Ambitious Homeowner - should I take over?

[9th year rookie]

This is the first time I got the call to bail someone out of a do-it-yourself job.

I get the call and he says there is a rope in the tree.
I get there, it is a dead White Pine, about 50-60 feet tall.
It is about 20 feet from the house.
The first 20-25 feet of the trunk has a significant lean toward the house, then it straightens to a vertical - so it wants to go to the house.

At about 20 feet up, (probably the height of his ladder) is a "home depot" line. The line runs from the dead tree to a 3 inch maple on the other side of the yard.

now the good part - at about 6 feet from the ground (snowbank) there is a face cut and a back cut with a 3-4" hinge holding the tree. YIKES

I'm tempted to walk away from this one.

I'm thinking - use a throw bag/line to put a nice tag line closer to the top. But it is really bushy up there. I can probably manage it but....
I'm nervous about the existing face cut. The bottom extends beyond top cut about 3" and is at a different angle. And about the back cut - he started about a foot high and angled down. It's actually coming close to the apex of the face cut but looks like it'll be a few inches too high.

And, no, I didn't get a pic, but I might be able to tomorrow.

On big drops, I cut a nice clean face and then the back cut, leave a hinge, get out of the way and pull it over.

I'm nervous, because I don't want to be dinking around cleaning up the face cut with an existing back cut that goes about 1/2 to 2/3 toward the face.

I will be getting a second opinion to see if it is do-able with tag line and wedges, or just get a crane.

Any comments?

 

[Mikecutstrees]

white pine problem

Well it's really hard to say without seeing a picture. But I'd be super safe with this one. Try to get a line as high in a strong part of the tree as you can with a throwball. A lift could be rented for 1/2 day to install the line and lighten to house side of the tree too. Then use a strong and heavy vehicle to pull with. If you have to use a redirect on a tree to pull in the correct direction do that. Use a heavy line, I'd use a 5/8 or larger stablebraid for something like this. A good sized truck that can get good traction is important too. Mine is a F-450 and I usually try to load it up a little for traction and pull downhill. Use wedges to help you as well. Hook to the back of the truck on something strong, I use my pindle hitch. Steady strong pressure in 4wd should do it. White pine hinges pretty well. And if your not sure about anything think it over again. And if your still not sure don't do it. It isn't worth an insurance claim. But don't leave the tree there for long while you figure it out, if a storm blows it onto the house you could bear some responsibility. Just what I'd do. Good luck and be safe!!

 

[oldirty]

i got a comment. why didnt you call that hoss in your stable? he wouldve had that problem remedied for ya.

 

[polingspig]

If you do take the job...CHARGE HIM DOUBLE!!!!
I had customer once ask for a bid to deadwood a Laurel Oak. Gave him a good price at $650. He got another guy to do it for half. Then the customer calls me again. Other guy did half the job, couldn't get all of the dead wood out cause some was too high so homeowner says, "How much to finish?" I said $650.

 

[pbtree]

Don't ya just love it? :jawdrop:

 

[Dadatwins]

Get a rope as high as you can into something solid, I am not of fan of pulling with a truck but will use one as an anchor to attach some pullies and get some mechanical advantage. If the notch is that messed up I would probably tie some rope/chain around it to prevent splitting/barberchair and start another notch and backcut below it. Be careful.

 

[cntrybo2]

As far as the tree goes, why not do as advised before and get a good tag line position hight in the tree but, instead of using a truck to pull get a come-along and winch the hell out of it. This will give you the leaverage you need without having to get the truck involved. As for the charge on this job put everything in writing. I just finished a job that i quoted last summer, the homeowner decided to let their son and his friend do the work. needless to say i got called back and when i looked at the job everything was jackstrawed and hung up. i only dropped half the quoted trees, bucked down the rest and the price was still the same. Oh, and make sure you put 10% on any accrued rental fees!

 

[reachtreeservi]

I'd double or triple the original price I would have charged for the job with no DIY .

If the homeowner didn't like it, I'd walk away.

If you do end up doing it, set the pull rope as high as you can (3/4 stable braid) . Use wedges as soon as possible and the truck to pull with.
Set some scaffolding up so you can cut a new notch a little above his misguided efforts.
Rent the scaffold if you can't borrow some . Have your egress route planned and practiced.

 

[irish93stang]

where is the job? I have a 65 foot aerial lift of ct bucket truck in the boston area that can be rented for 150.00 an hour.

 

[hornett224]

if you're near me.........

i'll help you no charge.

 

[southsoundtree]

I've heard that if the face cut is messed up, go 1.5 times the diameter above or below. the extent of the screwed up face cut. Definitely strap or chain above and below the cut. I use 10000# (3333swl) rachet straps hooked together. Put the ratcheting mechanism and hood around the backcut side of the tree to keep them from getting squashed, hopefully.

In addition to a strong rope, you want to pull from a low angle to direct the force as much in the horizontal direction as possible without putting any more vertical pressure on the hinges. By this I mean that if you can pull from the end of a long rope, thereby increasing the distance from the tree this would be better than being in the middle and having a 45+ degree angle formed.

A lift could be a great resource, just be careful that if you change the balance of the tree, that it doesn't fall by closing the facecut.

Try to write a contract, with both of your signatures, that says that he created a dangerous situation, and holds you harmless. Even if not 100% protection, it wouldn't hurt. If he doesn't want to hold harmless, raise the rate to meet the risk, and his desire to get his screw up from becoming a major screw-up.

 

[southsoundtree]

regarding the dutchman in the facecut (the overcut portion). You may consider putting a wedge/ wedges in there, not to open it at all, just to replace the material removed. This might help, might not. Without the picture its hard to determine. I'm just suggesting to snug the wedges into the saw kerf to fill the space.

 

[9th year rookie]

I walked away.

Thanks for all the advice.
Most of it I knew, like the tag up high, etc.
Just not enough experience w/all that weight leaning to the house.
I think I knew my answer before I got all the advice.
The whole thing just didn't smell right.
Plus, I don't know why, but I'm ok busy, not too hungry this winter.
Hornet-thanks for the offer, the tree is in Weston (suburb west of Boston).
Olddirty....got some bigger fish to fry, or to keep consistent w/hoss in stable..fields to plow.

 

[Mikecutstrees]

thats cool, good to know when to walk away then to get in over your head. Smart move.....