Safely piecing down high branch on tree?

Ha cheers Tim... Holliday or Halliday, whatever :) Hes a good guy.

My videos are entirely a different kettle of fish. Just action, usually in tight spaces. I always get the pigs.
 
FJR said:
From the way you describe the situation, installing a cable sounds like a great alternative. Removing the large leader over house is generally a short term fix with long term consequences.
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FJR, as the new guy on the block, could you explain to me what you mean by the 2nd sentence quoted here? What are the long term consequences of removing a large leader over a house? I haven't been in the game long enough to be able to have observed the common end result of such action.

Thanks in advance for any reply you choose to give.

Tim
 
Tim_B. said:
FJR, as the new guy on the block, could you explain to me what you mean by the 2nd sentence quoted here? What are the long term consequences of removing a large leader over a house? I haven't been in the game long enough to be able to have observed the common end result of such action.

Thanks in advance for any reply you choose to give.

Tim
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Hey Tim, the consequences can vary in severity depending on the situation. From the way the original poster described the tree, the limb seems make up a significant portion of the canopy . Removing that big of percentage of the canopy will put most species of trees under stress. Even if it is a species that can tolerate the stress, there still is the big issue of creating a structural weak point on the stem. What are the chances that a large cut like that is going to compartmentalize? If the tree is considered an asset, then removing the large stem would most likely devalue it and reduce the expected lifespan.
 
Well said, FJR.

Joseph, sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders. Also, good you have friends in the industry. You should post pictures, awesome tree guys here willing to help.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #31
Thanks again to everyone for all of your points and recommendations. I am going to drop by there tomorrow and do a second assessment of that poplar limb in the back. I did get the go ahead from the client to do the rest of the work beginning next week with the understanding that they might see a certain amount of reduction in their quote if I decide not to do that limb. I will try and get y'all some pictures when I drop by tomorrow.
 
Tim_B. said:
First, what Sean said. If you've got a Rope Wrench or a Hitch Hiker, it enables you to choke the branch with a delta link or something similar, which can be loosened up and lowered down the branch as you progressively cut it back.
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For clarity, the reason I specified a Hitch hiker, not RW, Gri, Gri, or other rope bending devices, is that when you're SRT with a HH, you can climb on a tensioned line, like you're tail tied off to prevent a bad swing, or for work positioning like a high line, with only one good high TIP.

I think the OAR bends the rope, and to a lesser degree the OAR Hybrid, IIRC. I don't know how a Rig works exactly.

For work positioning once,
I had one high TIP in a big fir, and a ground anchor, with a tensioned, sloping climb line, in order to be suspended for one cut to release a very dead, leaning snag that couldn't just be felled. I think I did that with a prussic, back when I ran a GriGri. Pre RW
 
SouthSoundTree- said:
p.s. sounds like the HO might be trying to get off with a lesser bill...consider limb reduction or whole removal. Sounds like a future hazard in the making.


off to the job now...
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A cable and possible brace option here, depending on the union.

I don't work with Tulip Poplar, but I don't think they compartmentalize well (seal around the wound compartmentalizing/ quarantining decay fungi, not callus growth over the cut, which of course happens and is beneficial.)

A number of smaller wounds, reduction of that half of the tree overhanging the house, will be better handled/ compartmentalized, that one huge wound at the main trunk, which has to support the other main leader of the tree. Keep the inevitable decay (large or small) away from structurally sensitive areas. Prune like the tree is a biological being, not just the basic physics that people think they understand.

Homeowners want the "I'll never have to pay for that limb (trunk) again" guarantee.
 
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Take that , Van Gogh! Sorry the last picture is upside down.

The tie-in points are cut off in the first picture but they can be seen in the second you have a lower stronger anchor points and a higher weaker anchor points with a better angle. You can have another row or your SRT tail pulled away from the tie in points as a protective measure against a bad swing.

If you peace out the limb and end up going all the way back to the trunk you'll have a decay column going down a structurally important area. If you use good printing technique you can reduce the large limb to be much more stable while still being over the house.

The last picture is a basic idea of some reduction cuts to be made out of strong lateral ignore the child drawing. I just dark and the trunk of the house to indicate what might be left over, then just squiggled in the other trunk and the main trunk down to the ground removing that decay column.

