Best way to handle this big Oak

[Bspring]

I need some advice on this tree. I hate to cut it because it was a beautiful Willow Oak. During the construction of my house last year I tried to get the construction crew to work around it but I guess the stress was more than it could take. There is one small patch of green at the top and two branches at the bottom that are green. Unless someone on here tells me that there is a way to save it I will have to drop it.

I am an amateur but would feel comfortable dropping this tree right where I want it if the risk of missing was not so great. I have thought about putting my front end loader against it and making one cut at the bottom but I am leaning toward getting a friend with some climbing gear to help me take the limbs off and then drop the trunk. I know another method would be get a rope longer than the tree and pull it with the tractor but I don’t know if I can come up with that much rope or risk damaging someone else’s rope.

I am more of a do it your self kind of guy but I will take all the advice I can get. So what do you guys think about this one?

 

[Brian VT]

It looks pretty straight-forward to me. Wedge it on a calm day and there's a good chance you won't hit the house. If your gun isn't gonna be perfect then err on the woods side.

 

[tomtrees58]

are you a climber if so top it out rig it down 4' if not call a tree service do not listen to wood cutters here :jawdrop: its not a home owner tree tom trees

 

[Bushman_269]

are you a climber if so top it out rig it down 4' if not call a tree service do not listen to wood cutters here :jawdrop: its not a home owner tree tom trees

:agree2: Too many possibilities of things going bad. Get a pro.

 

[Brian VT]

I was wrong and spoke too soon. I hadn't accounted for the neighboring trees that are likely entangled in the victim and will probably effect the fall.

 

[ddhlakebound]

I was wrong and spoke too soon. I hadn't accounted for the neighboring trees that are likely entangled in the victim and will probably effect the fall.

Yeah, looks like it needs to be limbed and topped to ensure a clean fall.

If you get sticker shock from the estimates, and still decide to tackle it, be sure to have the cameras rolling.

Oh, yeah, pushing with the loader isn't a great idea for this tree, pushing with the loader and cutting with no face cut is a recipe for disaster.

 

[treeseer]

Sorry your tree got killed. Hire an arborist to piece it down, anddo something for the roots so the nearby tree does not die.

Hiring an arborist BEFORE construction is really the way to go...

 

[rngrchad]

You can bomb a lot of the "secondary" limbs that are in the left of this picture. Then piece the rest of the top out in 6 or 7 sections and lower those via portawrap. That tree looks to be in pretty good shape for climbing.

I'd bet you'd have about 2500 to 3500 dollars minimum for a takedown from a local arborist and that's not charging for cleanup and hauling it away. Just my guess. Around here that's what a tree like that would go for anyhow.

When you get the top cleared out and on the ground, it would be easiest to drop the whole spar, but sometimes I tend to lower stuff a bit more than I probably should just to "be safe". In that case I'd bring the spar down in sections if it looks as though dropping it could pose a danger.
Good luck with that. I'm no pro just a "woodcutter". I happen to do the jobs all the local tree crews are too scared to do....maybe I'm just too ignorant.

Like someone said: if you do take it down by yourself, make sure you video......opcorn:

 

[oldirty]

You can bomb a lot of the "secondary" limbs that are in the left of this picture. Then piece the rest of the top out in 6 or 7 sections and lower those via portawrap. That tree looks to be in pretty good shape for climbing.

I'd bet you'd have about 2500 to 3500 dollars minimum for a takedown from a local arborist and that's not charging for cleanup and hauling it away. Just my guess. Around here that's what a tree like that would go for anyhow.

When you get the top cleared out and on the ground, it would be easiest to drop the whole spar, but sometimes I tend to lower stuff a bit more than I probably should just to "be safe". In that case I'd bring the spar down in sections if it looks as though dropping it could pose a danger.
Good luck with that. I'm no pro just a "woodcutter". I happen to do the jobs all the local tree crews are too scared to do....maybe I'm just too ignorant.

Like someone said: if you do take it down by yourself, make sure you video......opcorn:

check this **** out. a truck driver giving out tree tips.


im calling bs. i saw that hack video you put up. no way do you do the jobs that REAL treemen do. unless your price is soooo low that you make the mexicans seem like high ballers. you dont know what you are doing kid and it shows in the vid you post and you will end up hurting yourself.

keep on truck'n.

 

[oldirty]

i'm no pro just a "woodcutter". I happen to do the jobs all the local tree crews are too scared to do....

hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!

 

[TraditionalTool]

Reading this thread makes me glad I met with an arborist at my property to decide what to do...

I'll just sit back and watch the rest now...opcorn:

 

[treeseer]

I'd bet you'd have about 2500 to 3500 dollars minimum for a takedown from a local arborist and that's not charging for cleanup and hauling it away. Just my guess. Around here that's what a tree like that would go for anyhow.

Wow, I wanna move to ......... so I can make that money! Cmon chad, give it up--where you at?

Hey od, let's go to trucker.com and tell em all how to double-clutch!

 

[Bspring]

I have had tree services out at my last house and I was really impressed with how good they were. In one of those occasions large limbs were hanging over my roof. That job was way beyond my skill. I think this one is within my skill range. One interpretation for "I'm a do it yourself kind of guy" is that I am unemployed so even $200 is out of the question. If I had to I could drop it into the woods.

