Prevent Tree from Rotting

[rinconmike]

A couple of years ago I had two trees that were damaged during a storm. I had a tree contractor cut down the trees, but we left them sitting around 15ft up in the air so I can build a tree house. I believe they are oak trees. I have since built the tree house.

One tree is getting a decent amount of new growth so it is still alive. The other has one or two new little branches so it too is alive, but not much growth. I am not looking for them to grow and would rather they do not, but want to prevent any rotting.

One of the trees I cut down a little and still need to cut around another foot off of it (so it is around 10ft instead of 15ft above ground). We want to cap it to make a table out of it.

My question is how do I protect the top of the tree where cut. On one of the trees, the top few inches the bark is loosening and it looks like it is starting to rot. I assume from a lot of water over the last two years. Here is a picture of it:

http://db.tt/06rLYSCT


Should I just cap it with some wood (like a table top) to prevent water running in between the tree and the bark or should I put a coating on it? Last fall I did purchase a spray coating from Home Depot, but i do not thing it did much.

thanks,

Mike

 

[Toronado3800]

Is that tree top holding up the tree house 15 foot in the air? I need to see a picture from under it.

Neat project but you are fighting a couple problems.

Your tree's wood is not treated like a telephone pole or some pressure treated pine. Even being oak, it will rot.

If you do not care about the tree living I would first treat every piece of wood I could get to with some deck treatment. Then when it dried stain poly the whole darn thing then come back with poly. I have a piece of ash I treated this way outside which is considerably outlasting the exposed trunk of the former tree.

Next, if the tree does live then it will rot slower, but seek to expand through that tight hole and be girdled.

 

[rinconmike]

Thanks for the response.

Here is a picture of the entire tree house.

http://db.tt/JgquM9jV

The deck is 8ft in the air. The crows nest is around 17ft up (just did over the last couple of weeks).

The way I built it I left little to no room for tree growth (reason I would rather them not grow). The main beams are double 2x10 bolted together and then lag bolted with two 5/8" lag bolts at each tree. The joists are tied to the beams with simpson hurricane ties. The tree on the left has little growth on it and the tree on the right has more.

I assume the trees will rot over a long period of time, but figured I would get 10 years (or more) before there was anything to worry about.

My concern now is early rotting at the top of each tree where it is exposed and water can easily get in.

So I should look at treating the trees from top to bottom with a stain poly? The bark too, or just exposed wood? Do you have the name of the product you used?

thanks,

Mike

 

[Raintree]

How are you going to prevent the supporting buttress roots from eventually rotting away below ground & the whole complex toppling over? Look like Maple leaves to me.

 

[rinconmike]

Thanks for the responses.

Here is a picture of the entire tree house.

http://db.tt/JgquM9jV

The way I built it I left little to no room for tree growth (reason I would rather them not grow). The main beams are double 2x10 bolted together and then lag bolted with two 5/8" lag bolts at each tree. The joists are tied to the beams with simpson hurricane ties. The tree on the left has little growth on it and the tree on the right has more.

I assume the trees will rot over a long period of time, but figured I would get 10 years (or more) before there was anything to worry about.

My concern now is early rotting at the top of each tree where it is exposed and water can easily get in.

So I should look at treating the trees from top to bottom with a stain poly? The bark too, or just exposed wood? Do you have the name of the product you used?

thanks,

Mike