Unscheduled tree work

So, I was standing staring out the kitchen window taking my first sip of morning coffee realizing the back yard didn’t look right.  A huge limb had ripped off a huge tree. Fortunately, it looks like it fell where no damage was done.  So, this morning’s time shifts from tomato planting to wood cutting.

But there is a much bigger problem I now face. I was aware the tree was dying.  I was counting on that limb to tip the balance to guide the tree to a safe fall. Without that limb, 4 buildings are in danger.  I am going to have to get a pro to take the tree down.  That involves money I don’t have at the moment.  I am also going to have to examine a couple of other trees near my house.  

Oh well, time for a second cup.  Another day on the homestead.

The limb work has been fun.  High humidity.  The limb is bigger than most trees on my property. It is hung up on the main tree, on another tree, a hay shed ( no damage), a wood fence, and is supported at least at 4 points on the ground.  I have cut enough away that I have my regular paths open.  So far, it has rolled how I have predicted with each cut.

The main tree is now off balanced so that, if it falls, it comes down on my house. So, I will have to get a pro in, as I thought, to take it down.

There are several positives,

I have plenty of firewood.  

The goat that has been getting out every night is in his pen staring wild eyed at the limb.

My Greenworks 80v saw is up to the task.

Hi John;
High humidity is why I do not live east of the Mississippi.
That stuff is absolutely draining! I applaud your tenacity to work in it at this time of day.
With the use of snatch blocks, chains, cables, and maybe a tractor, you can make that tree fall safely without hiring anyone.
A rented man lift can make it easy to bring down in little pieces.

thomas rubino wrote:Hi John;
High humidity is why I do not live east of the Mississippi.
That stuff is absolutely draining! I applaud your tenacity to work in it at this time of day.
With the use of snatch blocks, chains, cables, and maybe a tractor, you can make that tree fall safely without hiring anyone.
A rented man lift can make it easy to bring down in little pieces.

Ditto what Thomas said.  I have taken trees down that had a huge lean with snatch blocks and cables, as well as wedges on the opposite side.  I would urge you, if you try it, to lay something like an old blanket or canvas tarp across the middle of the cable if you decide to go that route.  A snapped cable can do a lot of damage, but if you just lay something over it, if it snaps, the blanket or whatever will absorb the energy and stop it from whipping.

Hi Thomas,

All true.  The front end loader on my tractor has a 600 lb capacity. The nearest rental is 30 miles away. A tree person whom I trust will cost me $500.00.    They have a cherry picker and experience.    At the same time, I can have an Adirondack Chair and a cold beer.  My guess is that the guy I am thinking of, based on past experience, will trim back a couple of other trees as well as long as he is on my property.  

I would just wait it out.

Who is to say the tree will come down on the house? It is already coming down, but piece by piece, so why the sudden assumption that it will break all at once? Why the sudden assumption it’s off balance and will fall where it is leaning? Most trees fall during a heavy wind, and the direction of fall will be in the direction of that.

My point here is to kind of show that assumptions can cost us unrealistic fears and unbudgeted money. We can’t predict the future after all. But while I fully understand the knee-jerk reaction, sometimes bad things don’t happen. If they do, deal with it then.

Most rotted trees come down in pieces over a period of time, not all at once. Certain trees with shallow roots like Eastern Hemlock and Spruce and fir get wind-thrown, but if they survived until they rotted, that most likely won’t happen now.

$500 for a tree leaning over a house like that is a great deal! At least where I am from. My neighbor just got a quote for a situation that sounds just like yours and it was $1600, down only, meaning they plop it and leave it...

Hey, but last task of the day was me getting 10 tomatoes planted.    I still have plenty to go.

Steve Zoma wrote:I would just wait it out.

Who is to say the tree will come down on the house? It is already coming down, but piece by piece, so why the sudden assumption that it will break all at once? Why the sudden assumption it’s off balance and will fall where it is leaning? Most trees fall during a heavy wind, and the direction of fall will be in the direction of that.

My point here is to kind of show that assumptions can cost us unrealistic fears and unbudgeted money. We can’t predict the future after all. But while I fully understand the knee-jerk reaction, sometimes bad things don’t happen. If they do, deal with it then.

Most rotted trees come down in pieces over a period of time, not all at once. Certain trees with shallow roots like Eastern Hemlock and Spruce and fir get wind-thrown, but if they survived until they rotted, that most likely won’t happen now.

I'm from a different school of thought.  If the issue is fixed now, it cost $500 or some time.  If I wait, it may or may not come down on one of the four buildings.  Even if it was one building, it's going to cost far, far more if it does come down on a building, and with four buildings in danger, I don't like the odds.  Putting things off that I know I should do has cost me a lot of time and money in my lifetime, I try not to do that now.

I agree with Trace, I think it's gotta go now. With a significant portion of the tree off it makes it impossible to know how good the tree will do in the next storm. If it's aimed at your house the stakes on that bet get pretty high.

