trunk integrity?

[Spellfeller]

Hi, all:

Here are some pictures of the next victim's base. Soundings with an ax seem okay. No hollowness detected.

Is this degree of decay concerning? Certainly if it were a recreational climb, I'd keep looking. There is no alternative TIP either.

North side of the tree

Closer view, with some of the ground cover pulled away

Moving around to the East. This looks better...

South side (two sections of decay here, one to the E & one to the W) complete with climber practice scars.

Close up of SE decay

Close up of SW decay

What are your thoughts? Okay to climb? Avoid like the plague? (This tree is SUPER accessible to a bucket/lift if necessary.)

I have zero pride wrapped up in this and would happily sit inside knitting, if you all felt that would be a better option.

 

[sotc]

Looks like you've climbed it several times already. My guess is it felt solid?

 

[Spellfeller]

All my spur climbing on it has been "low & slow," Willie. Just testing and getting the feel for my climbers...

EDIT: I DID climb it DdRT once before and it felt okay. Again, I may just need help overcoming inexperience with tree assessment...and the voices in my head...not THOSE voices!

 

[SouthSoundTree-]

bore into the trunk with your climbing saw. Saw upright, so you have a narrow, tall kerf, not a flat, short kerf. An electric drill bit will tell you a lot, too.

Rigging required? What is your source of rigging friction?

 

[Spellfeller]

bore into the trunk with your climbing saw. Saw upright, so you have a narrow, tall kerf, not a flat, short kerf. An electric drill bit will tell you a lot, too.

Where would you recommend boring, Sean? More than one place, i.e., take multiple samples?

Rigging required? What is your source of rigging friction?

Likely only NCR. No negative loads.

 

[Mick!]

Wouldn't give it a seconds thought. Looks fine.

 

[treebilly]

Looks ok from the pics. I've done a vertical bore as Sean recommends and it can help you get an idea of how much rot is in there. You can tell the difference between hard and rotten pretty easily. I only check in one spot about even with where I would be notching it to fell , opposite of the intended lay.

 

[Raj]

Hammer it see if it sounds solidish. Poke with metal rod, see how deep it goes. Drill some tests. Climb it, take it down, dissect it and post pics.

 

[Spellfeller]

I only check in one spot about even with where I would be notching it to fell , opposite of the intended lay.

So, Rich, you bore in vertically on the side where the backcut would be?

What are you looking for? Basically good chips?

 

[Spellfeller]

Wouldn't give it a seconds thought. Looks fine.

Hammer it see if it sounds solidish. Poke with metal rod, see how deep it goes. Drill some tests. Climb it, take it down, dissect it and post pics.

 

[SouthSoundTree-]

Sound Rind Thickness. How sound (not audio/ aural) or solid is the rind of the tree? Think about the stand-on-an-aluminum-can trick.

How much solid pipe do you have? Is it a thick-walled pipe with the middle hollow? Is it having a thin shell like drum/ typical pipe? Is the Sound Rind an uneven thickness?

 

[Altissimus]

....you will learn that trunks like that are plenty sound to climb. Problems of trust are usually up higher. Figure it is holding up many pounds of green dynamic load as it is.

 

[treebilly]

Yes good chips. Color will change with decay and rot. You can feel the difference also.
Paying attention to the chips should be done when felling also. They can tell you a lot about the tree before its down and you can actually see it.
I'll also plunge the notch side.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

My concern would be more the root crown and the root zone. A piece of rebar would make you a good probe. So would a ufer rod. (ground rod)
Tap it around the crown to see if you have rot. Do the soil in the root zone.. see how soft things are. See if they are rotten. Dig around the crown a little to see if you have some rot you should be concerned with. I think I see some callus forming on the damage. That is strong stuff. But what is the condition of the wood below and behind it.

 

[pantheraba]

Root problems went through my mind, too. The trunk reminded me of trees that I have seen that fell over unexpectedly...plenty green, looked healthy but the roots failed.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

yup.

 

[SouthSoundTree-]

Peel any loose bark, and take another picture. Get the drill, with as long of a bit as you have.

 

[murphy4trees]

if that is ash you might have problems more than can be seen. I wouldn;t worry about it much unless you are doing dynamic loading... if you can bomb or lower off another tree i'd just get up it. You can set a high climb line with a throw line and side pull to text for movement. Ash can be really rotten in the roots with very little sign of decay. This tree is showing sign of decay, just not enough to get too worried unless its ash.. DONT TRUST DEAD ASH! if it is use a bucket. dont take unneeded chances with your life..

 

[Bermy]

Well I think they are ash he's working on...

I would think twice personally, and be doing some more probing and digging before I climbed it. Even with no rigging, changing the loading on a compromised tree could (could) overcome marginal holding wood...in my mind anyway...lots of things happen in my mind that never play out in reality...

 

[pantheraba]

.lots of things happen in my mind that never play out in reality...

Don't you just hate that??? Oh, wait...that's a good thing.

 

[Spellfeller]

Peel any loose bark, and take another picture.

Will do.

...lots of things happen in my mind that never play out in reality...

New Tree House T-shirt!

 

[BOTS]

My concern would be more the root crown and the root zone. A piece of rebar would make you a good probe. So would a ufer rod. (ground rod)
Tap it around the crown to see if you have rot. Do the soil in the root zone.. see how soft things are. See if they are rotten. Dig around the crown a little to see if you have some rot you should be concerned with. I think I see some callus forming on the damage. That is strong stuff. But what is the condition of the wood below and behind it.

thats what I was thinking as well.

I had a bad looking Aleppo pine to do in a couple of weeks, was going to use tall pine to right to TIP and mabey pine to left for second TIP, well homeowner called this morning and said it was down thru neighbors yard ... roots were rotted and failed (uprooted) with little storm we had 2 days ago

 

[pantheraba]

Great example of a treeman's nightmare...good one, Scott.

 

[BOTS]

Thanks Gary

I was there 2 or so weeks ago doing tree work for repete custy and was looking at this pine and told him it looks bad and need to get it down soon....glad mother nature got to it before me.

going there tomorrow to buck it up into firewood.

 

[Bermy]

See! Someone else burns pine for firewood!
Here in Oz land the locals look at us like we're crazy coming home from work with a load of pine. Way more than one person has said to us,' I didn't think you could burn pine, it will burn out your stove...'