Need felling advice, 40 foot Hackberry

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Laneman

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I need to piece out a Hackberry on my land, close to house, trailer, and power lines. I can't fell it without risk of hitting something, it is leaning towards power line. Can this be done with a rope saw and lowered a piece at a time without climbing?
 

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How'd the chinaberry go, you never posted back to that thread.
If you're concerned about it hitting things, then I'm concerned for you ;).
Many power companies will drop a line for you in the morning and then come back and put it up in the afternoon, so I'd give them a call for the line. Heck you may even get lucky and they get out there with a bucket truck and take the limbs and top off the tree for you, probably take less time.
 
If you're going to do that one yourself, I would recommend renting an articulated boom lift, and bring the tree down in pieces. It may cost you a couple hundred to rent, but it will be way cheaper than dropping it into a house, power line, etc.

Another option would be to have a tree service get the tree on the ground and leave everything there. You do all of the cleanup.
 
I need to piece out a Hackberry on my land, close to house, trailer, and power lines. I can't fell it without risk of hitting something, it is leaning towards power line. Can this be done with a rope saw and lowered a piece at a time without climbing?
Dont mess around with trees near power lines! You talking primaries or a house drop line? Pay a tree service to cut it down and leave everything.
 
depending on where that rot goes, your hinge may (or may not) behave abnormally.

If it is leaning towards primary lines (pole-to-pole - not the service drop) call power company and say "there is a tree with a big hollow spot at the bottom leaning towards the lines.

If it is between the pole and your house, you might still call, but most of the time that is your responsibility. If that is the case, agree with @lone wolf - hire it out. If you just get somebody to top it out so it is low enough you can safely fell it, the cost shouldn't be too bad.
 
Not sure how one would rig down a tree without climbing it or using a lift of some sort.

Sounds like you need to hire someone. As long as a tree doesn't require rigging...if I can drop a top and flop the stem I don't charge much. If it requires rigging to keep it off the power lines it'll be more.

If it's right at the power lines and the power lines are the only thing in the way, have the power company come out and drop the line. They will disconnect the house, move the power line out of the way, you can drop the tree, and they will put the line back up. I've done that on several occasions. Our power company is real good about it.

I actually had a house with 3 trees leaning over their line to the house, that was the only thing in the way. They pulled the line, I dropped all 3 trees in a couple minutes and they were gone before I had the first tree limbed/bucked. Easy.
 
How'd the chinaberry go, you never posted back to that thread.
If you're concerned about it hitting things, then I'm concerned for you ;).
Many power companies will drop a line for you in the morning and then come back and put it up in the afternoon, so I'd give them a call for the line. Heck you may even get lucky and they get out there with a bucket truck and take the limbs and top off the tree for you, probably take less time.
Chipper1, haven't done the Chinaberry yet, so many projects. Thanks for the idea about the power company, never thought of that.
 
Dont mess around with trees near power lines! You talking primaries or a house drop line? Pay a tree service to cut it down and leave everything.
It's a house drop line by the trailer. I have plenty space from power line to piece it out, just can't risk felling it.
 
In my state they don't get involved with the 220 lines to your house just primaries on streets. Hopefully it may be different in Texas.
Here they will drop 220 free of charge. Here they usually send someone out to look so they know what's needed, then come back and do it at another date. I had a friend who needed a handful of ash removed that were no accessible without a tracked lift and were not safe to climb and there were no other trees to utilize for climbing, they came out and dropped a section and I fell the trees in that section while they were dropping the next section, they started putting the first one back up and I had the others down before they finished, and they just put it right back up. It was a fairly easy job falling them, but it took 2 times coming out trying to get them to understand why they needed to drop the line, the second time I made sure I was there and they took care of it.
 
Here, AEP will take them down for free...but charge $150 reconnect fee.
There is usually a fee here too...but so far every time I've explained to them that the tree needs to be removed because it's either dead or compromised in some way and they will waive the fee if it's being done to remove the tree and potentially prevent it from falling on the lines in a wind storm.
 
Absolutely! They used to do it for free...I assumed their logic was "cheaper than cleaning up the mess later". Even if it is just a service drop, if you hit it hard, you could easily pull the transformer, or lossen a pole.
Those things are tough, too - someone hit the line that crosses the road in front of my house, from the transformer to the neighbor's house - I was in bed upstairs, heard the "bang", felt the house lurch - transformer stayed attached, but the line broke. But give the jolt it gave the house, it was borderline on coming loose. I'm guessing it was kind of exciting for the guy in the truck, too...
 
Absolutely! They used to do it for free...I assumed their logic was "cheaper than cleaning up the mess later". Even if it is just a service drop, if you hit it hard, you could easily pull the transformer, or lossen a pole.
You don't even need to it it hard....

Years ago, there was a pole outside the office. There were 3 cross beams on it as it served as the intersection of a few lines... think capital letter "T". The dude running the lawn mower (lawn service) hit the guy wire anchor and the entire top section with all of the cross beams snapped off. It hung over the road for a few hours until the power crews got out there to fix it (new pole).
 
Great news, I called the power company as some of you suggested, then tied a ribbon on the tree. They came out to see it while I was at work and called me today to say they will do the full removal. Thank you so much everyone for your help, this saved me a lot of trouble.
 
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