Picks of a homeowner romoving his own tree

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
well i gota say i am no expert, and all my work technicaly would be homeowner work i guess, but he is definatly doing it alot better and safer than most storys that end in tragedy. usualy the common thing is they fell off the ladder while cutting, atleast with a saddle that is largely eliminated. i have to admit i have done a good bit of cutting off a ladder myself, but always with two lanyards around the tree also, never just standing on the ladder. it realy looks like he thought it out well, and took his time to carefully plan and excecute his tree removal.
 
hate to bring this back up but gonna, in pic 1886 this poor fella aint even using a chainsaw. Hes got a freaking reciprocating saw hanging from his saddle, if you look close you can see his cord. Man this guy is cracking me up

Is that a reciprocating saw or the handle of a handsaw?
At least he cleaned up the brush before dropping the bigger wood.
 
From my untrained eye, it looks like he is doing okay. No big mess, wood being stacked, and the wires look to be in the same place as the first pics. Thanks for the update.

that's why you are a plumber and not an arborist my friend!
 
that's why you are a plumber and not an arborist my friend!



so if you repair the sink plumbing in your house does that neccesarily mean ya cant do an ok job in the end cause your an arborist? :)might take you a little longer than a plumber and might not have all the gadgets he does but still could likely do a good job. i agree the guy isnt doing the tree like a pro tree service would do it, but at the same time i cant see anything thats extremely dangerous about the way he is doing it either. he appears to be tied into the tree, the ladder is just for access so thats not realy a danger, the scaffolding appears to be secure and blocked up properly. if he were working on the side of a building or chimney with that scaffolding setup no one would think much of it! its just that it looks a little outa place in tree work cause most dont do it that way since scaffolding is kinda slow and labor intensive to set up compared to the other options, but i wouldnt deem it unsafe i dont think
 
so if you repair the sink plumbing in your house does that neccesarily mean ya cant do an ok job in the end cause your an arborist? :)might take you a little longer than a plumber and might not have all the gadgets he does but still could likely do a good job. i agree the guy isnt doing the tree like a pro tree service would do it, but at the same time i cant see anything thats extremely dangerous about the way he is doing it either. he appears to be tied into the tree, the ladder is just for access so thats not realy a danger, the scaffolding appears to be secure and blocked up properly. if he were working on the side of a building or chimney with that scaffolding setup no one would think much of it! its just that it looks a little outa place in tree work cause most dont do it that way since scaffolding is kinda slow and labor intensive to set up compared to the other options, but i wouldnt deem it unsafe i dont think

I would deem the ladder on the scaffolding to be unsafe.
 
that's why you are a plumber and not an arborist my friend!


I bet you wouldn't bet your plumber freind paycheck to paycheck.

You guys crack me up! Someones doing your work and because he's doing it his way you think he's an idiot. Obviously this guys an oldtimer and can't come up with climbing gear, and probably doesn't have the knees to climb anyhow. So what! Those bucks got him up there. He's got his ladder secured, and he's tied off.

He's probably taken some time off because he has something else to do. Do the other neighbors have him on a deadline. Maybe his chainsaw got the hick-ups.

My dad was one of those guys that went out of his way to save a buck and him and my uncles took down some massive trees with some basic rigging that he borrowed from work. No harm done. Thats the way those old guys do things.
 
another tree death

My dad was one of those guys that went out of his way to save a buck and him and my uncles took down some massive trees with some basic rigging that he borrowed from work. No harm done. Thats the way those old guys do things.


Unfortunatley most of the people that get killed are good people trying to save some money. Nothing wrong with that...but is it worth any dollar amount to lose a father, son, brother?


http://www.sharon-herald.com/local/local_story_206214413.html
 
Unfortunatley most of the people that get killed are good people trying to save some money. Nothing wrong with that...but is it worth any dollar amount to lose a father, son, brother?


http://www.sharon-herald.com/local/local_story_206214413.html

I know you guys probably need the business, which leads to part of your resentment, but I'd rather die knowing I tried to save a buck than live knowing I gave away all that fun. Death is nothing to be scared of.

Self reliance is a way of life.

He could just as easily died of a heart attack or stroke from sitting in a chair watching the whole thing. If the dude is having fun, offer to help him, leave him alone, or simply comment on his hard work (even though not perfect work).

Life's too short.

P.S. I know I just summoned the death squad to my door.
 
I know you guys probably need the business, which leads to part of your resentment, but I'd rather die knowing I tried to save a buck than live knowing I gave away all that fun. Death is nothing to be scared of.

Self reliance is a way of life.

He could just as easily died of a heart attack or stroke from sitting in a chair watching the whole thing. If the dude is having fun, offer to help him, leave him alone, or simply comment on his hard work (even though not perfect work).

