safe to fell near house?

[fische08]

So, I cut for firewood and to clear some more room for my yard around the house. The only thing in the way for felling any tree in my yard is my house or other trees. Trees here in Ct are skinny and tall, last tree I cut was 70 foot tall maple that was only about 16 inches diameter 5 feet up from ground and If went severely wrong (hinge broke and 1/2 inch guy line 2/3 of way up tree also broke) only some skinny canopy branches could have scratched my siding. Now, as I get better with hinges, wedges, guy lines and the rope winch(which I haven't needed yet, boy I love those wedges), I may grab a few trees a little closer to the house.

Question: Is it common practice for the pros, if there are no obstructions opposite the house for a clear fall, to fell trees of size lets say 20" healthy oak 70 ft high and max 5 degree lean, instead of climbing them? Just wondering if my dream of tackling some of these more "fun" trees is foolish even for a pro faller.

Btw I hope no one is offended at my DIY ambition with these decent size trees since I am not a pro.

 

[jrider]

For the at home, DIY kind of guy with room to drop whole...put a rope on it and pull it with a truck for added insurance. Just make sure you have a rope that can withstand that kind of weight and is long enough not to drop the tree on the truck.

 

[fische08]

lol I drive a VW. I like your sensitivity for the trees and, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't cut a tree for no reason. Some of these big guys are close to 100 years old which I think is impressive. My plot is just overcrowded though and like I said I am heating my house. I have about 1.5 acres and when I moved in the tree line was about 30ft from my house. Tried a veggie garden last year and everything died from lack of sun. I dont believe I'll ever need a truck because I have plenty of trees opposite the house to anchor too and I will by an arborist block to couple with the maasdam rope winch if i really need to pull hard. There are 3 oak trees about 15 ft from my house which are probably 50-60 feet high(they apparently had better sun) maybe 20" diameter at most that I would love to do maybe some years from now with a well planned fell. they are too big to be next to house so dressing them is not really an option.

 

[computeruser]

Can it be done? Absolutely. But it's one of those "if you have to ask..." sorts of scenarios. So give it some honest thought before jumping in.

Setting aside the issue of whether the trees *need* to come down, I'd say that with some felling experience, a day with little or no wind, and a couple guy ropes made of suitable rope (most of mine are 3/4" Samson StableBraid, 20k lb average strength) to anchor/tension/redirect as necessary, you can probably do it just fine. There's always an uncertainty component to any felling activity, but assuming the tree is sound and not a semi-rotted, dead hazard tree, a good plan and the right tools ought to get the job done.

 

[fische08]

I know how you boys love pictures so I went out and snapped some quick of the 3 that the previous homeowners let grow for the past 50 years or so so close to house

View attachment 217147View attachment 217148View attachment 217149

 

[Tree Pig]

good cuts, good rope and a little knowledge you can do a lot... but if your not 100% confident it may be better to be safe then sorry. The tree you mentioned was not big enough to break a 1/2" line if you were using the correct line you should be able to hang the whole tree from it. The 2/3 thing is only a minimum so if you can get it higher get it as high as you can. A tree that size unless it has a good back lean you can pull by hand with out a problem.

 

[carlseawolf]

The one question you should be asking youself is can i afford for it to go wrong as your home is at risk , as the insurers may not pay for a homeowner diy job.

These tree surgeon are there for a reason , knolledge, equipment, training and most important they are insured if it goes wrong.

We all like to save money on heating bills but not at the cost of your house.

 

[justme23005]

So, I cut for firewood and to clear some more room for my yard around the house. The only thing in the way for felling any tree in my yard is my house or other trees. Trees here in Ct are skinny and tall, last tree I cut was 70 foot tall maple that was only about 16 inches diameter 5 feet up from ground and If went severely wrong (hinge broke and 1/2 inch guy line 2/3 of way up tree also broke) only some skinny canopy branches could have scratched my siding. Now, as I get better with hinges, wedges, guy lines and the rope winch(which I haven't needed yet, boy I love those wedges), I may grab a few trees a little closer to the house.

Question: Is it common practice for the pros, if there are no obstructions opposite the house for a clear fall, to fell trees of size lets say 20" healthy oak 70 ft high and max 5 degree lean, instead of climbing them? Just wondering if my dream of tackling some of these more "fun" trees is foolish even for a pro faller.

Btw I hope no one is offended at my DIY ambition with these decent size trees since I am not a pro.

