Walked From the Job

[Chucky]

Here's a Red Maple (Acer rubrum) removal that I bid on last winter. It's been declining fast according to the homeowner, especially since a large ice storm in 1998. I showed up today with a groundman I hired from my regular job. The groundman was just late enough for me to to gas the saws, prep the landing zone, and get prepare my plan of attack.

 

[Chucky]

Here's a pic of a major branch failure from the ice storm.

 

[BigJohn]

So did the truck break down?

 

[BigJohn]

Did you lock the keys in it? Maybe you dumped the tree on the truck? Tell why you had to walk home?

 

[Chucky]

. . . and here's a flat spot in the trunk, indicating probably a girdling root.

 

[Chucky]

. . . anyways, I got a fair ways up the tree, and I looked down and saw all the big wood below me, and I looked up and saw all the wood above me, and I looked sideways and saw all the wood beside me . . . and I began to have second thoughts about my ability to take this tree.

And for the first time, after a few moments of serious reflection, I yelled down to Ken that we were packing up and leaving.

I was humbled and embarrassed, but I guess the only thing that got hurt today was my ego.



Chucky
Show, Whoa!, & go TREE SERVICE

 

[BigJohn]

Glad to hear you didn't lock your keys in the truck. We have all been there. I hope I don't get called on this too as to me going on about how great I am. But here goes I been your shoes. The best thing to do is to carefully get back up there and take that tree.

Maybe not. I'm sure you could be coached through it.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Was the tree moving oddly as you ascended?

 

[John Stewart]

Originally posted by Chucky
. . . anyways, I got a fair ways up the tree, and I looked down and saw all the big wood below me, and I looked up and saw all the wood above me, and I looked sideways and saw all the wood beside me . . . and I began to have second thoughts about my ability to take this tree.

And for the first time, after a few moments of serious reflection, I yelled down to Ken that we were packing up and leaving.

I was humbled and embarrassed, but I guess the only thing that got hurt today was my ego.



Chucky
Show, Whoa!, & go TREE SERVICE

Be humble brother not embarrased!
It takes a bigger man to walk away and your a better one for it.
Just learn from it and move on!
Later
John

 

[Dadatwins]

Good for you for walking on the job if you think you are not capable of doing it. I could rip on giving a bid for a job that you could not do but sounds like a lesson learned and fortunatly you realized the danger involved before getting yourself or someone else injured. Instead of losing all the $$ on the job why not try to call another company or a hired gun to knock it down for you and watch and learn for next time?

 

[Lumberjack]

Originally posted by BigJohn
Glad to hear you didn't lock your keys in the truck. We have all been there. I hope I don't get called on this too as to me going on about how great I am. But here goes I been your shoes. The best thing to do is to carefully get back up there and take that tree.

Maybe not. I'm sure you could be coached through it.

I agree, your best be would be to climb it back up... sometimes it can seem too much, so break it into smaller tasks.

As butch said, where you worried about the tree structurally failing?

If not, but you didnt want the rigging to pop it, I recommend tieing the 2 main leads together with something like a 3/1 compression MA setup towards the top. If need be tie the center back 180 degrees from the first. Tie into the top of the center, and then work down the lead on the left, then the center.

Where is the LZ? The road side?

However if you truly believe that this tree is beyond you abilities, then dont do it. Make sure you explain to the customer.

 

[wct4life]

Chucky,

I wouldn't worry about walking away. I've been in a couple of situations like yours. I'd get into a tree, look around, and realize that my intial thoughts changed with the new perspective. Fortunately for me, I can just call the boss, explain my dilema and we take care of it on another day. That's when he has me go back with the most experienced guy we have then either he does it and explains what/why he does it his way or I go up and he coaches.

It's better to live and learn than try and die.

(I think I found my new sig )

 

[Stumper]

Chucky, No shame in walking-I've done it a few times. Yeah it is embarassing but best to be safe.
Just wondering-is there any reason that tree can't be dumped whole. The pic doesn't show all but there looks like there is a lot of room around that tree.

 

[glens]

What's not to like about the job?  Pull the mail/newspaper boxes, dump the left lead there maybe in a couple pieces, then the middle, then the right, then dump the spar and clean out all the beer from the fridge set up at the work site.

Glen

 

[murphy4trees]

How much $ did you put on that tree... Maybe you would be a little more encouraged to make it happen if you had put some serious dollars on that tree... One of my first trees was a tulip about that size.... I think I put $175 on it... I was scared plenty.... knees were shakin uncontrolably.... Should have put $675 on it to make it worth the trouble.... Hope you can learn from my mistake here....
Good luck with the tree!

 

[Chucky]

I know what Big John and Lumberjack are saying: regroup and figure a way to take the tree. And when I did production tree work for a large company I’da done that, not that I’da had much choice. But because this tree’s owned by a friend of the boss’s, I bid low – way low, so the job was not really gonna make me much coin.

I think it was mostly the sheer mass of the tree that daunted me, even though I’ve taken down much bigger trees with an experienced groundmen. But to tell you the truth, because the tree’s been declining for a few years, I got a little spooked up toward the top. Maybe unjustifiably, but since I’m calling the shots, that’s the shot I called. And I know a tree service with a bucket that bid $700 on it, so I advised the homeowner to take it.

I took a job I couldn’t handle, that’s all there is to it.

Stumper: dropping the tree whole was my first proposition – the homeowner wouldn’t go for it because of his lilac bushes and his White Pine – and it would be 90 degrees from the natural direction of fall (if I dropped it toward where it’s leaning, there’s both the road and primary lines (not in the pic) in the way.

Glen: that was *exactly* my plan from the beginning. I must be getting old. In any event, someone else will do the job, and in the meantime I’ll move on – thank you, John, and wct4life.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Don't forget!

Ya gotta get yur mind right!

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Potential girdling root looks like a nonissue; a little shovel work would reveal one if it was there. that codom tearout looks ugly; could you have stopped there and poked around before climbing above it?

That may have been the spot to breathe deep, assess risk, and redo the plan. If bad, bracing to avoid splitting makes sense.

Nothing wrong at all with sending that one to the bucket crew. Saddest part of this whole story is the missed opportunity to prune back that heavy limb so it would not tear out like that.

 

[NeTree]

As I said in another thread...

Sometimes knowing what you CAN'T do is more important than knowing what you CAN.

At least you'll live to fight another day.

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

Walk while ya still can, and don't ignore your senses.