RootBall Removal

[LaBlue]

I'm trying to get some idea of the cost of removing the uprooted root balls on the pine trees that were downed during Hurricane Katrina. My relatives are getting some wild estimates on tree removal
but all the tree company's that are bidding won't touch the root balls.
Based on past experience, a trackhoe would be needed to remove
them along with low-boys to truck them to the land-fill. Can any of
the pro's on this site give me some opinions/ideas. Thanks!!

 

[smokechase II]

Root wads are tough. They are back breakers if done without heavy equipment. If you cut with a saw down there you'll find rocks imbedded in intertwined roots eventually. Green they are heavy, dried out they are still heavy. Loading in the back of a pickup requires several buddies, (therefore; lots of beer, perhaps even a hot grill).
Can you wait several months for the demand to go down and prices stabilize?
Then you'll have to replace your divot, like any good golfer. There are several reasons the contractors are staying away from those things.
There is an unusual but occasional danger associated with a severed root wad. If the trees main stem has been cut for the timber, sometimes the root ball will return to nearly the original position it came from. It can do this immediately or after many hours/even days without warning. Loggers have been crushed by these things closing like a venus flytrap. Don't let your kids play in a hole caused by a cut but still present root wad/ball.

 

[Fireaxman]

Amen, smokechase. I cut a 36" dbh pine this morning that had been knocked over by Katrina. She stood back up like a body rising from the grave when we still had 12 feet of trunk on the root ball. Glad we were cutting her back slowly, in 6 foot increments. If we had made an earlier cut at the root ball she would have come back up on us pretty quickly. As it was, she narrowly missed the corner of a storage shed as she stood back up.

I knew she could stand up on me, it has happened to me before. I actually take advantage of that when I can, to re-fill the hole and get the stump upright so I can get it ground. About a week ago I stood an oak with a 12 foot clay root back up with my front end loader for that reason. Got to be very careful though, there can be a lot of energy stored up in the roots.

I'm planning to pressure wash the dirt out of the root balls I can't stand back up and let them dry thoroughly before I try to handle them. They will burn after a couple months of our summer heat. If you live in a place where you can burn them in place it's the best way to handle them, but they can smolder for several days.

After the dirt is pressure washed out of them and they have dried I have been able to shove them on to a 16 foot trailer with my 3130 Kubota, or sometimes handle them with the front end loader if they are not too big. Often I wind up dragging or pushing them to a burn pile.

 

[rbtree]

A large tow behind stump grinder can easily do uprooted stumps.....

 

[Dadatwins]

Ditto the stump grinder route, no cleaning of the exposed roots needed, cut the trunk wood as low as you can and grind the entire uprooted area. Backfill the hole and move on. Stump mulch easier to dispose of if necessary.

 

[treeseer]

If the tree is not broken too bad, the first option is to tie it back up straight. the post about trunks straightening themselves after a little weight is off the top demonstrates that it is more doable than you may think.

Grinding the rootball is the next-best option, becasue then there's no divot to replace, and chips there as mulch for the replacement plant.

If you're getting wildly varying estimates, you have contractors down there who are unqualified or ripping off or both. Take the time to check references and credentials.

 

[LaBlue]

Thanks for the tips...I've actually heard of power washing the rootball
prior to cutting but have never tried it. That could be a workable solution. As for standing back up...two 60 footers went down next to
each other on the fence line. The chain link fence is now 12 ft in the air. I've cut one back to stump-size...no movement. It could be that
chainlink fence is holding it down. I'll have to watch it carefully when I
cut the next one. FireAxMan...we are in Lacombe,did you have much
damage in Madisonville??

 

[Fireaxman]

LaBlue, Lacombe was closer to the Southeast quadrant, so my guess would be that you took the harder lick. But yes, we have a lot of damage. Many trees down, many down across roofs. I was incredibly fortunate, all the trees fell away from my house. Here's a picture of one of the root balls we are planning to wash down. This lady is a 76 year old widow.