safe to fell near house?

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great tips...i may or may not try them myself. I still have a few years to practice on trees just as big but farther from house. I am trying to do each one with at least one guy line, I have the rope winch(instead of truck) to pull against the lean if i need(which I haven't had to yet, wedges do a lot even on these tall ones.) I'd also probably buy two guylines of the 3/4" 20k lb caliber like someone said if i DID end up doing them. I am getting good with throw line so I can def hit the tops of these guys. bet believe me, I will NOT try these if I have any doubts and I am a big safety guy.

edit: they are just too close to house, and 3 of them at that, for comfort. I need some actual SUNLIGHT in my yard! I wouldn't cut them down if I didn't need the firewood anyway.
 
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fische08 said:
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.
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I'm about an hour North of Hyde Park... Let me know if you change your mind, & I'll come over & drop the trees for you. :msp_biggrin:
 
lol, thank you for that. I didn't see any anchor lines or wedges and I'm not sure what kind of cut that was either. His wife was WAAAAY too calm afterward btw which was just weird. Yes I know that kind of stuff is possible but so is yanking the steering wheel and slamming the gas pedal on accident while driving over the rip van winkel bridge but I'm gonna try pretty hard not to do that :blob2: Crap I know trees are dangerous, I think thats what's so fun about cutting em down.

edit: but like I said, I'm all about safety, maybe I'll do 3x20k lb guylines lol
 
You would have alot less money wrapped up into having those trees cut down then you would in buying 3 3/4" bull ropes. There are almost $250 each for a 150' rope
 
capetrees said:
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.
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Too much pull with a truck could lead to a barber chair also. There still is alot more to it than a pickup and a chainsaw.
 
You'll end up on like the idiots on youtube or its cheaper to hire someone because you need $750 worth of one time use ropes? I thought this was the homeowner HELPER forum. :)

While I would use a rope, he's not LIFTING the tree whole with a crane, he's just discouraging it from falling into its natural lean. A VW is a PLENTY good anchor. I usually try to tie off on the base of other trees if they are available. A few hundred pounds of sideways pull 50' up a fairly straight tree translates into a huge amount of influence down at the back cut.

I'd use one 5/8 Yale XTC on those - ~$125 a bunch of places online. I personally think those trees could get away with 1/2" 3 strand dacron rope - $60 for two
MARINE, SKI, BOAT, POLYESTER 3 STRAND ROPE 1/2"-300FT. | eBay

3 decent wedges if the rope doesn't just pull it over are $20.

If you think you'll do this more than a few times, down own a crossbow, and don't want to spend an hour getting the rope tied off well in each tree, you might want a bigshot throw weight slingshot ~$120 and a throw weight/slick line combo ~$20.

So 60 on rope, 20 on wedges, 140 on bigshot and throw weight. Total is $220 to take down dozens of trees at your house, your friends houses, your family's houses over the next decade or two.


Reading a bunch of online OSHA tree felling guides and then practice felling with open face notches on smaller trees and/or trees away from the house. Felling solid trees where there is enough room to drop them whole isn't rocket science. Just read, make sure you leave enough hinge wood, practice a whole lot away from the house, and think about what you could have done better after each fell. After a dozen trees you'll probably feel confident you can do it.
 
KarlP said:
You'll end up on like the idiots on youtube or its cheaper to hire someone because you need $750 worth of one time use ropes? I thought this was the homeowner HELPER forum. :)

While I would use a rope, he's not LIFTING the tree whole with a crane, he's just discouraging it from falling into its natural lean. A VW is a PLENTY good anchor. I usually try to tie off on the base of other trees if they are available. A few hundred pounds of sideways pull 50' up a fairly straight tree translates into a huge amount of influence down at the back cut.

I'd use one 5/8 Yale XTC on those - ~$125 a bunch of places online. I personally think those trees could get away with 1/2" 3 strand dacron rope - $60 for two
MARINE, SKI, BOAT, POLYESTER 3 STRAND ROPE 1/2"-300FT. | eBay

3 decent wedges if the rope doesn't just pull it over are $20.

If you think you'll do this more than a few times, down own a crossbow, and don't want to spend an hour getting the rope tied off well in each tree, you might want a bigshot throw weight slingshot ~$120 and a throw weight/slick line combo ~$20.

