'Free Tree Guy' Crushes a House

[27RMT0N]

Yikes, we all know this, but someone who will take a tree down 'for the wood' is usually not someone who knows or cares what they are doing. Homeowner didn't want to pay for a removal with an actual company, and the unlicensed and uninsured rando, dropped a 140' fir through the NEIGHBORS house.

VIDEO: Bellevue home destroyed by tree removal gone wrong

www.kiro7.com

Edit to add some photos:

 

[GregManning]

Yikes, we all know this, but someone who will take a tree down 'for the wood' is usually not someone who knows or cares what they are doing. Homeowner didn't want to pay for a removal with an actual company, and the unlicensed and uninsured rando, dropped a 140' fir through the NEIGHBORS house.

VIDEO: Bellevue home destroyed by tree removal gone wrong

www.kiro7.com

Wow ! ! !

 

[VenasNursery]

Poor neighbor at least no one got hurt

 

[Tom Dunlap]

'Hitman Tree Service' was the person on the newscast providing commentary. That makes me chuckle.

 

[TreeCo]

Shoddy construction!

 

[oldoakman]

Cant get it to play.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Cant get it to play.

It took a while for me to make a connection

 

[Njdelaney]

I like how the neighbor followed up with his shocking discovery that the guy willing to remove a 140' fir for free wasn't insured, as if to say shame on that guy instead of shame on me.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

I wonder where the liability will land.

Does the smashed house insurance company go after tree cutter and , seemingly, come up empty
Handed or go after tree owner for hiring uninsured.

 

[Tuebor]

I wonder how much work he did on the tree before he discovered "the situation was out of control but it was too late to call in a full tree removal service"?

 

[Njdelaney]

I wonder if he tried to fell a 140' tree from the ground in a residential neighborhood. I mean what could go wrong on a windy day??

 

[TreeCo]

I wonder how much work he did on the tree before he discovered "the situation was out of control but it was too late to call in a full tree removal service"?

My guess is the cutter said it 'was out of control' when the tree sat back on his chainsaw in the back cut. Later a gust of wind broke it off.

 

[Boomslang]

My guess is the cutter said it 'was out of control' when the tree sat back on his chainsaw in the back cut. Later a gust of wind broke it off.

This is my guess too

 

[oldoakman]

I had a tree sit back on the back cut on a windy day one time. It wasn't a 140 foot fir, it was a 50 foot aspen. It didn't end well.

 

[Al_trees]

Every now and then I get a call asking if we will take a black walnut down for the wood. These people want to pick your brain for information. It is not even worth explaining that no sawmill around here wants to buy a single log and that log might not even be worth the amount we would get paid for taking the tree down. Imagine, working (which has value) to not get paid but try to sell something later to get paid from. Logging is different. This is not logging.

Sounds like a great way to pay a note on a truck, a chipper, a skid steer and the list just goes on.

I couldn't imagine how mad the victims in the crushed house are at their neighbor. What a cheap sob. Yeah lets get someone who wants the wood, sounds like a great idea.

 

[BooRad]

I wonder where the liability will land.

Does the smashed house insurance company go after tree cutter and , seemingly, come up empty
Handed or go after tree owner for hiring uninsured.

Homeowner most likely in deep for hiring a guy without insurance (if this is the case here, perhaps he has insurance?). Homeowner's policy might have some issues with the claim...one of the main reasons NJ passed and implemented the Tree Licensing Act.

 

[ATH]

Homeowner most likely in deep for hiring a guy without insurance (if this is the case here, perhaps he has insurance?). Homeowner's policy might have some issues with the claim...one of the main reasons NJ passed and implemented the Tree Licensing Act.

But he didn't hire him...how does that change the dynamic???

My guess insurance of crushed house pays. They'll go after cutter, but likely find a turnip with no blood. Not sure if tree owner will have any liability...but they should.

Just guessing... would be interesting to know how it shakes out.

 

[Dan Cobb]

I wonder where the liability will land.

Does the smashed house insurance company go after tree cutter and , seemingly, come up empty
Handed or go after tree owner for hiring uninsured.

I wonder if not taking payment will work in the tree cutters favor. I'm no lawyer, but I'm guessing that if he had charged for the "service," his legal position might be (even) worse.

I suspect the only recovery for the neighbor can come from the homeowner, as "free tree guy" likely has a negative net worth.

I should probably read the fine print in my homeowners policy.

 

[oldoakman]

The cutter contracted for payment through barter. "I'll take your tree down for the wood. The wood(logs) had value, thus payment. As someone said, be interesting to see where thos one fleshes out

 

[tnttree]

I had a tree sit back on the back cut on a windy day one time. It wasn't a 140 foot fir, it was a 50 foot aspen. It didn't end well.

Ha, I remember my saw stuck in the back cut in a 30" ash
Plan A was for it to flop in the open cul de sac next to my clamtruck
wind came up and snapped her backwards over and down ravine

turned from a 1/2 hour clean up to a 5 hour ball buster
least I didn't crush anything