Cutting down your own tree?

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ellarose24
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Cutting down your own tree?

Post by ellarose24 »

I have a magnolia tree in our front yard that is about ten feet away from my window and right next to a water pipe. It is already 30 feet tall and I am realizing I need to cut it before the roots do any damage.

Everywhere I research says cutting trees is extremely dangerous and especially if they are close to your house you need a professional.

Any thoughts on this? A professional would cost $250. I was thinking of snipping off all limbs (very bushy southern magnolia) and the trunk really isn’t that large. Maybe sawing it down piece by piece starting at the top.

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Alphaville
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Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by Alphaville »

ive chopped down big trees by hand (and it was dangerous--but fun!)

nevertheless here my instinct is to tell you let the pros cut it... might be homeowners insurance question not a tree felling question? idk, like how do they respond to "licensed/bonded" vs "oops i fucked up my siding"?

(my house was cheap and diy and uninsured.)

but yah there are dangers. even from branches sometimes. trees can kill you anywhere. sometimes the ropes dont work as designed. people do stupid stuff when it comes to the physics of big & heavy things. part of that might do with lacking the right gear + training.

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Sclass
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Re: Cutting down your own tree

Post by Sclass »

$250 isn’t bad. Especially if that includes chipping the tree and hauling it away.

I DIY this stuff but that being said it is dangerous. 20’ can kill you if the stars line up against you.

You’re totally on the right track in taking it down in small pieces. Limb it then take down the trunk in little bites. That’s physics. You don’t want to convert too much potential energy into kinetic energy too fast. Little bites are harmless. Remember part of the potential energy is elastic energy stored in the limbs. They can snap back up and recoil when your relieve them of their burden. Like a trebuchet. This can catch you off guard so think things through.

Remember, the tree grows slowly. The last tree I took down was taken down in three weeks. I took a limb here and a limb there. Then I took a break. A week later I took the top off. Then another 5’ of the trunk. Then another 10’ the next week. Give yourself time to “think tree”.

Safety. I use a lightweight climbing harness and a short length of rope with carabiners to tie on to the tree just in case. I had a friend die from a 12’ fall in a warehouse. It doesn’t take much to die of a head trauma. And I wear my downhill ski helmet. This has saved me from a few hits to the noggin when I use my electric pole saw.

Speaking of which this is my favorite limbing tool. I can stand far away from the danger zone when I use one of these. I also don’t have to climb as high. They’re also good for hacking up the tree when it’s on the ground. The chainsaw is far away from my legs and I don’t have to bend over to cut it up on the ground.

Image

Mine is a really cheap corded model I got for something like $50.

Rather than tell you what not to do watch some tree cutting fails on YouTube. You get to see dumb people getting hurt for doing dumb things. It is almost always trying to do too much too fast.

Good luck.

Miss Lonelyhearts
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Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by Miss Lonelyhearts »

My experience is limited to chopping firewood at the vacation house, but chiming in to say I’ve also known firsthand of a tree cutting death — the husband of one of my high school teachers. Proceed with caution.

Campitor
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Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by Campitor »

Professional tree cutters have the equipment to do a control felling. Depending on the girth and height of the tree, they start by cutting the top branches and upper trunk first and use pulleys and ropes to lower the severed upper tree sections to the ground in a controlled fashion. Once they have the top cut back to a desired height, they cut down the main trunk. If the tree isn't angled correctly, in other words it will fall in an undesired direction, they will put a cable around the tree and pull on it via a winch or truck so that it falls in the right direction.

A 30 foot tree can weigh several tons. Don't gamble with your life, property, or utility lines.

ellarose24
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Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by ellarose24 »

Okay FINe.

I am going to chop some of the skinny branches off myself before I get to the point where I know I need to give up. Keep it mind this is a souther magnolia with skinny branches starting less than a foot off the ground. I assumed I would cut off all branches, then get on the roof and cut the trunk from above. It is more like a large bush and the trunk is probably 4-5 inches in diameter. But I also don’t understand how to use basic tools and this is probably not the project to learn.

Riggerjack
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Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by Riggerjack »

It's a 30' magnolia, not a 300' cedar.

Get a bow saw, you don't need a chainsaw. Grab some pruners. Take small bites.