So 60 on rope, 20 on wedges, 140 on bigshot and throw weight. Total is $220 to take down dozens of trees at your house, your friends houses, your family's houses over the next decade or two.


Reading a bunch of online OSHA tree felling guides and then practice felling with open face notches on smaller trees and/or trees away from the house. Felling solid trees where there is enough room to drop them whole isn't rocket science. Just read, make sure you leave enough hinge wood, practice a whole lot away from the house, and think about what you could have done better after each fell. After a dozen trees you'll probably feel confident you can do it.
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We are helping, to keep someone from getting killed either by the tree or his wife. If you pull trees that big over with a vw and a 1/2" rope your a idiot. I do alot of pulling trees over, and its very dangerous. I have cut into trees that I thought were in good shape just to find out they were invaded with ants and were hollow in the inside. You cut your hinge to small or not small enough it could spell disaster. You need to know how to read the tree. I have felled hundreds of trees that leaned the wrong way pulling them with a 3 ton comalong and a rope. Every one makes me nervious especially when they are near a house.
 
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Two steel wedges one chainsaw one sledgehammer 5 minutes per tree. Easy as pie bro.

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He didn't say which VW he had, but the lightest one out there is over 2800lbs. That cheapo 1/2" dacron rope I linked to has a breaking strength of over 5200lbs.

After looking at those pictures, you think you need even 1000lbs of pull in a high crotch to get THOSE trees to fall away from the house? I guess people are buying your professional equipment, not your professional finesse?

If a homeowner starts cutting a notch in a tree like that and finds it hollow, they have the option of stopping before making the back cut, and calling a professional with a bucket truck to drop it in tiny pieces.
 
He said he has a masdaam rope puller. You can pull over any moderately balanced tree you cam find with that. Mines a beast. 1500lb is enough to dissuade minor lean for sure..

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KarlP said:
He didn't say which VW he had, but the lightest one out there is over 2800lbs. That cheapo 1/2" dacron rope I linked to has a breaking strength of over 5200lbs.

After looking at those pictures, you think you need even 1000lbs of pull in a high crotch to get THOSE trees to fall away from the house? I guess people are buying your professional equipment, not your professional finesse?

If a homeowner starts cutting a notch in a tree like that and finds it hollow, they have the option of stopping before making the back cut, and calling a professional with a bucket truck to drop it in tiny pieces.
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Pulling leaning trees can bring other issues eg slabbing up or barba chair splits as you increase the tension up high your asking a lot from the wood to load up securely.

[video=youtube;2YAf61zz5VU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YAf61zz5VU[/video]
 
derwoodii said:
Pulling leaning trees can bring other issues eg slabbing up or barba chair splits as you increase the tension up high your asking a lot from the wood to load up securely.
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EXACTLY!! A few hundred pounds goes a long way. A 20k lb rope and pulling with a pickup is way overkill for those size trees.
 
Ive never moved used a20k rope to pull a tree. You cant apply that much force so its overkill. Besides the puller only accepts1/2". A solid 3strand is all I ever use to pull with. I f you need more than three tons you are in trouble.

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Well, I have pulled trees over that my 3 ton puller wouldn't pull, and I had to put a second comalong in it. You can't really tell for sure exactly how the trees lean. Its a photo. What you have to think about is a car on round tires takes alot less to move then you would think. I always use 3/4" rope on big trees, just what I feel comfortable with. I want a bigger safety factor. If you want to use 3 strand half inch and a comalong only rated for 1500 lbs, I dont care, Its your insurance and butt on the line. Cant imagine how bad of a reputation you would get if you drop a tree on someones house. As far as if he cuts into it and sees it hollow, at that point you are committed. I wouldn't want a hollow half notched tree sitting next to my house.
 
Question on the barber chair video on best way to cut the tree with lean in video

Not to hijack the original thread (would be happy to start an new thread), but could someone explain the best method to cut the tree in the video above by derwoodi - the one where the tree 'barber chairs'. Would you notch the face and then plunge cut the leaning tree right near where you want the hinge to be - then work the cut towards the back of the tree?

Thank you.
 

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