Trees Really Do Grow!

Gale Hawkins · Feb 1, 2012

We have been here 25 years and did some tree trimming but never had any profession tree care company to come in and do it right.

Over the past four years we have lost some trees around the place due to storms of one type or another. Thankfully the house has been spared and damage from any fallen trees but the high risk has been there.

While 20+ years ago we did cut trees before we added on behind the house. After adding a large deck we were too close to the woods.

A very large oak that had never been trimmed that is about 30 foot from house and deck did get broken up last summer and some limbs got down on the deck but did no damage. A guy stopped by and got us out of a bind and said he would be back in the winter so he could be more aggressive in trimming back storm damage.

Last Monday the guy showed up and agreed to start on Wed and did but rain slowed/delayed progress at first. He has a 250 JD steer loader with grapple hooks and the ground was too soft especially right after major rain storms last week.

He had a crew of 2.5 and I would up working them 28.5 hours. The nice thing is we have addressed most of our tree trimming needs for as long as we live here. All but the one major shade tree that could have crashed to the house/deck in most any serious storms out of the south have been removed. The one remaining tree near the house has been trimmed so it should be fine short of a twisted like event.

None of the removed trees had any beautiful shape to them. They dropped all the dead or dying trees in about one acre of woods and must have cut another 100+ trees that were just to thick or had NO crown or redeeming shape in sight of the house. They dealt with storm damaged trees over an area of several acres as well.

The open looks works for me and the rest of the family will agree in time I expect.

Turning 61 this month reminds me how much more stressful dealing with a tree crushed house would be following a bad storm. Unlike some the dread of damage from all the trees leaning towards the house that are in the natural storm path was a real weight on my mind. Every year they got taller and heavier. The deck was hard to keep clean because the sugar from all the tree leaf sap really made bad stuff grow and on the roof as well.

Well trees will keep growing but now they are farther way. :thumbsup:

creekbend · Feb 2, 2012

Since the trees' proximity to your Home became a possible hazard, you made the right decision. Not only are fallen trees or branches a possible hazard to your Home, but one should consider the damage from root systems. Roots can damage the slab, sewage pipe;etc.

Gale Hawkins · Feb 2, 2012

I am wanting to build a shop that is sight of the house and now I have more options with these trees removed. I need to do a lot of fill to build the size of shop I would like to have and have a road on either side of it. Removing as many trees as we did around the house makes it easier to do the fill work.

By cleaning off the hill that had an old place on it will give us acess to several hundred loads of dirt using our F700 16' flat dump truck and it is only 600 foot away and does not require using any public roads in the drier summer seasons. The hill should be clay/sand mix to nearly pure clay.

That was the type soil we used over 20 years ago when I hauled 140 loads from about 1500 feet the other side of the house. Where I made nearly vertical banks they have stayed that way.

On the subject of tree root damage I agree with you. We also learned there can be roof damage from trees over hanging a roof. It may be cooler in the summer with more chance of a breeze. The house was build in a semi circle clearning about 65 years ago and the under growth had become heavy for the first 50+ feet into the woods. This can be breeding ground for all types of insects and copper head snakes.