I don't mind climbing the tree and cutting the vertical limbs but I don't want to cut and horizontal limbs while I am up there. My plan would be to just let the limbs free fall. If I need to I could have a rope on them and have someone pull them from the ground where we want them to fall.

If I used the loader I would still make a face cut but the loader would just be back up to make sure the tree goes where it should.

I will have the wife record this but if it hits the house I don't know if I will have the guts to post it.

 

[S Mc]

are you a climber if so top it out rig it down 4' if not call a tree service do not listen to wood cutters here :jawdrop: its not a home owner tree tom trees

:agree2:

From your pictures, this looks like a simple take down for an experienced arborist. However, since the picture makes it look as if there is a lean towards the house, we would go up, limb, top out and chunk down the trunk, or take it down in the lengths the homeowner wanted.

With that said, this is NOT a homeowner's tree unless said homeowner is experienced. You said you are unemployed and cannot even afford $200 but how much would it cost in repairs if the tree goes the wrong way. A front end loader trying to push a tree of this size is a recipe for disaster.

It is hard to tell, but the other trees in this group look stressed also. It is so sad when people do not understand the importance of protection for trees they desire to save during construction. There is much more to saving a tree than simply not cutting it down.

Estimates are free. An arborist on site should be able to tell you exactly what is going on. Pictures only tell us part of the story and many times there are subtleties that we may miss that will be obvious to an experienced professional onsite.

Sylvia

 

[digger242J]

A front end loader trying to push a tree of this size is a recipe for disaster.

I'd want to see how big the machine is before I'd make a blanket statement like that, but then, I'm a front end loader kind of guy.

It is so sad when people do not understand the importance of protection for trees they desire to save during construction. There is much more to saving a tree than simply not cutting it down.

With that, I can agree wholeheartedly, and add that I've seen some owners and builders that have totally unrealistic expectations...

 

[tree md]

No way your going to just drop that tree without taking a serious risk of property damage. It needs to be climbed. Call a pro.

 

[Glennak]

You can bomb a lot of the "secondary" limbs that are in the left of this picture. Then piece the rest of the top out in 6 or 7 sections and lower those via portawrap. That tree looks to be in pretty good shape for climbing.

I'd bet you'd have about 2500 to 3500 dollars minimum for a takedown from a local arborist and that's not charging for cleanup and hauling it away. Just my guess. Around here that's what a tree like that would go for anyhow.

When you get the top cleared out and on the ground, it would be easiest to drop the whole spar, but sometimes I tend to lower stuff a bit more than I probably should just to "be safe". In that case I'd bring the spar down in sections if it looks as though dropping it could pose a danger.
Good luck with that. I'm no pro just a "woodcutter". I happen to do the jobs all the local tree crews are too scared to do....maybe I'm just too ignorant.

Like someone said: if you do take it down by yourself, make sure you video......opcorn:

Looks easy to me maybe I should fly over for the job it would more than cover the airfare.

 

[Glennak]

I have had tree services out at my last house and I was really impressed with how good they were. In one of those occasions large limbs were hanging over my roof. That job was way beyond my skill. I think this one is within my skill range. One interpretation for "I'm a do it yourself kind of guy" is that I am unemployed so even $200 is out of the question. If I had to I could drop it into the woods.

I don't mind climbing the tree and cutting the vertical limbs but I don't want to cut and horizontal limbs while I am up there. My plan would be to just let the limbs free fall. If I need to I could have a rope on them and have someone pull them from the ground where we want them to fall.

If I used the loader I would still make a face cut but the loader would just be back up to make sure the tree goes where it should.

I will have the wife record this but if it hits the house I don't know if I will have the guts to post it.

Maybe you should go and watch a professional remove a tree to get a few pointers first. Even watch a video on this site.

 

[Toddppm]

No doubt, if that was a $2500-3500 tree I'd do it for less than that when I come down to see my in laws in Greenville.

Hard to tell from the pics but it looks like it can be pulled the other way from what you said and not be along the house so much?

 

[Bearcreek]

You can bomb a lot of the "secondary" limbs that are in the left of this picture. Then piece the rest of the top out in 6 or 7 sections and lower those via portawrap. That tree looks to be in pretty good shape for climbing.

I'd bet you'd have about 2500 to 3500 dollars minimum for a takedown from a local arborist and that's not charging for cleanup and hauling it away. Just my guess. Around here that's what a tree like that would go for anyhow.

When you get the top cleared out and on the ground, it would be easiest to drop the whole spar, but sometimes I tend to lower stuff a bit more than I probably should just to "be safe". In that case I'd bring the spar down in sections if it looks as though dropping it could pose a danger.
Good luck with that. I'm no pro just a "woodcutter". I happen to do the jobs all the local tree crews are too scared to do....maybe I'm just too ignorant.

Like someone said: if you do take it down by yourself, make sure you video......opcorn:

Wow, I need to move to your area if thats the kind of prices your getting. If that tree has only recently died and if there is nothing in the drop zone where that pickup is in the pics then looks like it could be flopped by a decent faller. Perhaps with a rope in the top. Either way, around here you'd probably be looking at maybe $1000 with brush cleanup, leave the wood. Everything I just said is based only on what I can see in the pictures, the real thing may be very different.