How to tell when it's too dead

[Leroy]

Here is the tree my old boss called me out of. This pic was about 35'-40' up. Bark-less Cwood. I was going to blow the top out around there and he was uneasy (me too). He ran up and another 10' or so. Scared out of his mind but he did it. Funny, right when he was about to make the cut this neighbor guy comes over "what's your plan? I've been a tree man for 20yrs.... yada yada...."

 

[treevet]

Any "boss" should be able to do any tree they ask you to do in my opinion.

I had some interesting bosses. Most would go up and do it. One that I had called me out of a tree or two that were pretty sketchy. He's a good guy. Risked himself instead of me. Can't say that for all of em.

I have trained and hired a number of climbers and have NEVER not done the dangerous ones, just had them ground for me as a good climber is generally a good gm. Be it wires or nastiness like Levi's or whatev, nobody is gonna do that tree but me.

 

[treevet]

One time I was doing a huge barkless giant dead Beech. I had a strap on Bollard and with rigging it began to come loose like they do. We cranked up the strap with the tire iron and a pipe on top of the iron, and the bollard caved right into the trunk of the tree. Had to go back up for more after resituating the bollard but just figured it to be like a cavity (which it now was) and tiptoed thru it.

 

[sherwood7]

I have trained and hired a number of climbers and have NEVER not done the dangerous ones, just had them ground for me as a good climber is generally a good gm. Be it wires or nastiness like Levi's or whatev, nobody is gonna do that tree but me.

That's a great point from u and Levi. I'm the boss where I work, there are many trees that I will do just because I feel bad putting someone else in a bad situation. It's not that I think I'm the only one that can do it.

 

[Leroy]

One time I was doing a huge barkless giant dead Beech. I had a strap on Bollard and with rigging it began to come loose like they do. We cranked up the strap with the tire iron and a pipe on top of the iron, and the bollard caved right into the trunk of the tree. Had to go back up for more after resituating the bollard but just figured it to be like a cavity (which it now was) and tiptoed thru it.

That's wild.

I always thought you meant "general manager" when you said gm. Now I'm thinking "ground man?"

 

[Leroy]

That's a great point from u and Levi. I'm the boss where I work, there are many trees that I will do just because I feel bad putting someone else in a bad situation. It's not that I think I'm the only one that can do it.

I can vouch for that. Court's a great guy to work with, no pressure.

That's something my pa would always say- "If you want to be the boss you better be able to do every task as good or better than the person your bossin on." Something like that.

 

[treevet]

That's wild.

I always thought you meant "general manager" when you said gm. Now I'm thinking "ground man?"

yeah gm...groundman

 

[Leroy]

yeah gm...groundman

copy that

 

[Drewtree]

That's a hard question to answer, I think there's a gray area for me where some days I feel more brave than others. If I feel like it's well gone, I just take really tiny pieces.. If it holds my weight plus groundie yanking on the TIP, that's enough for me to go out on a limb to piece it back.

Although some days I think I get lucky.

Big pry bar went 3 feet into the ground that should have been tree. Also residual wall thickness was 3 inches at its thinnest, 6 at its thickest, and non existent on the tension side. Residual wall only went about 65% of the circumference of the base.

 

[treevet]

Obviously no high central tip either...just lucky, not a very big tree.

Boxelder?

 

[JeffGu]

That's an ugly, scary one. No other trees nearby for TIP, either. Did the homeowner get all that firewood from the limbs it's been dropping?

 

[Treezybreez]

That looks pretty bad. I usually ask the home owner to call me before they get that bad. No, actually I beg them.

 

[baumeister]

Hmmm interesting tree. Well balanced obviously. I have an oak tree three times that size with a similar decay situation. I have been keeping an eye on it for

 

[Gorman]

This w. pine was too dead to climb. Sketchy.
Climbed it anyway, but success brought more relief than either satisfaction or commensurate $$$.

The relief. I know the feeling. Walking on eggshells while puckering ye old buttole (like slick rick says it), trying to think of the safest way to do things and you looks down and one of the gm is swiping to the left on his tinder app. Then you get the top and branches down and it all gets much less stressful.

 

[Drewtree]

Obviously no high central tip either...just lucky, not a very big tree.

Boxelder?

Aye, and the biggest one I've ever removed. To put some scale to it that large lateral limb heading out right past the house was at 13 feet.. tree DBH was approx 52 inches.

 

[Drewtree]

That's an ugly, scary one. No other trees nearby for TIP, either. Did the homeowner get all that firewood from the limbs it's been dropping?

Haha, probably! It had about 4 rotten old leaders that were down pretty far.. had to relocate 3 habitats too.. 2 blujay nests 1 dove nest.

 

[Drewtree]

Hmmm interesting tree. Well balanced obviously. I have an oak tree three times that size with a similar decay situation. I have been keeping an eye on it for

Very well balanced, first order of business was removing (in small pieces) the canopy and trunk wood opposite the tension side, once I had a good chunk of weight off the large rigging took over. Let's put it this way.. If I saw that last picture before I climbed the tree, I would have taken a pass.. FOR SURE.

 

[Drewtree]

That looks pretty bad. I usually ask the home owner to call me before they get that bad. No, actually I beg them.

She was holding onto the hope that it would recover..

 

[Drewtree]

Definitely was not a wee twig. At least by my standards. Those farther south might view this tree as nothing more than a shrub.

 

[JeffGu]

It's got the right growth pattern...