partially removed white pine vs. nature

ladybird

ladybird

New member
Location
Burlington, VT
Hello all,

I scheduled the removal of a multi stemmed white pine about 20 feet from the northern side of the house. The home owner requested to be present during the removal.

We rescheduled multiple times and finally got started. I limbed up one stem that sits away from the house leaving a tuft of 5-6 branches at the top, removed two smaller stems and had just taken off lower limbs on the stem closest to the house when it got too dark to work.

Managed to get back the following day to finish it off, but we'd gotten a significant amount of snow in the interim. I started up the tree and about 30 minutes into the climb all of my gear started glazing over with ice. Biners and gates, rope, gloves, friction hitch, the whole nine. I decided to call it because I was unsure how to manage the ice build up(any suggestions?). Now the home owner can't reschedule till the first of the year.

I've only worked on one job where we had to leave a partially removed tree. A bee's nest got the best of us, so I'm wondering if the altered stems are ok to leave until then?

The stem closest to the house sits below the tree line and the tree is on the edge of a wooded area with other white pines, protecting it from weather from the north. I can be a bit of a nervous nelly and figured I'd put it out to you fine folks to see what y'all thought. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
 

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Good plan to stop. Mountaineers don't always have that option and have to deal with ice/snow buildup. We don't.

It can be frustrating scheduling around a homeowner. Sometimes it seemed like they should pay extra if I had to go through contortions to make their schedule. If not, no big deal.

YOu could explain any risk concerns to the homeowner. Let them know if you feel that it's important from a risk standpoint to get the trees down ASAP. Be sure to document what you discuss. If it is risky to leave make sure they know they are responsible.

Are there any defects or reasons that you feel lke the trees may fail?
 
I do everything to work with the homeowner's schedule. If they say they're here til Wed I make sure I show up on Thursday. The public is unaware of real work anymore and real danger. Having them there is only good for getting paid upon completion.
 
Homeowner's can definitely be tricky. I'm operating on a very small scale, so I tend not to have to deal with too many headaches.

As for the pine, it is in good shape considering it's a multi-stemmed white. There are several feet of included bark about twenty feet up the base where the stems join. Other than that they are in great shape. The only thing that makes be question its stability is the totally limbed up stem in the back. I don't have enough experience to really gauge if the pom pom on top of the limbed up stem will exert more pressure than the trunk can handle?
 
I would think that the pom pom would exert less pressure--- less wind throw, less ice holding capacity etc....

Stems get "shaky" when they are limbed completely and have no more mass to "buffer", but even then, I still wouldn't sweat it.

As an aside, my condolences for having to work in THAT. OMG! It sounds like hell froze over!

Praise God for the south and WARM weather!

:-)
 
If homeowners wanted to dictate the when we usually did factor in a fee for that as it would affect our ability to optimize our schedule, unless it was a full day job. We work with them to a degree. It all depends on how many other factors played into it. With small jobs we told them flat out no or gave them limited options. I'm referring to those jobs that you tack on to a day since you'll be passing by them either on the way out or coming back in.

As for the top remaining. I agree with Tom on having the discussion with the HO. That way its their call as to how flexible they are willing to become. What was their motivation to remove the tree in the first place? Does this increase the risk in their eyes? While it may be sheltered from the north what about the other directions? Look at your schedule and suggest a couple of days that you could come out and complete the job. But definitely follow up with an email at the least thanking them and reiterating the conversation and whatever agreement you reached with them as to the return date. This way you'll have a record of the conversation.

Climbing in the cold is tough. I did enough of it in Toronto where we had to be mindful of freezing up. Keeping this dry was a major factor for minimizing freezing.
 
Just get back to work lady!
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At most we will put up a 2nd rope after lunch and leave eye to eye and biner on heater at lunch other than that spurs are your friend. It sucks but keep dusting them off and wear a hood under your hard hat or you'll have that snow down your neck for sure
 
We don't climb when it's wet, cold or warm mb a removal or sm tree
Beauty of white pine here in southern ontario is if the main stem/lead is sound it will just shed small limbs and rarely large parts. That how they get so big.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Just get back to work lady!
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[/ QUOTE ]

Did you mean to say "Get back to work Alice?"

Your safety trumps homeowners desires and expectations.

Don't be a candy [pick a different word], and get back up there.

The tree has been there a while, a few more days, weeks will not matter much.

Today was a fine day for tree climbing, did you finish?

Alice.

M
 
Ropeshield, I would love to see more pines like that. They seem to get narly pretty quickly around here.

KevinS, cold rope and warm hitch. I will have to give that a whirl. I think it was just one of those days when mother nature gets to have her say.

I emailed the homeowner and discussed risks, laying it all out. Thank you so much for all the tips and words of advice. Definitely lit the path as to the proper way to handle a new situation and I really appreciate everything y'all laid out there.

As for you, macswan, sometimes you gotta hustle and sometimes you get hustled. As the great Lenka once said, sometimes you just gotta roll with the punches.
 
S'up, killah?

Good on you for putting your personal safety as a top priority.

As far as icing gear goes, Mark13y has it right. Think of skis...if you keep them warm before hitting the snow, the snow sticks to them and you go nowhere fast. If the skis are cold, nothing melts and refreezes. Take all your gear and get it good and dry, then store it somewhere COLD. I bring my gear in at night to dry it off, then leave it all in the back of the truck on the way to work, which allows it to cool down to the ambient temperature and prevent freezing. You'll be required to tend to this care far more when the temps fluctuate above and below freezing during the workday. Best of luck with that. Also, if you can swing it, keep one spare rope and hitch on hand if possible...same goes for the lanyard.

Glad to hear you contacted the homeowner. Since you've posted about the situation here, if something failed and you didn't contact them...take it from there. You see where I'm going?

Hind sight is always 20/20...NEXT time, limb up the side near the home first before you leave it. ;) Then, set a back stay in the crown to hold the codominant stems together and also to another anchor near the ground. This would show you've made an effort to mitigate the risk of failure based on your knowledge and experience as a professional arborist. CYA and theirs, too. Not to mention that all this would bolster your reputation as a professional.

Oh yeah, and get back to work!
 
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