Storm came thru, big tree, big suspended mess!

[davidwyby]

 

[lxskllr]

Bummer. You gonna handle it yourself?

 

[davidwyby]

Bummer. You gonna handle it yourself?

It is my neighbor’s. I just got back into town. I would tackle it with help from some crane guys I know from my day job, but I imagine insurance will bring a big tree co in from the city a couple hours away.

 

[davidwyby]

I have a flooded garage, busted willow, flooded RV…debris everywhere.

 

[lxskllr]

That sucks. Hope the damage is better than it appears right now.

 

[SeanKroll]

My neighbor, who is an adjuster sent one job my way, 15 years ago.

All others were customers finding me. Mostly, the customer pays directly, and gets reimbursed. Taking CC payments during storm work makes things easier.

 

[SkwerI]

If you currently do not accept credit cards, it takes about 15 minutes to set up a Square account. You can email an invoice to the customer from the Square website and they follow the link and fill in their own CC information. You never see the card. They charge 2.9% and you have the money in your bank the next day.

 

[davidwyby]

Just talked to her. She wants me to do it.

I’m thinking a lift for me from away from the tree and a pretty big boom truck. Crane, really. Guys that we use to pull pumps. I’ll talk to them tomorrow.

Suggestions fire away. My intention is to start top down.

 

[davidwyby]

Speaking of cranes…they’re starting to fix the trestle for the railway from USG’s (Sheetrock) quarry to the plant.

 

[davidwyby]

‘Twas the biggest, nicest tree in the neighborhood, my favorite, and about the only surviving big pine.

 

[vharrison]

When was the storm?

 

[davidwyby]

Over the weekend while we were out of town. Last week we stripped the rubber membrane off the roof of our old RV trailer to replace it. Did it know it was gonna storm again, left it outside. It USED to be pretty nice inside for it’s age… :-(

Storms in the desert are a pain in the butt. Muddy sticky mess, everything you didn’t know leaked leaks, everything floods…water gets in places and makes things get funky stinky…

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Yup. Crane. Quick and safe for a tree like that. Hope you can find a good op down there. Should be seeing the mountains are close by. Plenty of operators probably helped with beetle kill over cabins up at Big Bear, Arrow Head and Wrightwood.

 

[davidwyby]

These pics aren’t good but this athel just came down this morning. Several foot diameter trunk. Getting more calls…swamped. And my day job same.

 

[lxskllr]

Looks like a lot of brush to haul.

 

[davidwyby]

We went out tonight and gave it a haircut. The 346 with 23rs is wicked. We got interrupted by a crop duster spraying insecticides and had to go inside, and then it got dark. Hopefully tomorrow he will get all the brush drug away during the day and I’ll bring the deuce and big saws for the big stuff. I’m guessing the fork that fell off got started by the last one breaking off on the right and rot getting in. These things are kinda like cottonwoods.

 

[Marc-Antoine]

Or the first broke because of the rot already installed here. That doesn't better over time. Sadly, chances are that the last part will come down too relatively soon, if not removed now.

For the big suspended mess, pay very close attention to the parts not rigged. With a piling like that, the one on the top can stabilise and maintain still the one pinned under it. You try to remove the first pick, and as the weight lessens, the whole mess can start to move and shift. Try to secure if you can, before cuting/lifting (it doesn't seem so easy with this crown). Careful.

 

[davidwyby]

Yeah I wish that suspended mess was out in the country and I could just yank it over with my big truck.

 

[Marc-Antoine]

Hard to tell by the pics.
Can't you fell it toward the blue/green pickup on the pic n°2*? Is enough room before the wires we see? The tall unbrocken leader can be reduced before hand to make it fit, the mess is lower. You could put your truck (or more, heavy load here) on the other side of the cross road as an anchor with a guy line to hold all the weight of the suspended mess. Then fell it sideway, (like the broken limb alreadfy touching the ground). If doable, that sounds safer that challenging the broken leaders.

 

[davidwyby]

Yes.



Yellow fire hyd.

Green land zone.

Red trunk drop angle.

I could anchor against lean with big green army truck and pull with smaller diesel 4x4 pickup. Probably tie the whole mess together first.

Another trouble tree professional buddy suggested a large prop under the broken overhanging limbs. There is already a smaller tree there acting as such. Probably what’s keeping the whole thing up.

I will go by after work and take a video of the situation.

Solution sooner the better as doom is impending, this weekend hopefully. No word back from guy with big crane, I don’t think he wants to do it.

 

[davidwyby]

 

[davidwyby]

@Bermy , @gf beranek remember how we were thinking that one small limb needed lightened a little a while back? Ha!

I was just looking at it again and had a minor epiphany. I think instead of dumping the whole thing, I might pull the top ends of the broken limbs over toward the street with the big truck and leave the main stem standing until I get them
down instead of trying to fell it at the same time. To the right in these pics.

 

[lxskllr]

Any chance of it breaking before you get it up and over? Might be prudent to tie it off at the butt.

 

[davidwyby]

Yeah, secure the butts first or very likely to tear loose and go who knows where.


Looks like it would slide off with some persuasion.

 

[davidwyby]

13,000 lbs of 6x6 was not enough persuasion, so we pieced it down. In hindsight I wish we had just felled the whole mess. Oh well.