Life's too short.

P.S. I know I just summoned the death squad to my door.


Wow...nothing else to say.
 
I know you guys probably need the business, which leads to part of your resentment, but I'd rather die knowing I tried to save a buck than live knowing I gave away all that fun. Death is nothing to be scared of.

Self reliance is a way of life.

He could just as easily died of a heart attack or stroke from sitting in a chair watching the whole thing. If the dude is having fun, offer to help him, leave him alone, or simply comment on his hard work (even though not perfect work).

Life's too short.

P.S. I know I just summoned the death squad to my door.

I agree, that's why I love treework.
 
I say good for him, little initiative, some ingenuity and not afraid of some work. I'd be the neighbor asking him how I could help.
 
I say good for him, little initiative, some ingenuity and not afraid of some work. I'd be the neighbor asking him how I could help.
You bet! Give 'em a hand. I pulled up to my first job this week and a young guy across the street was about to pull a tree over with a rope and pickup. I helped him get it on the ground safely. The homeowner came over later and gave me a couple of days work. Sometimes I get kicked in the arss for offering to help but not often.
Phil
 
you are all right and im wrong. tree work is the safest thing in the world, life is worthless and if you die trying to save a buck whatever.

who needs certified arborists, they are a dime a dozen.
 
I know you guys probably need the business, which leads to part of your resentment, but I'd rather die knowing I tried to save a buck than live knowing I gave away all that fun. Death is nothing to be scared of.

Self reliance is a way of life.

He could just as easily died of a heart attack or stroke from sitting in a chair watching the whole thing. If the dude is having fun, offer to help him, leave him alone, or simply comment on his hard work (even though not perfect work).

Life's too short.

P.S. I know I just summoned the death squad to my door.

The business aspect is part of the resentment but most of it stems from tree guys who came up the right way. Dragging brush and humping logs for a slavemaster, learning the intricacies of running a chainsaw, learning how to climb, cut, notch, rope, run equipment, do bucket work etc. and make it home at the end of the day. This job is EXTREMELY difficult to do safely yet is generally not perceived that way by most. Homeowners like this guy...cheers to him, but he is nothing more than lucky and he only serves to make what we do, everyday, look simple when it is far from that. We're not lucky, we're good. Brains and brawn are great copilots, but experience is what lands the plane every time. That's where, IMO, the resentment comes from.
 
The business aspect is part of the resentment but most of it stems from tree guys who came up the right way. Dragging brush and humping logs for a slavemaster, learning the intricacies of running a chainsaw, learning how to climb, cut, notch, rope, run equipment, do bucket work etc. and make it home at the end of the day. This job is EXTREMELY difficult to do safely yet is generally not perceived that way by most. Homeowners like this guy...cheers to him, but he is nothing more than lucky and he only serves to make what we do, everyday, look simple when it is far from that. We're not lucky, we're good. Brains and brawn are great copilots, but experience is what lands the plane every time. That's where, IMO, the resentment comes from.

it is amazing when someone else can put into words the exact way someone else is thinking...thanks Blake you made my day and made me feel less resentful all in one post.

:wave:
 
it is amazing when someone else can put into words the exact way someone else is thinking...thanks Blake you made my day and made me feel less resentful all in one post.

:wave:

No problem. Each man's safety is his own business but it ruffles my feathers a bit when someone foolishly says, "I can do that." Here's a saddle dip####, have a blast.
 
The business aspect is part of the resentment but most of it stems from tree guys who came up the right way. Dragging brush and humping logs for a slavemaster, learning the intricacies of running a chainsaw, learning how to climb, cut, notch, rope, run equipment, do bucket work etc. and make it home at the end of the day. This job is EXTREMELY difficult to do safely yet is generally not perceived that way by most. Homeowners like this guy...cheers to him, but he is nothing more than lucky and he only serves to make what we do, everyday, look simple when it is far from that. We're not lucky, we're good. Brains and brawn are great copilots, but experience is what lands the plane every time. That's where, IMO, the resentment comes from.

Well said.
 
I was in a neighbor hood buying a saw that was on Craigslist yesterday. I wish I had my camera. There was a 40' ladder up in a 60' to70' tree. All the tallest limbs were on the ground. As I was leaving that street after my purchase the guy was back cutting up what was on the ground. The biggest pieces were in the 10'' range. It was a pretty big pile. I look over and the guy had a Remington limb and trim electric saw.

I looked up in the tree and realized the guy cut everything that that saw could make it through. The trunk of that tree was 24 to 28''. I asked him if he was saving the wood for firewood he told me he was. I told him I would drop the rest of the tree and block it if he gave me a couple loads of wood. He looked at me like I was trying to steel from him. I should go back today and get some action photo's.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top