Tree Cabling??

[Montana_Sam]

I have a customer who is concerned about a 30”+ Doug-fir with a significant lean over their garage/ mother in law apartment. The tree is visually in superb health: no signs of rot or decay on the trunk, full green canopy. Especially concerning is that a similarly sized tree in his backyard snapped in half during a windstorm this year, again a visually solid tree with no rot in the stem.

Having never cabled a tree this large, what are the communities thoughts? Is that even a worthwhile pursuit or is complete removal out best option? Safety is number one priority, although leaving the tree intact would be ideal.

 

[Jed1124]

I’m assuming you are talking about guying. That is a hard lean and from your picture it appears that if the tree should fail, it would do so behind the house?
I would not cable it to another tree, you may cause other problems should it fail.
You could guy it to a rod driven into the ground in the woods but it may be more effort to do it properly than it is worth.

 

[Montana_Sam]

That is correct, if the tree should fail and fall with it's lean it would smoke the deck and landscaping, but miss the main house. That's assuming it falls with it's lean, if not it could easily hit the building squarely.

I have not considered guying for support. What I had thought was to run 2 cables from the leaning tree back to a 30" cottonwood leaning the other direction, the cables would be about 25' long, located 2/3rds of the way up the Doug-fir. But yes, my fear is that if the big fir fails, it would easily pull the other trees over with it, creating a real cluster ****, or worse.

 

[Okie]

It needs put on the ground before it kills someone, especially before it gets any older and bigger. It's not like it's going to lean the other direction as it grows bigger.

If you are a tree hugger, hug it when it's on the ground.

Ask your home owners insurance guy what he would suggest. You will get the idea.

 

[mikewhite85]

It depends on what kind of value the customer puts on the tree and what kind of risk he/she is willing to assume.

It's important to sell cabling appropriately. The customer needs to understand that it's not a fail-safe or guarantee that the tree will not fail. It does mitigate risk.

I generally give customers both the removal and preservation options priced separately. That helps them to determine what kind value they place on preservation. Generally the price to preserve a tree with a support system is comparable to the cost of removal.

 

[mikewhite85]

Another question I would ask is how long has the tree been leaning like that? Is it life-long phototropism? Or has the lean become more pronounced recently? If the latter, then it's time for removal

 

[jefflovstrom]

Just saying from experience, ( I have a little), if you cable it or guy it, you own it. Meaning if it fails they will come to you for answers. Those answers should be brought up before the work is approved. They need to understand that the work is not a guarantee that it will not fail, but merely a risk mitigation, and to assure them of your work, you will need to do periodical inspections of the work. By cabling a tree , you are basically saying the tree is a risk. For what is worth, the question is " is it? If it is, you are taking on a long term babysitting job and it is up to you if you charge for the periodical ( once a year or so) to inspect the tree.
Jeff
It was a beautiful day!

 

[ATH]

Just saying from experience, ( I have a little), if you cable it or guy it, you own it. Meaning if it fails they will come to you for answers. Those answers should be brought up before the work is approved. They need to understand that the work is not a guarantee that it will not fail, but merely a risk mitigation, and to assure them of your work, you will need to do periodical inspections of the work. By cabling a tree , you are basically saying the tree is a risk. For what is worth, the question is " is it? If it is, you are taking on a long term babysitting job and it is up to you if you charge for the periodical ( once a year or so) to inspect the tree.
Jeff
It was a beautiful day!

I added professional liability (also called errors and omissions) to my commercial insurance policy because of these things...just in case. So I don't disagree with you. But do you know of anybody who has been held liable for a tree that failed after they supported it? I don't. I clearly see the line connecting the two...that is why I choose to pay extra for insurance. I'm just curious if there are actual cases where that has happened?

 

[jefflovstrom]

There are, but probably not recorded or require a search. I have heard of two, a golf course and a camp resort, but even a homeowner that goes that route may not make public news.
Jeff

 

[ATH]

Did anything come back on the arborist that installed the support system or was it on the organization (golf course / campground)?

 

[jefflovstrom]

Did anything come back on the arborist that installed the support system or was it on the organization (golf course / campground)?

I don't know about the campground, but the company that did the golf course did not perform regular inspections of the job. It failed in a storm but no damage to anything, the golf course settled with the company for no charge to remove a large oak and stump grind.
Jeff

 

[sean donato]

In my humble opinion, if they are asking about options, they are worried. At that point it's pretty clear it needs to come down. Depending on the home owners Insurance if they find out they could ask for the tree to be removed, or suspend coverage of the property from any damage caused by a hazard tree. If you do nothing and it fails, it's an "act of God"

 

[Montana_Sam]

Thanks for all the feedback fellas. The same evening I posted this the homeowner texted me to say he’s “leaning towards taking it down” (pun definitely intended).

In my decade of arboriculture experience here in the mountain west we rarely have the need or opportunity to learn or utilize cabling…it’s pretty foreign to us…my year is about 95% conifer removals. But I grew up in RI with the state champion honey locust in our backyard…complete with no less than two dozen cables. The hippy tree wizard came every winter and summer to inspect and adjust tension…still, a major limb failed in Irene and brought down 1/3rd of the canopy onto the house, mostly due to the cabling (I presume). It’s a fine balance I'm sure.

For this fir though, looks like it’s headed to the firewood shed in short order

 

[Montana_Sam]

Well….I did it, cut her down today! Homeowner was tired worrying about the tree falling on his house and squishing everyone. Great day up in the canopy, this thing was every inch of 100’ tall, stump measured 31” across. Trained the homeowner, an electrical engineer, on the porta-wrap and he was smooth as silk after a few big drops, managed the top and logs like a pro.

 

[brock1994]

Nice job! I had a similar situation early this year. Lady wanted all her codominate cedars cabled together, ended up nice but can’t guarantee those things won’t come pulling apart. Also get to come back in a couple years to check the nuts. *Job security* Cheers