Wasn't sure if I should put this here or in the demolition section... A customer asked me to take down this tree. Tree work isn't really my focus but I don't mind doing basic tree removal now and then. I don't use a crane or climb them to take them down (most of the time), but if they can be dropped easily I will do it. This one seems sound and should drop easily away from the house, maybe with a push from the excavator. The problem is that it will land directly on the asphalt driveway. I am looking for ideas for protecting the asphalt to prevent damage.
Don't do it. I have refused more tree jobs in town than I have done because of the risks. Houses, shops, sidewalks, driveways, streets. It's not worth the risk. Rent a boom lift for a day, might be $500 at most. That looks like a $2000 tree around here. Probably sounds high, but whether you use a big machine and 1-2 guys, or small equipment and 2-3 guys, it's $300 per hour any way, and will probably take 3-5 hours, plus mob.
Higher a climber guy, and then make some money on the hauling and disposal. Probably not worth doing unless you're there at the job site for a lot of other work. Climber guy needs to know how to drop limbs by rope or crane. Use a crane or boom lift as Shimmy says.
I did give him the number of a friend who does trees as his main business. So hopefully he calls him for a quote. It's an easy drop except for the driveway. Maybe I could put a big log down on either side of the driveway to take the hit. Easy enough to fix up damage to the lawn.
Don't do it. One good stout limb can put a hole in that asphalt. I bet you could cover the asphalt with 4' of dirt to cushion the fall, and still have driveway damage.
That looks like it might explode on the way down.....
The only way to minimize potential damage is to cut the limbs off individually in reasonable lengths. A man lift would be easiest if it lifts high enough.
I second the climber, or a lift. I climb but if I didn't and really wanted all the money I put a ladder in the skid bucket and have a friend run me up
In my life I've cut plenty, but did hire three trees cut. One hung over a power line with a lot of lean, one hung over my garage with a lot of lean, one over my sugar house and the direction it should have been felled was just going to reach a power line. Another was a double Sugar Maple from one stump, half leaned really hard, maybe 30 degrees, right where I wanted it to fall. I under estimated it, over confident, I just cut it off. It started to fall, then turned 90 degrees & fell full on the roof of the sugar house. Damage was minor, two sheets of roofing. Still, it was a hard lesson. I would hire, or get a lift & take it one piece at a time.
If you really want the work, the safest way to do it would be a lift. The easiest way, would be to dig the roots around the house side and push it over the driveway. It won’t fall hard enough to damage driveway, I believe BUT it would be a gamble. Not much of one, still, if it were my tree and my driveway, I would go for it. For money and wanting to keep whatever insurance I had, I’d sub it out.
Does you GL cover tree work? I’m a stay in my lane guy when it comes to business. Do what you do and do it well. We used to do a fair amount of structure demolition however I’ve been shying away for the most part. Let a demo guy the take the building and we’ll remove the slab and site improvements. This move is mainly due to GL cost for the coverage. Just not worth the expense.
"It won't fall hard enough to damage the driveway." How many trees have you pushed over? Those stickers are all big enough to do major damage to the ground when it falls. I've been pushing down trees for over 30 years, that tree is not one that I would ever consider safe. Ash, evergreen, and linden are about the only ones I don't worry about. Cottonwood are the worst around here, but that one looks plenty sketchy.
Yes I will join the "chunk it down" crowd. I push over trees in more rural environments, but not ever something like that. Even now it will poke holes in the yard. It is more gentle when the leaves are on. you can make a bed of little limbs with leaves to start from the lift and drop progressively bigger pieces on that bed, and have almost no effect on the grass if you do it right. Safe and easy. It is only a pain in the ass to pick it off the leafy limbs when you are done, but worth it totally if you like that " no harm done" look like this. I was never there.
Thanks for all the input. This tree is growing straight and seems to be healthy so getting to fall in the right direction is not a problem. It's just the driveway damage that I'm concerned about. Using a lift would take way too long because almost half of the crown would have to be removed in pieces that could be handled so they didn't fall on the house roof. The other half of the crown could be cut in pieces and dropped on the ground. I'm definitely not going to be digging around it to get it down, it's very difficult to control the direction of fall that way. My GL does cover tree work, as long as it doesn't exceed a certain percentage of my yearly revenue. I'll again recommend that he get a price from the tree guy.
Sure, I’ve been pushing trees down for a while, probably more than 30 years. Think I described exactly what I was thinking. If it were my tree and my driveway, damn right I would push it over and think nothing of it. Looks healthy and if you had ever dug up roots with a backhoe, how many short, fatties like that, have crashed to the ground. I will stand by my statements and advice, maybe you should read more carefully! Good Day!
I'd behave differently on a perfect lawn than out in the middle of nowhere. I find knocking a tree down digging around the roots is THE surest way to place it where I want it. Other choice is winch them down. As I see it, the stump removed is a big plus.
If you were going to "push" it over, to me it looks like the root ball would be really close to the foundation.
How far away is that Fir tree in the first pic? Instead of dropping it across the driveway could you drop it towards that Fir without destroying it?
yes I have done that many many times. Cut the near side root does two things. Tree goes where you want. Root does not toss rocks at you as it rips out
The push I was referring to was just an assist to gravity when using a proper notch felling technique. The trunk appears healthy so I'm not concerned about the hinge breaking and it going the wrong direction. If it had a heavy lean in a wrong direction that would be different. I don't believe there is enough space to fell it toward the fir, even if the fir wasn't there I think it's too close to utility lines and the road. Though to be honest I wasn't really considering that direction when I went to look at it.
last time I did it near a house was neighbors and a ~60' fir tree. I cut near side root and he had a couple of islands of landscape with rock walls about a foot high, I had a 6' wide slot to drop it between and along them. I could have smashed a 6 pack of beer with the trunk it went right where I wanted. Then the squirrel I did not know about came out of the crown and just bitched us out royally!!
We have Drop Bears that do the same thing only they have anger management issues
Oh she was pissed all right, it was comical. We were some bad squirrel names, let me tell you.
I just had a Tamarac otherwise know as a western Larch, taken down by a tree company. The tree was about six feet from the corner of my shop and had four big widow makers huge up in the limbs about fifty feet off the ground. The tree was around ninety feet tall and the longest distant fence was only about sixty feet away. They took the limbs off going up the tree using ropes to lower them when cut. They roped off the top twenty or so feet using a snubber at the bottom of the trunk and then cut it lowering it slowly to the ground. They took the rest down in sections using the snubber until there was about twenty feet of tree trunk left. Then they laid out tires on the fall line and put one inch plywood over the top of the tires. Dropped the rest of trunk in the middle of the plywood and then cut it up. The total job took about two and a half hours and cost $3,500. I've dropped lots of trees in my life and this one belonged to me. I figure the cost for the pros was far less than the raise in insurance premiums had I dumped the wood in the center of my house or shop.
A wise choice.
Using tires and plywood. I will have to remember that!
It is nice to watch the pros work. I bet it is like it never happened.
My favorite tree !! ... one of only a few "deciduous evergreens", ..... which would be right up there with jumbo shrimp and if it were me I'd get a pro crew... FWIW
They are a beautiful tree when located in the woods. The yellow color on the mountains in the middle of all that green really stands out. They are very ugly next to your house in the fall after a big wind with the top broken out and three more four to six inch thick limbs handing in the branches.