However, I am not afraid of trees hitting my house in general and I have at least 10 that could wipe it off the map. They been here this long, I always say. To my wife's consternation. But if one lost a top or something like what happened here, I would figure out how to remove it. Knock on a 40" pine hahaha...

Trace Oswald wrote:I'm from a different school of thought.  If the issue is fixed now, it cost $500 or some time.  If I wait, it may or may not come down on one of the four buildings.  Even if it was one building, it's going to cost far, far more if it does come down on a building, and with four buildings in danger, I don't like the odds.  Putting things off that I know I should do has cost me a lot of time and money in my lifetime, I try not to do that now.

It's not just the cost, it's the environmental impact. The materials you would have to buy to fix what got broken represents embodied energy:
1. trees that got cut down and got milled and transported.
2. fasteners that are made out of metal that had to be mined, processed and transported.
3. roofing material - same concept!

Not to mention, the broken bits depending on what they're made of, may end up filling up our land-fills.

So I vote preventative medicine also!

Hi Dan and All,

I failed to mention that when the limb came down, the weather was perfectly calm.  My house has maybe 7 huge trees within striking distance as well as several others. I am perfectly willing to play the odds.  But to have a major limb drop without wind …. That concerns me.

If any appreciable time has passed from the limb falling and the tree coming down on your house - your insurance company might take a bit of issue over paying for house repairs.

Hi Mary,

Indeed, that thought has occurred to me.  However, I had an insurance inspection it my house and property less that a year ago.  I corrected the few concerns they had. And, yes, I do intend to mitigate the current issue.

John,

I have used 2 months of last winter to eradicate 60 eucalyptus trees (so I can have electricity connected and also increase the pasture). At least 20 of them would fall on electric lines on neighboring lot. I have used 80 feet 14000 lbs pull line ($100) + 2 3/8" clevis hooks. I was throwing the hook as high as possible to attach to the branch high enough for good leverage. Then I cut the wedge on the side of the tree opposite to the power lines. Then I started pulling the tree with my 33 HP tractor and my helper was cutting the other side of the tree. All the trees were felled the way I wanted. Some of them were 60cm wide at the base and 25m tall.

I consider planting large trees by the house to be a very bad idea and I saw it too many times.

Well …..problem solved. A storm came through. The tree came down.  It fell in the one spot it could do the least damage.   One dog house is crushed ….no dogs in it. A fence rail is broke. An outside, home built, work bench has a leg broke.   A pricey Vermont cart was missed by 3 inches. The hay shed was missed. A chimney and the house caught some small branches..no damage. The car port caught some slightly larger branches ….no damage.  Barn was missed.  Chicken tractors were missed.

During a break in the storm, I opened up a path to our car and truck.   I began to open up a direct path to our goats and pigs.   I did open up a longer alternative route.

Through a significant amount of dumb luck I saved about $450.00 or more.

Pictures tomorrow when daylight comes.   Oh yea, neither my wife nor I heard it come down.

John F Dean wrote:Well …..problem solved. A storm came through. The tree came down.  It fell in the one spot it could do the least damage.

The Fates were on your side! Or good karma. Or the guardian angel (?) that, in storms, laid down four of my giant spruce in between buildings and fences, as neatly as I could do with cables and saws -- and just laid down two more dead ones in the best possible location. All you can do is say "wow, that's freaking amazing."

Meanwhile, in case I'm tempting Providence too much, I'm going to tackle a few more problem trees before divine intervention is required.

John, I was watching weather coming through last night and saw that huge batch of heavy thunderstorms headed towards you.  I almost made a post, but figured that you would be busy with the storm at that moment so I just waited.

If you had to guess, how much firewood do you think you have at this point?  Good to hear that your new Greenworks chainsaw is up to the task.

Eric

Interesting question Eric.  My wife suspects 2 cords.  I was trying to figure out how I got so lucky.  The tree broke off about 20 ft above the ground. This is about where that large limb came off a month or two ago. So, it may have broke off in the wind at a weak spot, or it was a lightening strike.

Anyway, the 80V Greenworks will get a real test today.

Back sidewalk showing carport, house, and chimney.

Spot where tree broke off.

Path to livestock.  Still cutting an opening.

John, you have quite the project ahead of you!

I will be very interested to hear how that chainsaw works out.  If memory serves, you have 3 batteries?  Hopefully you can charge them faster than you can use them, but given that many of those branches are relatively small diameter, I bet that you can.

2 cords?  It will also be interesting to see how close you wife is in this prediction.  How many cords do you use in a season?

Eric

The largest limbs went in two different directions.  The break is about 4ft above where the first limb came off. I am favoring lightening strike.  I have 2 batteries. I never bought the third. So far, the recharging is going fine.  In the humidity, I am taking breaks every hour.  I am spending more time thinking than I am cutting.  There is a lot of tree there to roll on me if I make a error in terms of what branch to cut next.  But the saw is doing great.  If it continues to do well, I will pass on buying a gas saw.

