Danger in felling a leaning poplar?

[nittany_tim]

Hi there,

I'm a homeowner with experience in using my chainsaw for cutting up firewood... but never felling a tree. In my yard I have a tall (~50 ft), narrow poplar tree, which is leaning towards the corner of my house. The lean has increased over the last 10 years, to about a 30-degree angle from vertical. I'd like to fell it myself, but it can't be felled in the direction it's leaning -- it would need to be re-directed slightly away from the corner of the house. Aside from the many normal tree-felling dangers, what extra dangers are there in felling a leaning tree... and trying to redirect its fall slightly away from its leaning direction? Should I just punt in this case and call in a pro to take it down?

Thanks a lot,

Tim

 

[benlonghair]

Not a pro, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

I've got a stand of poplar that I was thinking about taking a few of to burn. I have family members who are pro loggers who warned me away from cutting poplar as an amateur.

Their reason was that poplar is a pretty brittle wood and will snap if not cut right. Felling against the lean would only make this issue worse, imo.

 

[Adkpk]

I just felled a 60' leaning poplar at my place.
Weight the end of a thin nylon line (they tangle less) (and a closed end wrench works well to weight it). Throw it at least 30' up 3/4 of the tree height. Pull a stronger rope up with the line and tie it to the base of another tree as so it will pull it away from the house as it falls. If no other tree is available in that direction I don't know. Posting a pic would be a help.

 

[motoroilmccall]

As posted, poplar is pretty brittle, so if you don't know what you're doing, things can get dangerous in a hurry, is a hinge snaps, not only does it fall right on your house, but it most likely springs back in a direction you'll never be able to guess, so you're putting yourself in danger of getting hit with a flying tree.

Now, if you decide its not that bad of a job (30degree's is a lot, I'd bet its less than 20, but maybe not, most poplars will snap in a decent windstorm if they lean too much), at least bone up on what you're gonna do. How big is the trunk of the tree near the base? How much do you have to angle the tree off lean to get it safely away from the house? Are there any branches that may still strike the house after you get it turned where you want it?

All of these things will play a big role. If its a narrow tree, with a skinny trunk (like most small poplars), you'll have to have a tag line on it to pull it where you want it. The hinge will simply be to small to rely on. If you don't have to move it away from the lean too much, you might be able to get away without a tag line, but its easy to rig up, so I personally would use one anyways. If there are branches that might still hit the house, you'll either have to climb it and prune it out, or get on the roof (if its safe), and prune back what you need to with a pole saw (I've done it a time or two when I didn't feel comfortable climbing the tree).

Throw up some pics and we'll go at it again.

 

[reachtreeservi]

Hi there,

I'm a homeowner with experience in using my chainsaw for cutting up firewood... but never felling a tree....

Should I just punt in this case and call in a pro to take it down?

Thanks a lot,

Tim

How much is the deductible on your homeowners insurance ?

Recently I had a customer call me after he cut a poplar that was close to his house. He put a pull rope on it and tried to pull against the lean.

The rope broke , tree took out the corner of the house.

$7000.00 worth of damage.
And that's only because he was a contractor and did all the work himself.

I'd charge 175.00 to 300.00 to put something like this on the ground and walk away.
And that's with a million dollar insurance policy.

I'd punt and call the pro, if I were you. In this case the cost savings aren't worth the risk.

Whatever you decide to do, Good Luck with it !

 

[masiman]

How much is the deductible on your homeowners insurance ?

Recently I had a customer call me after he cut a poplar that was close to his house. He put a pull rope on it and tried to pull against the lean.

The rope broke , tree took out the corner of the house.

$7000.00 worth of damage.
And that's only because he was a contractor and did all the work himself.

I'd charge 175.00 to 300.00 to put something like this on the ground and walk away.
And that's with a million dollar insurance policy.

I'd punt and call the pro, if I were you. In this case the cost savings aren't worth the risk.

Whatever you decide to do, Good Luck with it !

+1.

If you do go the pro route, check the insurance (have the insurance company send you proof of coverage, don't rely on the piece of paper the guy may have).

 

[reachtreeservi]

+1.

If you do go the pro route, check the insurance (have the insurance company send you proof of coverage, don't rely on the piece of paper the guy may have).

+ 2
Absolutely...

I tell all my customers to call the agent and have them send you a certificate.

There's too much riding on it to take anyones word for it.