Take your time, and have fun. Have a plan for dealing with the mess. Trees seem to be bigger when in pieces, on the ground. Compost seems like a good idea if you have the space, and what little wood you can get is good for hobby level wood working.

To save some wood for woodworking, cut it to a good length for your purposes, and paint the end to reduce checking. You can use latex paint, glue, or nearly anything you have around, to paint the ends. Your goal is to slow the moisture loss. Then store someplace dry for a year.

Good luck! And finish this thread with a pic of you holding a significant portion of that tree overhead! ;-)

basuragomi
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Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by basuragomi »

I've cut down a magnolia of similar size. Lopped off whatever limbs I could with a pole-mounted secateur then cut a metre or so off from the top at a time with a ~5m manual pole saw (it's quite a workout). I tensioned each chunk then pulled it down with a very long rope once the cut got ~70% through. Once there was about 3 metres left I switched to a hand saw and ladder. Wearing a bike helmet the whole time and with a lookout/helper. I had my running shoes on when pulling the chunks down!

white belt
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Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by white belt »

From what the others are saying, it sounds like you should be able to handle lopping off branches but the main trunk would be more complicated.

Do you have anyone that might be willing to help? Suburban/Urban fitness yuppies like functional movement workouts, so maybe there is someone who would like helping out with an axe. I mean, people hit truck tires with a sledge hammer as part of workout.

Slightly tangential, but the thought occurred to me that I’m surprised someone hasn’t created a volunteer or for pay group exercise opportunity clearing trees. Something that incorporates rhythm and music too like what the prison chain gangs used to do: https://youtu.be/eX4DYoLrCwM

On some level it makes a lot more sense than a group Zumba or CrossFit class.

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fiby41
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Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by fiby41 »

If you decide to go the DIY route, here is the how-to: viewtopic.php?p=153902#p153902

Gilberto de Piento
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Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

Are you sure you need to cut the tree down? I'm guessing this is coming up because of the posts in the fixit log. I am far from an expert but I don't think every water pipe gets wrecked by an trees growing above. For example, a new PVC pipe is going to hold up better against roots than a 100 year old, cracked clay pipe.

I can't answer whether or not you should do it yourself. I can describe my thinking as a person who has cut down many trees but has no training and didn't have access to youtube or decent tools for most that work. There's a lot of speculation involved without having at least a pic of the tree and the surroundings. I'm not going to type out my thoughts on methods because it's a lot of speculation since I don't have a lot of info. I don't mean to be discouraging but I worry about what another person might do based on my thoughts typed over the internet.

$250 is a good price to have it cut down and removed. I think that is by far the best solution unless you are really excited about the idea of learning how to cut down a tree or you absolutely can't spend the money. Factors for me would include whether or not you already own whatever equipment you will need (will depend on the method used) and whether or not you will need to cut down more trees in the future. If you plan to buy a pole saw, a battery chainsaw, a rope, etc. and you will never need to cut down another tree then I would pay someone else because that gear is going to add up.

How you are going to get rid of the tree also plays into it. If you are going to have to haul the tree to the garbage dump and you don't have a truck and the dump is going to charge to take it that would also make me think that paying someone else to do it makes sense (assuming they haul it away which is usually included with arborist work).

I don't like the idea of going on the roof to cut the tree. Working on a roof is dangerous, cutting down a tree is dangerous. Combining the two is extra dangerous, though maybe you have a flat roof with a wall at the edge, that would be different.

I know one guy who had to ride the medflight helicopter to the hospital because he dropped part of a tree on his head while cutting down trees in the forest. I know another guy who dropped the very tip of a huge tree onto his truck because he thought the truck was further away than the tree could fall. That guy had been a logger and still screwed up. Those were big trees but even 30' trees need to be respected.

ellarose24
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Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by ellarose24 »

It is partly inspired by the other thread and partly inspired by the fact that it is in a very strange place--a place that I love as the magnolia leaves are beautiful from my window, but it is about 10 foot away from two separate walls--and I actually researched this when I first moved in and was told magnolias should have 20 feet of space around them at all times.

As far as my plans for the "mess"--magnolia leaves make good mulch if you put a weed whacker in a metal trans can. Or I will make another wreathe. I will actually miss all of the little gifts it gives me, seed pods and furry ends.