I often tell people that the tree is like a muscle and its been building itself very strong and response to all the strain. If we remove some of the strain in a balance way, with a good pruning dose , not huge pruning dose, the tree will be as strong with less strain, less energy deficit, and less decay further away from a structurally important points leaving a strong tree over their house.
 
Beat me to that one, Stephen.
Damn the time difference.
 
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Pretty good salmon . Really good dexterity in her fingers to cut that shape out.

she said she was going to put an operculum on the fish but forgot to come back to it. she has focused on the eye and the mouth. It's hard for most people to make out the word operculum from her , but Papa Sean understands her best.
 
No shame in walking away. Like every other trade, we have to know our limits. A true pro knows what they can safely and reasonably handle. Cowboys have something to prove. Being able to identify the complexities and dangers of a particular situation is far more professional then jumping in a tree blind and lucking out in the end.
 
I can honestly say that I have never walked from a tree.
I have simply explained to the client that what they wanted done would cost a minor fortune and for what reason.
There really isn't much that can't be done safely with the aid of a helicopter big enough.
Client won't pay for it.
Their problem.
 
Well i certainly agree there. Where there's a will there's a way. But the will often has a price tag attached.
 
stig said:
I can honestly say that I have never walked from a tree.
I have simply explained to the client that what they wanted done would cost a minor fortune and for what reason.
There really isn't much that can't be done safely with the aid of a helicopter big enough.
Client won't pay for it.
Their problem.
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This is great advice, to be tucked away in my noggin' for future reference. Thanks a bunch, Stig. Safety first, always.

Tim
 
I can honestly say that I have never walked from a tree.
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I have, several times and also advised others to do the same. I don't need the work that bad. :drink:

There's no shame to it. Let AAA Tree Service deal with it.
 
The difference is, you are a contact climber, I am a tree company.
I can't afford having it known that I walk from a tree, when I've based my reputation on tackling those trees others walk from.
So I price myself out of it instead.
Any tree can be felled safely. Sometimes the price just gets too high.

I'm waiting for an OK on a Sequoia that two other companies walked on. It is perfectly doable, it just takes an immense amount of Iron.
I think they walked because they couldn't handle the logistics.
Richard and I came in as number 3 company, which we were told ( Stupid client, it is a catholic school) and said, no problem and gave them a price.
It is a tree that most people here wouldn't even think twice about doing, Danes just aren't used to bringing in the real big cranes.

The tree needs to go, but they are having a hard time talking themselves into spending the money.
 
stig said:
The difference is, you are a contact climber, I am a tree company.
I can't afford having it known that I walk from a tree, when I've based my reputation on tackling those trees others walk from.
So I price myself out of it instead.
Any tree can be felled safely. Sometimes the price just gets too high.

I'm waiting for an OK on a Sequoia that two other companies walked on. It is perfectly doable, it just takes an immense amount of Iron.
I think they walked because they couldn't handle the logistics.
Richard and I came in as number 3 company, which we were told ( Stupid client, it is a catholic school) and said, no problem and gave them a price.
It is a tree that most people here wouldn't even think twice about doing, Danes just aren't used to bringing in the real big cranes.

The tree needs to go, but they are having a hard time talking themselves into spending the money.
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You folks have giant redwoods in Denmark? I did not know that. I guess it makes me a little nervous to think that there's only this one, relatively small area out in California where the conditions are right to allow those giants to grow, survive and thrive. It would make me feel better if I found out that there were stands of giant redwoods in other parts of the world. If no other such large stands do exist elsewhere in the world, I would think that being able to grow one single large one somewhere (like Denmark) would give foresters the idea to start their own. I thought I read somewhere that the redwoods used to be the dominent species on the planet. It would be really cool if they could be given dedicated space in every part of the world in which favorable conditions exist for their growth.

Thanks for mentioning this, Stig, and thanks in advance for any response you can give.

Tim
 
Where did I say " Giant"??

Li'l pissant is more like it. Compared to the real ones.

The biggest Sequoia here is 38,6 cubic meters. I know that because our team climbed and measured it as a practice run for going to the Giants.

They have bigger ones in Britain, but I don't think any of them exceed 100 cubic meters.

Redwood Sequoia sempervirens can't grow here. they freeze back.
Doesn't make them quit trying, tenacious bastards that they are. I have one in my yard that is 12 years old and still only 2½ feet tall.

My 7 year old Squoiadendron is 12 feet tall ang growing fast, it likes it here.
 
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