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| UK diy (uk.d-i-y) For the discussion of all topics related to diy (do-it-yourself) in the UK. All levels of experience and proficency are welcome to join in to ask questions or offer solutions. |
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leylandi
Father in law has about 9 of these massive trees in his back garden.
They are a bit taller than his 2 storey house and sit at the back of the garden... there is a lane behind his garden about a cars width wide. There is a greenhouse in front of the trees. You know whats coming next, dont you! He had a quote from a tree surgeon to remove these trees, the price was about 1k. Quite a lot of cash. The question is, is it a diy'able job to take these down? The fears that i have are in their rough order... 1. The height, how do you get 'up' high enough to lop the tops off? 2. Confined space to fell them. Should you rope them into the garden or the lane... what about the greenhouse! 3. I dont think i would be comfortable with a chainsaw at height. Would a bow saw or similar be ok? All comments welcome please!! TIA Gerry |
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#2
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Not really a DIY job unless you happen to be fully qualified. He needs to
shop around and specify exactly what he wants done. For example does it include removal of all the debris and is the firm fully insured? Peter Crosland |
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#3
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Cuprager wrote:
Father in law has about 9 of these massive trees in his back garden. They are a bit taller than his 2 storey house and sit at the back of the garden... there is a lane behind his garden about a cars width wide. There is a greenhouse in front of the trees. You know whats coming next, dont you! He had a quote from a tree surgeon to remove these trees, the price was about 1k. Quite a lot of cash. The question is, is it a diy'able job to take these down? The fears that i have are in their rough order... 1. The height, how do you get 'up' high enough to lop the tops off? 2. Confined space to fell them. Should you rope them into the garden or the lane... what about the greenhouse! 3. I dont think i would be comfortable with a chainsaw at height. Would a bow saw or similar be ok? All comments welcome please!! Took one of similar size down with just a bowasaw. They are not hard wood. If you can fell in one go, thats the easiest. Fosrt thing to do is make up a cride protractor at 4 degrees and use that to estimate where you can get it to fall. Then yoo need a pair of ropes tied off to something that will make sure it goes that way. These do not need to be that high up teh tree - a ladder will do to get sya 10ft up. Cut a wedge ouit exactly in the direction you want it to fall. Tesnion the ropes a bit - a mate standing BEYOND where you are CERTAIN the tree will go is ideal. Then start your main cut a little above where the notch on the other side is. Stop as SOON as there is any sound of cracking and splitting or the cut opening up. If a good tug on the main rope doesn't bring it down, cut a bit more and try again. The important thing is no to be near the bole when it goes. And to constrain it so it cannot fall anywhere else. We pulled down a couple of 10 meter sycamores like this a few months back. Leylandii are nothing like as bad. They don't have such hard branches, the weight or the crown spread. Neverteheless, be sensible. Its not hard to do, but its easy to make a mistake if you just go at it gung ho. Careful approach, attention to detail making sure everything is utterly correct before you cut, and accurate cutting will do what you want. There are no tree felling 'accidents' - just stupidities, mistakes, taking of chances etc. Oh - with my one I then leveled the stump as besst I could and lit a fire on top. Enough of it burned for me to safely put a load of hardcore on top and make a drive. TIA Gerry |
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#4
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Cuprager wrote in news:d3ddp6$34d$1
@dennis.cc.strath.ac.uk: Father in law has about 9 of these massive trees in his back garden. They are a bit taller than his 2 storey house and sit at the back of the garden... The question is, is it a diy'able job to take these down? The fears that i have are in their rough order... IMO no, get quotes and pay the money Any tree is about a tenth the bulk looking at it from the ground as when you get up close and personal - they are **** dangerous, even with only a bow saw. Even if you had unlimited space, I'd say have a care and be very careful. In your situation......!! mike |
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#5
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All comments welcome please!!
