How not to fell a tree

[bnmc98]

Am I imagining when the limb fell that I saw a guy riding the tree to land on the house?
Perhaps someone with more video experience can analyze.

That's what I saw. you can see the bar of the chainsaw. Unless it was a UFO

 

[Moparmyway]

He is definately in the tree as its going down .......

 

[Oliver1655]

Points to Ponder:
- Definitely not a tree to climb!
- Limbs were already removed from over the home & they were dropping the last limb.
- From the angle I saw, it was relatively vertical.

Unknowns:
- How much of the tree was there when they started.
- How big of sections they removed at a time. Dropping large sections cause the trunk to spring in the opposite direction as the trunk did in the video only this time it broke off. If they had dropped several large section/limbs like this, they stressed the trunk previously. Odds are if they were cutting from a lift & had removed smaller sections, there would not have been the rebound action which broke off the trunk. But without seeing the tree, I can't say for sure.
- Did they remove the limbs in a symmetrical manner to decrease stressing the trunk or did they focus first on removing the limbs from over the house first?

Should haves:
- Insurance
- Cut from a lift
- Removed small sections at a time which is hard to do on a rotten tree while climbing.

Trees left too long have many unknowns.

 

[wyk]

Are your super powers licensed and insured?

No.


You got a problem with that?

 

[ColdStihl]

I have no problems with someone of your extraordinary ability, sir.

No.


You got a problem with that?

 

[chuckwood]

Sounds like the tree just fell over if there was a guy still in it. I've told homeowners, "You should have called me two years ago to get that tree down, it's too rotten now and it's not safe." Apparently, they didn't realize how unstable the thing was. What a nightmare. Glad no one was seriously hurt.

So how do you safely take down a dead/rotten tree like this when it is close to a house? A bucket truck? What if a massive, rotten tree falls into your truck and knocks it over? Or what if the yard has so much slope on it that you can't get a truck in there? I've always been afraid of rotten trees because the few times I've messed with 'em, they don't do what I want.

 

[heyduke]

So how do you safely take down a dead/rotten tree like this when it is close to a house? A bucket truck? What if a massive, rotten tree falls into your truck and knocks it over? Or what if the yard has so much slope on it that you can't get a truck in there? I've always been afraid of rotten trees because the few times I've messed with 'em, they don't do what I want.

crane

 

[fearofpavement]

A bucket truck is the best solution to get a rotten tree down. If you can't get a bucket in there, then... I don't know. I don't have a bucket and only rope or climb and won't go up a tree I don't feel has the integrity to do it safely. Dead trees have all kinds of issues. Even felling them if there's room is shaky as sometimes the hinge just breaks off rather than "bending". Pushing a dead tree over with a piece of equipment isn't that great of solution either. I've seen them fold in the middle and a good part of them come over the machine. Dead trees that have been in that condition too long are going to be dealt with by someone other than me. I'm not referring to a tree that died recently but one that has shed a lot of branches, bark coming off and obviously decomposing.

 

[KenJax Tree]

A bucket truck is the best solution to get a rotten tree down. If you can't get a bucket in there, then... I don't know.

ride the ball of a crane

 

[heyduke]

watching the vid several times, it looks to me as if the landlord may have some serious liability problems, especially if the "contractor" wasn't carrying workers comp. the climber appears to be even with the peak of the roof, below the top of the stem. he rides the stem down but does not seem to be tied in. he hits the roof close to the eave, rolls off and falls, more or less head-first to the ground. i seriously doubt that he is back at work today, more likely making his medical appointment.