Txwelder

I have one lodge pole pine and three others of another type that need to be cleared. Dont really want to pay over $1000 to have this done. The only one that really gets me worried is the lodge pole as it is by my estimate about 40' tall. Should I even attempt this myself or should I just have the pros come in and do it? The tall guy needs to be topped out and the other probably as well, just not as tall as the lodge pole that leans more and more towards my house with every gust of wind. Thanks in advance.

chipmonk

if you have some knowledge of how to accurately drop a tree, do it yourself. if you run the risk of dropping it on your house, make sure you make the appropriate face cut, use a wedge, and have everything planned out, so that you control where that tree falls.

Grit Dog

Be tough to top a tree yourself, without the knowledge or climbing gear, but if you don't have to top them to get e'm to go, then it's not bad.
DO what the guy before me reccomended, but if the tree is really leaning the wrong direction already, you'll need to pull it in the direction you want it to fall.
You have the tool for that listed in your sig.
If you have the room to do it, get a decent rope tied as high up on the tree as you can get it, hook it to your truck (make sure the rope is considerbly longer than the tree is tall, so you don't pull it over on your truck).
Make your face cut, then pull the slack out of the rope w/ your truck. Get some good tension on it, and then cut. Tricky w/ one person, relies on the amount of tension in the rope, but if you can ahve someone else drive, or cut, then just cut until the tree starts to yield in the right direction and signal the driver to keep pulling.
I'm no pro logger, but have dropped many trees like this, mostly deciduous with awkward large limbs. Pine trees are easier.

klx650a2

Yes, we've dropped our fair share of trees, the dodge makes a great anchor point to winch stuff out and we've used it to "pull" the tree where we want it to fall. Once it starts to come over, be sure to mash the skinny pedal to keep it coming.

pappyman

I do land clearing but mostly there are no buildings on the site

As others have said you will need to pull the tree away from the building while cutting at the base....this is not a one man operation....remember the pull vehicle needs to be out of the fall area....40 ft tree= 60-80 ft of rope

I use my Skid Steer to push the tree over while another man cuts the tree this way I control where the tree falls....I had one tree within 3 ft of a building so I couldn't push the tree plus there where other buildings close by so I needed to control the fall this time I chained the tree to my skid steer bucket and was able to lay the tree into the open area between the buildings....I was nervous while doing this but it worked out great

Txwelder

I have my house on one side, power lines on two others, and the only clear path to drop it is in my neighbors yard. he probably wouldnt care as long as I cleaned it up and bought him a case of beer so he had something to drink while watching the show, but his chimney got ripped off in the storm last night and I dont think he wants any other cleanup right now. Im scared the tree is going to fall in a storm because it is on the highest point of my front yard and it leans more and more every storm. Will the insurance company take care of it if they see it as a possible hazard?

WVAussie

Around here if your bring anything down on power lines it is expensive. If you don't have the experience felling trees doing it your self could be a real gambel.

TreeFarm

Don't mess with power lines. Call the pros.

Checkmate

My dad had the same ordeal last summer. Had 6 trees to take down and the pros wanted over 6 grand. We rented a 65 foot lift and took them down in 3 days. Should have gotten a bigger lift though the trees were more like 75-80 feet tall.
Got a deal on the lift of 250 for the weekend and my dad bought my saw for me. That's all it cost him. But I kinda got screwed on the deal. 3 days work for a saw. grrr

Txwelder

May have to do the same. Had a neighbor with a boom truck but he moved away, should have done it then.

chipmonk

aw c'mon, you only live once! take 'em down yourself! btw, i don't think your insurance company will do anything until AFTER the hazard does the damage.

xtoyz17

Is it touching the lines? Around here, If you're persuasive enough you can get the power company to drop it for you so they don't have to deal with the chaos if it DOES come down on the line.

D2 Cat

Like mentioned, contact the power co. to get their opinion. Just tell them your concern and ask them if it"s (the tree) really a problem. If they agree they may help. If YOU remove the tree and it falls into your/ or your neighbors' home your insurance may NOT cover damages. Better check first.

Checkmate

Also as stated above. In my state the power company will come out for free if the tree is interfering with the power lines. BUT remember that the have an easement for those lines and can hack up any trees along the line while they are there.

Txwelder

Tree isnt leaning toward the power lines, its leaning toward the house, so I dont think the power co will give me any assistance. I know some companies will take the trees down for free for pulp but you have to have something like 30 or more. I dont think my neighbors and I could come up with 30 trees on our street to cut down. I dont want to cut it down just to do it either, it is posing a hazard. The others in the backyard are posing a hazard to my wallet and Saturdays because I have a pool and pine needles clog a skimmer basket real quick!