Dead trees

[Rosyrain]

What is the best way to chop down a dead tree? My parent have a dead trees in the yard that needs to come down before it eventually topples over on the house and the problem is that it is at least 50 feet tall. My first idea is that we should start at the top and cut it in small sections working our way down. What are your thoughts?

 

[Kansas Terri]

Is there a clear spot to drop a 50 foot tree in?

People use ropes to tie the tree to something when it is important to drop it in the correct spot, but I have never seen it done. It has been described to me a couple of times. The purpose of the ropes is to guide it, not to pull it over. That way if a gust of wind hits it when it is just starting to go over it will not fall the wrong way.

The only concern I have about cutting it in pieces starting at the top is, how will you get up there? Do you have access to a cherry picker? You cannot trust your weight to a dead tree: the inside may be hollow and rotten and it might not take your weight.

If this is a tree in a typical city lot, with the usual power lines and buildings, I would pay to have a professional do it. I once saw a video of a tree that fell sideways because there was rot on the inside, and it squashed a brand new pickup truck.

I was shown the correct way to drop a tree, and I have cut a couple of little 20 foot ones when there was a clear space to do it. But, with a 50 foot dead tree, if there were buildings and power lines around I would not do it at ALL! I would hire somebody to do it. A tree with rot in the trunk might not fall straight. Or so said the gent who showed me how to cut a tree, and who explained about the guide ropes.

 

[Chuck]

What is the best way to chop down a dead tree? My parent have a dead trees in the yard that needs to come down before it eventually topples over on the house and the problem is that it is at least 50 feet tall. My first idea is that we should start at the top and cut it in small sections working our way down. What are your thoughts?

A tree of that size is not something that an amateur should even think about cutting down. But having done so myself many times with different types of trees here is how NOT to do it. By climbing to the top with a chainsaw, cutting limbs off and the top. Ever hear of the word whipsaw. That is what happens when a limb or any heavy part of the trees is suddenly cut. When a tree whipsaws it moves side to side rapidly and can launch an unsuspecting tree whacker and his chainsaw quite some distance. Flying through the air is an enjoyable experience. The sudden stop, not so much. Or you can cut the whole thing down at once. But then you must have the knowledge as to where the tree will fall and that knowledge only comes from the experience of actually felling trees. You just don't grab a chainsaw and start sawing horizontally through the trunk. The first think that will happen then is to get your chainsaw solidly jammed in the cut. If and when you finally get your chainsaw unstuck where is the tree actually going to land? Murphy's Law explains it all. I cannot express enough how dangerous this is to someone who has never done it. If you must DIY then go rent one of those cranes or better yet let a professional do it but if that is not an option start at the bottom and work up, not from the top down. You can do this with a long ladder. Cut the limbs in half before cutting them from the trunk and keep the work area clean of debris. When you can safely reach 30 feet or so tie a heavy rope or chain to the trunk and lead the rope or chain to a vehicle and put a strain on the tree. Make sure the vehicle is further away than the tree is tall. Cut a wedge out of the trunk on the side where the vehicle is about 1/4-1/3 the diameter of the tree. Go to the exact opposite side of the wedge cut and cut horizontally toward the cut out wedge with the vehicle maintaining pressure on the tree. By doing this you can accurately drop the tree where you want it to fall.

 

[DeborahJane]

I had quotes to have some trees cut down and it is very expensive but having watched it being done I'd really recommend a professional.
The young man who gave me the quotes offered to chop down our ornamental cherry tree for nothing if he could have the wood. I agreed of course and watched him. It really was fascinating, swinging from side to side, sawing, wood falling where he planned and in the end the trunk falling precisely where he'd planned and ever so safely. I was quite in awe and applauded It was a fascinating afternoons entertainment. It's a wonder I didn't invite the neighbours in for champagne. I think I would if I get it done again. I'd certainly set myself up with a ringside seat..... at a safe distance of course.
He did leave us with the out side planks and it really is very nice wood, one of which I have decided to put a Staghorn on. I'll have to work out how to stand it up, at the moment it is just leaning against my garden shed and looks okay.
There's always something to think about for the garden, isn't there? I seem to always have a project in mind. .
We actually do have a few trees which really do need to come down. I'll have to save up, hopefully before the fall down.

 

[Beth_B]

Contrary to what @DeborahJane just said, I was going to chime in and say it's not all that expensive to have a professional take out a tree. All relative, I guess. When I bought my house there was a very, very, extremely VERY tall ash tree (well in excess of 100 feet tall I think) in the front yard and it was not a question of if it would fall onto my little house, but when. It cost me $425; I did the "budget" option and they left the wood tidily chopped into logs, and did not grind out the stump. Two guys in one hour and they even raked my yard. They did it with a truck lift (not cheap to rent BTW) and the way Chuck describes, branches off from bottom to top, then the trunk from top to bottom. I went up on my roof and took photos, it was cool how efficient they were! And I put the logs on craigslist for free and they were gone in a day.