John F Dean wrote: In the humidity, I am taking breaks every hour.  I am spending more time thinking than I am cutting.  There is a lot of tree there to roll on me if I make a error in terms of what branch to cut next.

Yes!!! Keep permies safe! We've all heard of "measure twice, cut once" I expect, but this is a place for "think 3 times, cut once and take plenty of breaks and drink plenty of water".

I awoke this morning to the ominous sound of a tree falling in the forest... possibly just a branch, but some of our branches are the size of what many people would call a tree. I'll be going for a walk shortly to investigate... I did NOT here sounds of glass or metal, so I'm hoping it didn't hit any infrastructure. One would think I could have localized it from the sound, but sound echoes and bounces in this area.

All needed paths are cut.   Tomorrow I get on top of the carport and remove the flora from the carport , chimney, and house roof.   I also got the goats transferred to a more intact pen.  I got more accomplished than I thought I would.

Looking better John.

I assume that those new, off-brand batteries work just fine?  I have been thinking about adding a couple to my collection and I am curious as to how yours are working out.

The pathway looks much better than yesterday.  I can see you were quite busy.

Eric

Would that leafy material make good tree hay for your goats? The old, "the problem is the solution/stacking functions" approach?

Hi Eric,  

So far I see no difference between the original battery and the one I bought on Amazon. Of course, I checked out a variety of sites before I laid down my coin.

Hi Jay,

The goats appreciate the leaves and twigs.  It is Oak, so I have wondered how they would like the tannins.

Anyway,  the goats and Kunekunes get the leaves and twigs.

Branches up to 4” feed the chipper.

4” to 8” feed the stove.

Above 8” feed the log splitter.

I thought I would get another picture for perspective.  The yellow thing is a 4’ level.

Well, the Greenworks threw the battery clip. It is still under warranty.  That slowed me down slightly.  While Greenworks is figuring out what to do, I switched to the Makita 36v and got the branches off of the roofs of the house and carport.  I will probably switch to cleaning up the area and chipping before I go after the largest limbs. I need to move the goat shelter. It is clear the largest limb is going to crush it once I remove a branch helping to keep it in balance.  I am fast coming to the conclusion that I have minimal need for a gas chainsaw. I will declare myself a believer if the battery saws clean up this mess.

Hindsight: the retention clips for the batteries are on the batteries for the Makita. It is on the saw for the Greenworks.  If a clip goes bad on the Makita, I switch batteries and keep cutting. If the clip goes bad in the Greenworks, the cutting stops.

That detail about the battery clip is good information to know.

Eric

Wow, John, that sure was lucky. Best time of year, leaves to slow it down, no snow or ice to make it heavier! Big job to clean up , but at least you have some help with the brush.

I'm also glad to have the placement of the battery clip thought in my head.
My Milwaukee tools have the clips on the batteries, which seems good from a reliability standpoint.
I wonder what other brands put the clip on the tool, and if that's a cost-saving measure to have a simplified battery assembly? And if it's a professional vs. consumer divide?

Hi Kenneth,

I am sure it is cost savings.  For me, it is something that I will pay attention to in the future.  All other things being equal, I will favor tools with the clip on the battery.  Totally subjective, but I see the Mikata as the better made tool.  For what it is worth, I am less than happy with Greenworks customer service.   I will give them until Tuesday.  

John F Dean wrote:Hi Jay,

The goats appreciate the leaves and twigs.  It is Oak, so I have wondered how they would like the tannins.

Anyway,  the goats and Kunekunes get the leaves and twigs.

Branches up to 4” feed the chipper.

4” to 8” feed the stove.

Above 8” feed the log splitter.

The tannins are really good for the goats. There are multiple scientific studies that show tannins will either kill internal parasites or greatly decrease their egg production. So far all studies I have read for goats find the same results as for sheep, which have been much better studied for this.

I also read another benefit in the following link, it says the tannins bind proteins in the goat’s diet so they are digestible by the goat but not available to the parasites. This starves the parasites and helps the goat not get so run down from parasites grabbing all the protein before it gets to the rumen.

https://www.farmersweekly.co.za/agri-technology/farming-for-tomorrow/tannins-to-control-parasites-small-stock/

I find my goats really like to strip tree bark so they might enjoy a first crack at some of the bigger branches before they go to the chipper.

However, I just got a call from Greenworks.  Yes, on Sunday.  They are sending me a new saw. Of course, this is great for me.  But it does beg a question.  If my saw was out of warranty, would I have to get a new saw rather than getting a simple repair made?

Do you have to send your old one back in or do you have two Greenworks chainsaws now?

Eric Hanson wrote:Do you have to send your old one back in or do you have two Greenworks chainsaws now?

Oooohhh... you'd have a 'parts chainsaw' instead of a 'parts car' - definitely worth it!
Will it come with a new set of batteries?

The devil is in the details.  No mention has been made of me returning the old saw.  I doubt if I have to.  But there is still time for added instructions.