mikeclose
New Member
I would really appreciate some expert opinions on this. From reading the forum, I'm sure I'll get a lot of "kill it now" and "save it at all costs" opinions, I welcome them all!
My neighbor is an old firefighter who just got out of an assisted care facility after a long stent of cancer, infections, and surgeries. He has a big maple (80-ish feet, 8-9 foot diameter?) just across our property line. The tree is Y-shaped, and cracked right down the middle. I just noticed it, but it looks like it's been that way for a while. When the wind blows, you can hear it creaking and see the crack widen and contract. The crotch of the Y is about 8 feet off the ground, and the crack is about 6 feet long, leaving about two feet of intact trunk at the base.
Neither of us has money to have the tree professionally removed right now, and obviously this thing is way too big for us to take down ourselves. I'd really like to save it if possible anyway, or at least keep it standing until it dies. My thought is to put 6 3/4" threaded rods through it and bolt the thing back together. Is that crazy? Overkill? Underkill? Suicide? Is there more I can/should do?
Thanks everyone!
-Mike Close
View attachment 235432
View attachment 235433
View attachment 235434
My neighbor is an old firefighter who just got out of an assisted care facility after a long stent of cancer, infections, and surgeries. He has a big maple (80-ish feet, 8-9 foot diameter?) just across our property line. The tree is Y-shaped, and cracked right down the middle. I just noticed it, but it looks like it's been that way for a while. When the wind blows, you can hear it creaking and see the crack widen and contract. The crotch of the Y is about 8 feet off the ground, and the crack is about 6 feet long, leaving about two feet of intact trunk at the base.
Neither of us has money to have the tree professionally removed right now, and obviously this thing is way too big for us to take down ourselves. I'd really like to save it if possible anyway, or at least keep it standing until it dies. My thought is to put 6 3/4" threaded rods through it and bolt the thing back together. Is that crazy? Overkill? Underkill? Suicide? Is there more I can/should do?
Thanks everyone!
-Mike Close
View attachment 235432
View attachment 235433
View attachment 235434