, the rear limb would potentially pull the tree towards the house. With the core rot and split trunk could make for an unexpected fall.

 

[Johnny Yooper]

sitting here looking at the monitor doesn't give us quite the same perspective as you being there in person; it sounds like you've done a lot of felling and cutting in your day, and concerned you rightly are with that split up the tree; I have same situation here with a large white ash but it's in the woods behind the house and I'm waiting for Mother Nature to do her thing, unless the EAB beats her to it. Concerning that split trunk, to minimize the likelihood of that beast blowing apart during the fell - and the center rot sure ain't helping matters - I'd take one of those heavy duty ratchet straps and spiral wrap that bad boy up the tree, or take several straps and cinch them around the tree a couple feet or so apart. Definitely want to keep it intact if at all possible on the way down, 'specially since you got a building close by.

 

[svk]

Thank you, that’s great advice to wrap the trunk.

 

[Bobby Kirbos]

Thank you, that’s great advice to wrap the trunk.

I was just going to suggest the same thing.

If I were to wrap it, I would use multiple straps and/or chain. Doing a spiral wrap with a single strap, if the strap goes, the whole thing gets unwrapped....

 

[svk]

Now that I look at the pic on a laptop versus my phone it sure is deceiving compared to being there in person.

 

[unclemoustache]

Well, make sure you get a vid of it so we can all either congratulate you or laugh at you when it's over.

 

[svk]

Tree is on the ground. I put seceral pics over in the scrounging thread.

Took all of the branches over the neighbors house (there were a LOT) and dumped the tree over with assist from the truck.

House was nearly unscathed. The very last chunk of limb swung back and dented their gutter drain pipe a bit. It’s very minimal and still functional but they will let the owner know and ask him if he wants it replaced.

I have a longbox full of wood and my FIL will be busy hauling brush to the landfill.

 

[Wood Doctor]

It would have been nice to see the climber taking this tree from the top down, protecting the buildings as he worked along, and lowering branches with ropes. You did take some Pics of this activity, right? What top-handle chain saw did he use?

 

[svk]

I stood on the neighbor’s roof (with permission) and used a manual pole saw to remove all of the limbs from the back of the tree. Then dropped it towards the street (with the lean) with a chain connected to a 3/4 ton truck as insurance.

The only thing I should have done differently was drop the last chunk of limb over the house in two pieces rather than one piece.