Rotted White Oak

[norma]

Hi All,
At my local gun range we have a white oak that most definatley needs to come down. It is about 60 ft high, 30" dbh, the problem is that the trunk is severely rotted, there is a section of trunk that has no bark and is rotted, my pocket knife digs in easily. the section is 8' high and covers 1/3 of the circumfrence. also further up the trunk is a hollow section and the tree is leaning twords the rotted area. To the left and right from the lean there is an offfice trailer and a polebarn.
what are the odds of pulling with a cable to controll the fall in the direction of the lean. That way it will be in the parking lot.
I do have a bit of experience with felling trees. One with heart rot give me issues. I guess my question realy is," how can you controll the fall of a tree with heart rot/ hollow tree?
That said, last fall I had a professional drop 4 trees next to my house, the cost was the same as my homeowners deductable So if this can't be dropped from the ground, let me know.

 

[clearance]

Without pictures it kind of hard to tell. Maybe everyone could pony up some dough and you could get someone with a boom truck to come over and hammer it down. Just thinking about stories over the years, few guys, couple of beers, get a rope on it, hook it to a 4x4, cut on it, pull it, oh no.......

 

[Al Smith]

Well,plainly speaking it's not a problem to get any tree on the ground.The trick is not killing or maiming the faller and destroying equipment or buildings in the process.:biggrinbounce2:

 

[ddhlakebound]

Hi All,
At my local gun range we have a white oak that most definatley needs to come down. It is about 60 ft high, 30" dbh, the problem is that the trunk is severely rotted, there is a section of trunk that has no bark and is rotted, my pocket knife digs in easily. the section is 8' high and covers 1/3 of the circumfrence. also further up the trunk is a hollow section and the tree is leaning twords the rotted area. To the left and right from the lean there is an offfice trailer and a polebarn.
what are the odds of pulling with a cable to controll the fall in the direction of the lean. That way it will be in the parking lot.
I do have a bit of experience with felling trees. One with heart rot give me issues. I guess my question realy is," how can you controll the fall of a tree with heart rot/ hollow tree?
That said, last fall I had a professional drop 4 trees next to my house, the cost was the same as my homeowners deductable So if this can't be dropped from the ground, let me know.

Without knowing how much hollow/rot is there, it's very difficult to make a determination as to wether it can be safely felled whole. If the lean is headed where you want the tree to go, that helps alot, but the amount of good wood that will be used for the hinge to guide the tree to where you want it is the most important variable. How much space on either side of the desired drop zone is open? Basically, how much margin of error either way?

With the tree leaning in the direction you want it to go, a cable or rope to pull with will not help you direct the tree, because as soon as it starts to go, it will fall faster than you could pull the rope to guide it.

Also, a tree that size could do significant damage to a paved parking lot. If it's old and busted up already, maybe no big deal, but if its new and pretty, felling an oak that size on it could age it in a hurry.

I guess my question realy is," how can you controll the fall of a tree with heart rot/ hollow tree?

By setting up a hinge aimed correctly, and strong enough to hold until the tree is completely commited to the path you want it to fall in. A chain or industrial rachet strap should be placed around the trunk above where the notch and backcut/borecut will be, to give the feller some protection from the trunk barber chairing as it falls.

Check out AS member "ropensaddle" thread in commercial tree called "another bad one" sounds somewhat similar to this tree's situation.

And pics are always good, and help to get you better advice.

 

[norma]

ddhlakebound,
the hinge is what is the problem, probably 3" on each side no more it will be dropped on gravel so no pavment issues. My drop zone is about 10 deg to either side. I will try to get some pics this weekend to give everyone a better picture

 

[treeseer]

I will try to get some pics this weekend to give everyone a better picture

Please include pics of the rotted area and of the whole tree. 1/3 circumference dead bark is not good, but depth of decay needs to be known to assess risk. Unless your pocket knife is really long you don't know much yet. Only after after assessing risk can you know what needs to be done with the tree.