Pine trees died

   / Pine trees died #1  

Bobby R

Silver Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
102
Tractor
1972 Ford 2000
I have a Pine tree about 40 feet from my house (in the woods next to my house) that has died. The tree is probably over a hunderd feet tall and comes out of the ground as a single tree but then forks in to two trees about 10 feet above the ground with each tree being probably 16 to 18 inches in diameter. One of the trees is leaning a little bit toward my house and I need to cut it down. My problem is climbing the tree to tie a rope or cable around it high enough to get a good pull on it to pull it away from my house while cutting it down. Another problem is what to pull it with. I've got a Ford 2000 tractor but I'm not sure it's heavy enough to pull it as much as I'd like. The only other thing I have is a cheap pair of come-a-longs (cable type). I can probably round up enough chain or cable or something to use to pull it but any suggestions on the two problems I mentioned?
 
   / Pine trees died #2  
Can you get high enough to top it?
I wouldn't tie it off to your tractor or truck, if it's really 100' tall you could end up losing your vehicle and your house. Can you tie it off to the base of another tree further from the house? That would force it to pivot as it falls. The only way to get the rope up there at a good height is to climb. We've found a guy who works for the forest preserve who does this kind of thing on the side. You might try finding someone with the right skills who will drop it for you, and let you cut it up.
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   / Pine trees died #3  
How bad is it leaning? Can you notch and wedge it? (are you experienced in tree felling?)
 
   / Pine trees died #4  
Bobby R do yourself a favor and hire a professional who has the equipment and experience to do the job safely. Is your life or house or tractor worth more than a few hundred bucks?!
 
   / Pine trees died #5  
Bobby R do yourself a favor and hire a professional who has the equipment and experience to do the job safely. Is your life or house or tractor worth more than a few hundred bucks?!

Good advice. Check with your local forestry dpt. they might have someone that they reccommend to come and take the tree for the timber or possibly pay you for it.
 
   / Pine trees died #6  
Better yet, use the money for a training class on felling techniques and do it yourself.

I would not recommend using your tractor or truck if the tree is as big as you say, large trees require special technique.
 
   / Pine trees died
  • Thread Starter
#7  
I'm sure that's good advice to get someone with the equipment and knowledge to do it. I was just wondering if the job was as big and dangerous as I thought it might be. Thanks to all of you!
 
   / Pine trees died #8  
First, if you have not dropped many trees. get a professional.

Where are you located? You'll need a bigger come-a-long and 3/4" rope. It's better to take it down sooner vs. later (after it rots). Does the sum of both forks still lean towards the house? also can the tree be dropped 90* from the house.
 
   / Pine trees died
  • Thread Starter
#9  
I have a friend who has quiet a bit of experience in cutting trees and making them fall where he wants them to fall, but he hasn't come out to look at it yet. Only one of the forks is leaning toward my house, while the other is leaning slightly the opposite way. I'm not sure about the height of them, I said a hundred feet high or more, but that may not be accurate as I'm not too good at judgings heights when it gets over "people heights." There are several trees out from the tree in question that I could tie to with a block and possibly make a 90 degree pull but I'm not experienced enough to know if I could do that or not. I'm hoping my friend can come out and take a look at it pretty soon. The trees have only been turned brown about two weeks so they've not started rotting yet. How long do I have before it would be too dangerous to climb it to tie the rope off, before it gets too rotten?
 
   / Pine trees died #10  
I seriously doubt it's a hundred feet tall with an 18" diameter trunks on each section. Probably more like 60 feet and that's probably stretching it a bit.

I'd still hire a professional INSURED tree service to do the removal.

Key word is INSURED.

Roofs and tree limbs don't mix well. I know, I used to own a professional arborist service.

Unless you do it everyday, you don't have the experience or equipment to do the job properly and if it goes the wrong way (tree), your homeowners insurance probably won't cover the loss and the loss can be appreciable.
 

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