You are only a couple hours from me.. I would be happy to come over & get them on the ground for you..

 

[Bomber]

I say go for it. If you screw up I will come take it off of your house at a small fee.

 

[2treeornot2tree]

It looks like in the pictures that all the trees have most of there weight towards the house. Bet those trees are more like 70'-75' tall too.

 

[justme23005]

Also.... Dont judge the strength of a rope by the size. a 1/2 rope from walmart would have a break strength of 150-175 pounds.. while a 1/2 rope from baileys could easily have a break strength of 6000 pounds or more.

 

[Tree Pig]

I say go for it. If you screw up I will come take it off of your house at a small fee.

also for a small fee he would be glad to come lay them down or take the tops out.

 

[fische08]

lol...now the useful comments are coming out. God help me if I tied the tree up with 1/2 inch nylon rope from walmart. No, it was hard lay 3 strand poly-dacron that came with the maasdam. Hey I used to live in the Hudson valley, Justme, Hyde park to be exact. Awesome of you to offer to do that but I wouldn't want to bother anyone to come and try to do that now. I have a few more years to push the tree line back far enough to drop these guys just yet. I am just saying that I'm gonna use those years to build up the skill, equipment and confidence to get those off my house. and yes a few of them are closer to 75 ft and going towards the house. First one, heaviest lean, is actually bifurcated about 6 feet off the ground and they have clear path to fall individually. 2nd one same thing. 3rd one looks like it has heavy lean canopy also but really is only about 60ft. I can get ropes real high and stable on that one.

 

[Zale]

Do you have a strong and loving relationship with your wife? The only reason I ask is most spouses get really mad when you drop a tree on the house. Are you willing to listen to "I told you to hire someone!" for the rest of your natural life?

 

[fische08]

lol....i have a feeling that her love may reach a limit

 

[beastmaster]

Felling trees is one of those things that look so easy. just make a lil cut in front, cut it in the back, she falls between the house and family car. But in the real world there are a lots of things to look out for and could go way wrong. I may walk up a tree and fell it and you think to your self,"that looked easy", but I have a mental check list I am going throu the whole time. Lots of little things can make a big difference in whats really going to happen.
I have seen trees turn 60 deg. from where they were suppose to go. They can Barber chair, wind can come up, It easy to misjudge the lean, you can cut throu your hing and it'll twist and go where it pleases.
I have over 25 years experence and still sometimes run into problems.
Those trees look like they could be fell easy enough with a rope up high in them, but if your not aware of all the things that could go wrong and know how to check for them, get some one who does to lend you a hand .
Just check out all the youtube videos of HO's dropping trees on their houses and cars to see what I mean.

 

[capetrees]

I think your main issue is getting high enough in the tree with the rope to pull the tree away safely. They really aren't that close to the house. I just dropped two trees, 24"dia/60 tall locusts, about three feet from the owners house, uphill.

Put the rope as high as possible on a strong lead that won't break, get a friend, a strong friend or as mentioned, a truck (not the VW) to anchor the rope and pull away from the house. Once the tension is tight, then start to cut. Cut prior to pulling the rope and the tree could start falling the wrong way and then you're screwed. And continue to pull as the tree is falling until it's completely on the ground. As mentioned, you never know where it's going to end up unless you make it go where you want it to go. Or even safer, dismantle the lean and then drop the trunk.

 

[derwoodii]

Just check out all the youtube videos of HO's dropping trees on their houses and cars to see what I mean.

And if your still keen to try well don't forget to film it may get some $ selling it to Funny Home Videos. They'll just dub that wah wah wha warrr :biggrin: sound, it will be such a laugh as your chimney goes though the roof and the power wires tear off the home.
Let a pro drop it sport, you can watch n learn for next time, heck you'll be busy enough just brushing clean and firewoodin it.

 

[no tree to big]

those trees look like they are in pretty good shape maybe just have someone come out and trim them up... save the rainforest :smile2: and there is no such thing as a tree too close to a house to fell.

This summer we flopped a tree that was touching the wall of the house when these people built there room addition they notched the overhang to clear the tree but as it grew over the years it then started rubbing on the house when the wind blew so they finally had it removed was a 34-36" white oak it would have been a major pain in the rear to rig it down (no crane access)

 

[Huskytree]

Leave it

I would leave it and put a tree stand in it for days when I don't feel like going far from home to hunt. Union, I am sure you could bag a few out of that tree.