So a guy at work who hasn't really dropped that many trees came up and was asking for some help in dropping some trees at a piece of property that a house is being built on since his saw wasn't big enough. Anyhow I ran over there at lunch today to look at this tree and it is a monster! It is a pine tree that is easily over 85 feet tall and probably over 36" in diameter and branched out with branches bigger than most small pines from the ground to the top. I took one look at it and started trying to back peddle my way out of this . It has a slight lean 90 degrees to where he wants to drop it and that is if I am reading it correctly. I make no claim to be an expert but have a lot more saw time than he does and it concerns me. He on the other hand days it is no big deal he is putting cables on it and will just pull it where he wants it with his truck. I tried to ask how he planned to cut it and I'm not sure he has a clue what he is getting into. I started running through what could go wrong and none of it seemed to concern him at all. Anyhow I backed out and said call a pro to put it on the ground and I will be over to help cut it up. He had called a pro and to drop around 12 trees with 3 of them being big cut them up and grind the stumps they wanted 3k which he isn't doing. What would you do?
Sounds like a Norway spruce. Stay away. The branches will hold the trunk 8 feet off the ground when it comes over unless it gets limbed first. With the limbs on you'll have problems with the load of the trunk on them.
Dunno, he thinks he can get through it from both sides with his Husky 455 I am skeptical though.......
I said that same thing today. Told him I was worried about it rolling and said my guess was the pro was going to bring it down in sections.
Same...I trust my gut instinct in cases like this. Youtube is filled with videos with guys who bit off too much for their skill level.
I shoulda took pictures this thing was huge! I honestly don't think I have ever seen a pine tree this big before!! The diameter of the branches on the bottom of this thing had to be 40+ feet
Tell him to donate it to Rockefeller center for the Christmas tree. They can have it if they come get it.
That's about how it works. This years tree came from PA. Story was that the person responsible to get the tree found it several years ago. The people that owned the house then didn't want to cut the tree down. House changed hands and the new owner said come and get it.
Is there anything nearby that it could fall on? Other than falling on you what else could go wrong, aside from having to limb it off a step ladder like someone already stated? That is a serious question, not joking. Obviously I don't have boots on the ground view. But I tend to see stuff like this as an opportunity to broaden skills. My biggest worry would be dingle-puss, your coworker. When I am pushing the limits I don't want any one around. If I did the job I would make damm sure he understands to stay the hell out of the way; that when it starts to go I am running like hell and if he is the the way there will be size 11EEE tracks up his back. I would be tempted to hand cuff his azz to the trailer hitch of my truck that I would park +3 tree lengths away from the stump.
That is a tough thought, I understand your thinking about not wanting to hear about his accident or worse. You made the right call backing out, like me if I get that iffy feeling or wonder what could happen looking at one I leave it. Some how some way try to convince him the fire he's playing with might more than burn him ? Lots of proof on Youtube vids, but then again there are some people that refuse to accept the warnings…..
I hope he is very careful. Can you keep us posted on what he decides and how it goes? How well do you know him?
I would walk away just like you've done. I understand being concerned that he'll take it down himself and it'll end poorly. But it would be MUCH worse if you took it down trying to be a good friend, and it ended poorly. I say you've done enough for him: let him know your opinion on it and advised him to hire a pro (great advise). If he wants to try it now, that's on him. He has plenty of info to know that he probably shouldn't do it himself
My gut says bad things can happen and happen quickly. I had a small oak I was cutting down go terribly wrong with one bad mistake and when it hit me and sent me flying I have had nothing but the utmost respect for a tree. With the size of this thing I just feel like if it went bad there is no way you are getting away from it with the size of it. The thing that concerns me is it has a natural lean the wrong direction. I'm sure I am probably being way to overly cautious but this thing is huge.
Most tree services charge less if all they have to do is tip it over. Maybe he could save enough by cutting them up himself, or with your help, to offset the cost of dropping one more. If he was planning to have them haul them away, well maybe you know a guy who'd be interested in taking them for firewood..
Hey Certified106... when you feel bad about not helping the guy out, juz watch this over and over... (He sounds like he's got it covered) What could possibly go wrong?
If he's having a basement dug tell him to have the excavator do it. They can use the big toys to take the trees and root balls down at the same time. That's what I did on my building site. My guy preferred I leave the trees standing so he could use the leverage of the tree to get the root ball out.
