Thread: ever had a tree???

For the business owners out there. Have you ever come across a tree that you couldn't (unable to) cut down?? I have only come across one. It was a very hollow Beech which also had a large Bee hive in it, so I passed on that job.

their is no tree that can't be cut down

no Ive never seen one we couldnt tackle with the right planning, but thats not to say we havent passed on ugly jobs. Id rather be taking the cream jobs, making more money with less headaches.

Originally Posted by ASD

their is no tree that can't be cut down

That is very true. But there has to be some line drawn as far a cost goes. I think the worst I have ever done was a 40" hard Maple that was right next to and leaning at about a 60 degree angle over a 120 year old flag stone patio (couldnt let anything hit it). About 8 feet on the other side was a 15' drop with no other trees nearby large enough to rope anything to. There was no way to get a truck or crane to it. I spent a total of 10 hours in that one tree.

Ive walked on 2 jobs,not enuff money to cover the time.Not enuff time to do it safely.

Originally Posted by l2edneck

Ive walked on 2 jobs,not enuff money to cover the time.Not enuff time to do it safely.

Yup, just gotta know the difference.
Any tree can be removed, not every tree will be profitible, thus, leave it for the beer money guys
-Ralph

Could you have told them that you'd come back in the winter for the bee tree? Especially in WI !

I luv killing jackets or bees on a cold day.
The smell of gasoline in the morning.

Jackets can be got with a small container of gas, scrap them off from the bottom, they fall into the juice, put on a lid and shake.

More stories but don't take a frozen bees nest into the basement and forget about them would be #1.

We've currently had to temporarily skip a few moderately large hazard trees near roads that have many thousands of yellow jackets.
We'll be back when its colder.

hey smoke, it theres a opening in the tree, I throw in about 3 bug bombs and cover with a wet towel.
when the smoke clears, start cutting!!
-Ralph

Bees...Brake cleaner kills them in the air but for gods sake, don't get any on you or in your eyes!


Walked form one in my earlier years of climbing,(7 years ago). Once up it, I noticed that the thing was full of water. The parts that were not full of water were hollow! It was mostly leaning over a rickety old garage and I didn't feel good about that job. I came down, explained to the owner I can't do it at and recommended a larger company be called.

All I did to it was remove a few hangers, nothing solid. I was right about that tree, a month or so later, it cracked and destroyed that old garage. Owner was happy because his insurance
took care of the tree & cleaned the garage off his property, (they would not build him a new one cuz it was a piece of crap)!! Go figure. HC

I was going to post about this job I just walked away from and now this thread is right for it. I bid on and got a removal: Picture a hackberry, 2.5' DBH, forty feet long, 45 degree lean into a cedar elm. Now picture this hackberry at the top of a 45 degree slope that goes down about twenty feet to the cedar elm. The hack is leaning over the slope and caught in three places in the elm. Now picture garbage like doors, toilets, sinks, boxsprings, etc. all over the slope. Now picture a chainlink fence at the bottom. There is no way to drop much without taking out the fence, and the fence is embedded in concrete, links and all! OK, so I put in four hours limbing the hack and then found that it was too shaky to give me confidence on starting to cut the three mains that were supporting it in the elm. There was no way to rig it, either, that I could see. So I told the owner she owed me zip and walked away from it. Happy ending is that she gave me a take-down on another tree on level ground and I made just as much money doing that as I would have on the hack, after expenses. Happier ending, maybe: That hack kept haunting me so I called the owner yesterday and asked her to find out why her neighbors won't allow a crane to drive into their wide open back yard and support the hack while I cut it out of the elm. (They had previously denied entrance to one of my trucks saying they had pipes under their yard---Very weird as no septic here and all feeds, water, gas, sewer, come in from the front.) This is a work in progress. Might have some pics next week after I finish the gig I'm currently on. Stay tuned----

Originally Posted by mpatch

For the business owners out there. Have you ever come across a tree that you couldn't (unable to) cut down?? I have only come across one. It was a very hollow Beech which also had a large Bee hive in it, so I passed on that job.

hells yeah, sub it and make freinds

I applaud the folks that realize they are unable to do a job and pass on it, rather than take the risk and get hurt. Every tree can be removed, profitability is usually the walk -away factor. Bucket trucks, Multiple cranes, fence and walk replacement can all be factored into a job estimate, there are always top-notch tree climbers for hire that specialize in the tricky removals, but unless the customer is willing to pay for all that, it is usually better to walk away. Unfortunatly the uninsured hack & slash tree service will always be there to pick up the leftovers, and many property owners will always go for the low ball price.

Originally Posted by ASD

their is no tree that can't be cut down

Agreed-just have to find the climber either skilled enough or stupid enough.

does it count if you won't work on the tree because the customer is nuts?

I passed on a macrocarpa (montery pine?) that was about 7 dbh and on a 45 degree slope of loose rock and scree 150 feet above a million dollar house. (which has a next to no back yard) It used to be an old house but someone cut a branch off the mac and it destroyed the house completely. So they sold and someone rebuilt, and did nothing with the tree

No other sizable trees or anchors, Built up waterfront area where you couldnt even create an LZ for brush if the copter was a go. Road infront of property is narrow and unclosable with the sea on the other side. Cant crane it.