Last year I had them do $625 worth of pruning of extremely large limbs over the hose and deck and removal of some dead trees. May have some more work done this year too. I have a ton of trees. They chipped up a bunch of the wood for mulch, which was handy. They couldn't get their truck into the back yard so did all of that climbing the trees with harnesses on.

Just a cautionary tale: my neighbor's sister hired an uninsured handyman to remove some large branches. He took down some power lines by dropping a branch on them and the local utility charged her (as the homeowner) $2,900 and change for the repair. Not sure if her homeowners' insurance covered that or not, but the handyman didn't have the money to pay her back. For any work that could threaten power lines or structures, I personally would only go with a reputable insured tree service. I really think this is one of those tasks where "if you have to ask online how to do it, you shouldn't be doing it yourself."

 

[claudine]

Don't do it by yourself, Rosyrain. It's too dangerous. My parents had a giant, dead acacia in their garden. They hired a professional to cut it down. He had his own, special equipment.
I don't remember how much exactly it costed to have that tree taken out, but it wasn't a lot of money.

 

[IcyBC]

That is a big tree to try cutting down yourself. Get a few quotes and play price match with them to see what they said. It is so dangerous but if you can find a group of the right people and right tools, it won't be that bad.

 

[Rosyrain]

There really aren't any clear areas around the tree so it sounds like from all of your recommendations that we should not even attempt to cut it down ourselves. My dad calls the tree the "widow maker." I think we will just end up paying someone to cut it. Thanks for all of your advice.

 

[Corzhens]

For a dead tree, I would advice for you to seek professional help. Accidents may happen and you may not be able to handle a heavy log. Some years ago, we had a tall banana plant with lots of fruit. When it was ready for harvest, our housemaid tried to harvest it by herself. Upon toppling the tree, our housemaid reached for the falling fruits lest they fall on the ground and be destroyed. The cluster of fruits fell on her. It's a good thing she was only slightly injured.

 

[Rosyrain]

For a dead tree, I would advice for you to seek professional help. Accidents may happen and you may not be able to handle a heavy log. Some years ago, we had a tall banana plant with lots of fruit. When it was ready for harvest, our housemaid tried to harvest it by herself. Upon toppling the tree, our housemaid reached for the falling fruits lest they fall on the ground and be destroyed. The cluster of fruits fell on her. It's a good thing she was only slightly injured.

Oh wow, she is lucky that she was not more seriously injured. I imagine that even a small cluster of bananas weight a lot. I do not want to chance injury, or even worse, so we are going to leave it up to the professionals to get the tree down for us.

 

[Kansas Terri]

I would hire this one done also. It is just too hard to cut big trees around houses and power lines and such.

 

[marlingardener]

Hire an experienced tree removal company! Do not get three dudes with a chainsaw who offer to do the job cheaply. Make sure the company is insured. If no one is wearing a hard hat, send them home. Get a contract that states what is to be removed, and what is to be hauled off.
This is not a DIY job, so pay for peace of mind!

 

[DeborahJane]

There really aren't any clear areas around the tree so it sounds like from all of your recommendations that we should not even attempt to cut it down ourselves. My dad calls the tree the "widow maker." I think we will just end up paying someone to cut it. Thanks for all of your advice.

I've heard that saying "widow makers" here in Australia too but it was from my English neighbour. I wonder where it originated or if it is just a logical generalization of trees which are likely to fall. Our neighbour was talking about one of our paper bark trees.

 

[Kansas Terri]

A "Widow maker" is any tree that is dangerous to cut. It might be dead, or it might have rot in the trunk. Or, it might have a tree that started to go over leaning against it. The thing is, it might not fall straight, and if there is a person in the area you do not know if the tree might go their way or not.

Or, it is a large dead limb that might fall on someone reckless enough to pitch a tent under it. I have heard it used both ways. The bit about the dead tree being called a "widowmaker" because it might not fall straight when it was cut was told to me by a man who heated with wood, and the bit about a "widowmaker" being a dead limb that might fall in the middle of the night was told to me by a camper.

 

[Trellum]

Hire an experienced tree removal company! Do not get three dudes with a chainsaw who offer to do the job cheaply. Make sure the company is insured. If no one is wearing a hard hat, send them home. Get a contract that states what is to be removed, and what is to be hauled off.
This is not a DIY job, so pay for peace of mind!

That sounds like some really good advice, my mom is having to deal with two trees that are really tall and want them to get chopped down D: I told her she needed to be careful and hire someone experienced to do the job as well, I think she will listen, she has no choice