But more than than, the trunk will be used as steps as I am making a path up to my door which is at an incline, and one day plan on getting rid of the concrete path from my garage--I want it to go straight to my door as I'm looking for more of a cottage garden feel. The slimmer branches will go with my texas sage and rosebush branches I've been collecting as I trim to make a (very small) wattle fence as a border for some of my flower beds. I'm actually pretty excited as I don't have a lot of places to find pliable and skinny branches since my property is so small--I'll just need some rebar. In fact, I might just start lopping off branches little at a time and decide over time how prepared I am for the job. It really is a skinny tree. Many of the branches could be taken off with a simple pruning shears.

guitarplayer
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Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by guitarplayer »

This guy cut down a big tree with an axe, probably much bigger than your tree and I guess you would like to cut it in small chunks.

It is quite a pleasure to watch though. I think he made the axe also.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDtPsl7EwYM

Gilberto de Piento
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Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

Just curious, how did the tree project turn out?

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Sclass
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Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by Sclass »

Hey yeah how’d it go?

I cut a small tree down at my LA property yesterday. 15’ tall. Five inch trunk. Actually three trunks each one 5”. Must have started out kind of a bush that got out of control.

Same process as I described above. Climbed up 10’ with a stepladder and took off small bites with a 12” battery powered chainsaw. Once it was cleaned off I took the trunk down in three cuts. Small pieces. I figured I’d have to cut it up anyway so why not cut it up while it was still on the tree. Took only twenty minutes. Felling the tree in one shot would have been faster but more dangerous. I figured I had to cut it up for firewood anyway so why not do it on the tree?

Once on the ground I separated the branches and leaves under 1” diameter from the firewood and kindling. A new or newly sharpened chain makes fast work of this stuff. Put it in two piles.

I ran my mulching mower over the leaves and sub 1” branches. I have a chipper but I find this mower trick is easier because I don’t have to bend over repeatedly to pick branches off the ground and feed them down the hopper. I just drive the mower over the branches till they become a fine powder. I tried out a new mower I bought on Craigslist recently. Honda HRX217. It works very well as a chipper for these small scrubby bushes. Mulch got spread over the yard in various places.

Should have taken some photos but I was too focused on the job.

7Wannabe5
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Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

I have discovered a great skill/trade for the brave, buff lads (or lasses!) who frequent this forum. I hired a young man to take down two very large trees, and trim a few others. He used a method called bucking. He had a chainsaw hanging from his belt, and he started it up and had it dangling from his side, before he climbed right up the trees making use of spurs attached to his boots. Then he wielded the chainsaw kind of like a sword, sending branches falling in an organized pattern from top to bottom.

I don’t go for youngsters who appear to be in their early 30s, but this was kind of like an extremely useful equivalent of pole dancing, IMO. So, in addition to approximately $150/hr. and the ability to possibly help people with their permaculture projects or post-apocalyptic suburban survival gardens, I do believe that other yields might quite possibly transpire.

horsewoman
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Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by horsewoman »

@7wb5 - It's definitely a job for youngish people... DH is trained for cutting trees (we have our own woodland) and cuts all of our firewood and wood for building. Now that he is in early 40s there is a lot of moaning and hurting limbs involved whenever the chainsaw was used for a few hours :)

Re the topic - I second that you should have another person close if you work on the tree. Lots of accidents can happen with trees and the respective tools.

RoamingFrancis
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Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by RoamingFrancis »

Shit, that sounds like exactly the job I'm looking for. Where do I sign up?

7Wannabe5
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Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

@horsewoman:

Yeah, definitely in category of things I could never do.

@RoamingFrancis:

Official job title would be Arborist. It looks like you can get training on the job if employed through national forest service or similar or you can attend forestry school. Quick search turned up on 60 hour credit program costing $10,000. ROI would likely be very good even with purchase of professional gear/chipper. The guy who did my trees had already done another job in the morning, so $1500/long day easy. Apparently, certified tree climbers can also get work doing tasks like working on zip lines.

horsewoman
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Re: Cutting down your own tree?

Post by horsewoman »

Isn't l/wasn't @moretrees some kind of arborist? I don't know if I recall that correctly.

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