Anybody cable pines?

[Blinky]

This is cross posted on the Buzz.

I have a customer with a 100' longleaf pine that splits into nice, symetrical codoms at about 40'. It's right next to his house and he has a baby on the way so he's worried about the tree splitting and knifing into his house during a storm.

It's covered with english and poison ivy to boot. I honestly don't know how to assess this tree in terms of hazard. My inclination is to cable it or remove one of the stems... or get the ivy off of it and let it be. The tree is mature and healthy but somewhat wind exposed now that two others have fallen nearby.

Would cabling even help?

 

[MasterBlaster]

I'd install a cable/Cobra, way up high where you can't really see it.

 

[Tucker943]

I think Butch hit the nail on the head

 

[SkwerI]

Where it splits, is the fork tight or well spread? I'm getting ready to remove one this week that's similar, splits into codom about 30' and it's right next to the house. Nice, wide fork so it's well attached, no real weak point there. But the customer wants it gone and I'm the tree cutter. He has at least a dozen others on the property that are more likely to fail in high winds IMO. But this one is 'different' so it must be bad.

 

[Mr. Sir]

I cabled my first pine last year, but it wasn't my customer; I was subbing for another tree guy who doesn't do cabling. It was a large mature codom about 15 feet from a new house. The lot had recently been scraped, then filled and graded for the new construction. The tree was already showing signs of stress from the root damage and I asked why we were wasting this guy's money to cable a dying tree. "Because that's what the owner wants."

Anyway, to answer your question, I'd remove the ivy and get a good look at the structure/integrity of the trunk. Then decide if its worth saving.

 

[BostonBull]

Tough to say without seeing pics. A cable SHOULD keep the split contined if it does let loose. Any pics?

 

[BostonBull]

Where it splits, is the fork tight or well spread? I'm getting ready to remove one this week that's similar, splits into codom about 30' and it's right next to the house. Nice, wide fork so it's well attached, no real weak point there. But the customer wants it gone and I'm the tree cutter. He has at least a dozen others on the property that are more likely to fail in high winds IMO. But this one is 'different' so it must be bad.

I hate it when customers wont listen! Do they secodn guess their mechanics, doctors, butchers, chefs at restaurants etc etc?

 

[SkwerI]

That's why I don't sell to or work for homeowners. I spent years trying to educate homeowners but they don't want to hear it. They want somebody to "go up there and cut that limb, right there!" So I sub to other tree guys and avoid the customer interaction.

 

[arborworks1]

I cabled one with the rigguy setup and ehs, I talked the guy into doing it to experiment on a pine, its been in about 6 months now. The tree is in the middle of the guys yard no targets, so we are just monitoring it really.

Real bad attachment points, likely would have failed in some the high winds we have been having.

 

[Blinky]

Thanks folks. No pics, the union is shrouded in ivy and I haven't been up there. I can't imagine the there's a a good ridge in there, the stems are close together, about 10' apart at around 80' or so.

I'm just wondering what happens if the wind load is perpendicular to the cable, would it even help? I suppose ehs would keep it from knifing the house... or it could bring the other stem down with it.

 

[SkwerI]

If the wind is ever strong enough to bring down both stems, you will have plenty of other problems as well.

 

[NeTree]

Cable it, as high as you can.

Mechanically, if you can keep the leads from moving much in relation to the other, it doesn't really matter what direction the wind blows. It's the separating at the crotch that would cause it to fail anyways.

Otherwise, as Skwerl said... "If the wind is ever strong enough to bring down both stems, you will have plenty of other problems as well."

 

[MasterBlaster]

Ya'll are over-anal-izing it.

Just kill the vines and cable the sucker.

 

[NeTree]

Ya'll are over-anal-izing it.

Just kill the vines and cable the sucker.

Yep.

 

[TC3]

My inclination is to cable it or remove one of the stems... or get the ivy off of it and let it be.

What's the dbh of the tree ? What's the dbh of the lead you're thinking about removing ? That might just be an option,eh ?
If your customer is willing to do the work order in steps, maybe get him to go for the ivy removal first & take it from there ?

 

[MasterBlaster]

No, not an option. Do NOT remove any one of the tops.

Cable the sucker.

 

[NeTree]

That'd just create another issue down the road.

 

[Stumper]

Cable it, as high as you can.

Mechanically, if you can keep the leads from moving much in relation to the other, it doesn't really matter what direction the wind blows. It's the separating at the crotch that would cause it to fail anyways.

Otherwise, as Skwerl said... "If the wind is ever strong enough to bring down both stems, you will have plenty of other problems as well."

+1

I've cabled Pines before. Whether Pines or deciduous trees we tend to screw up our own thinking with thoughts of "catch" potential when we should realize that even smalll ammounts of support where the leverage is advantageous is usually going to preclude failure.

 

[sotc]

ive cabled several pines, i wouldnt suggest cabling anything i couldnt get a good look at. you want to se how well its attached and if the angels are right. most pines are but ive seen some where a cable wouldnt be very effective

 

[treelooker]

Mechanically, if you can keep the leads from moving much in relation to the other, it doesn't really matter what direction the wind blows. It's the separating at the crotch that would cause it to fail anyways.

even small amounts of support where the leverage is advantageous is usually going to preclude failure.

 

[okietreedude]

Just make sure to tell the customer that the tree can still fail w/ a cable installed. The cable is not a garauntee against failure.

 

[lumberjack]

I've cabled two pines (that I can think of) with Cobra. One was an included bark Codom, the other was a bigger wolf limb that didn't need it.

The dude said remove the limb, I said it was a bad idea, the cable appea$ed him, as the cost was basically the same.

 

[rbtree]

I cabled lots of conifers, pine included.

Don't be afraid to do a 10-20% crown thin or reduction. Cobra should be fine, even if the crotch has included bark.

Poison ivy in trees, aarrggh...sure glad I live in the PNW...

 

[Al Smith]

Poison ivy in trees, aarrggh...sure glad I live in the PNW...

You are ivyless on the left coast?? How nice .

I live in the walnut/black cherry belt .Ivy and cherry go together like ugly on ape . 50 percent of the time a cherry will have ivy on it . I've never seen it on a walnut,the ivy must not like it or something .

In the woods it seems the grape vines like cherry also .I wonder what all that is about .

 

[wiley_p]

Al, Almost ivyless. Still have some ivy, just no poison Not many yesrs ago some of the urban areas had loads of big ivy trees. After about a decade of over a hundred companies removing ivy, it is lots better. Now a guy might only climb a few bad ivy trees a year. Used to climb one every damn day it seemed like.