Forget it. Get a few more quotes. I chopped down a few trees in my garden (it was getting on to be a copse, a tiny garden with about 8 trees in it). The really tall one (i.e. above house height) was definitely going to be beyond my capability. I think I paid around 100, so 1K is the same ballpark, but you might find cheaper with the "bulk" discount, although my quote was for felling only. Christian. |
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#6
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Hire a cherry picker for a day, take them down a foot at a time with a
good sharp bow-saw. Hard work, but do-able. Then dispose of the mountains of green wood... (could hire a chipper too). Phil |
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#7
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"Peter Crosland" wrote in message ... Not really a DIY job unless you happen to be fully qualified. He needs to shop around and specify exactly what he wants done. For example does it include removal of all the debris and is the firm fully insured? Does it also include removal of stumps (to at least below ground level)? -- Bob Mannix (anti-spam is as easy as 1-2-3 - not) |
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#8
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In article ,
Cuprager wrote: Father in law has about 9 of these massive trees in his back garden. [snip] Quite a lot of cash. The question is, is it a diy'able job to take these down? The fears that i have are in their rough order... Don't even think about it, pay the money. Check how professional the 'professional' is by asking to see his insurance certificate. -- Tony Williams. |
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#9
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In article ,
Cuprager wrote: Father in law has about 9 of these massive trees in his back garden. They are a bit taller than his 2 storey house and sit at the back of the garden... there is a lane behind his garden about a cars width wide. There is a greenhouse in front of the trees. You know whats coming next, dont you! He had a quote from a tree surgeon to remove these trees, the price was about 1k. Quite a lot of cash. That doesn't sound too bad to me. 110 quid a tree sounds pretty fair. I'll have a go at many things diy but I don't think I'd fancy this one  Darren |
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#10
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Took down a 10 metre multi trunk birch with a bow saw. Did it 21/2 metre
lengths tied off to the branch below. If you are careful then it is quite doable I did it on my own but with help then much safer. "Cuprager" wrote in message ... Father in law has about 9 of these massive trees in his back garden. They are a bit taller than his 2 storey house and sit at the back of the garden... there is a lane behind his garden about a cars width wide. There is a greenhouse in front of the trees. You know whats coming next, dont you! He had a quote from a tree surgeon to remove these trees, the price was about 1k. Quite a lot of cash. The question is, is it a diy'able job to take these down? The fears that i have are in their rough order... 1. The height, how do you get 'up' high enough to lop the tops off? 2. Confined space to fell them. Should you rope them into the garden or the lane... what about the greenhouse! 3. I dont think i would be comfortable with a chainsaw at height. Would a bow saw or similar be ok? All comments welcome please!! TIA Gerry |
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#11
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On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 09:50:46 +0100, Cuprager wrote:
Father in law has about 9 of these massive trees in his back garden. They are a bit taller than his 2 storey house and sit at the back of the garden... there is a lane behind his garden about a cars width wide. There is a greenhouse in front of the trees. You know whats coming next, dont you! He had a quote from a tree surgeon to remove these trees, the price was about 1k. Quite a lot of cash. The question is, is it a diy'able job to take these down? The fears that i have are in their rough order... 1. The height, how do you get 'up' high enough to lop the tops off? 2. Confined space to fell them. Should you rope them into the garden or the lane... what about the greenhouse! 3. I dont think i would be comfortable with a chainsaw at height. Would a bow saw or similar be ok? All comments welcome please!! We took down eight trees, bit smaller as they were only up to gutter height. My advice would be: Do NOT underestimate the scale of the job. We lopped the top 50% off the trees, then went about disposing of the bits (Due to a small garden). We were quoted £220 to dispose of these cuttings alone, so we hired a hi-top transit for the weekend. Using a B&Q chipper we chipped the small branches and after about two journeys to the tip we'd got rid of it. The following year we set about the remaining 50%. Another three trips to the tip and the cuttings were gone. I now need someone with a chainsaw to remove the remaining trunks as they are 10-12" diameter. s |
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#12
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On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 09:50:46 +0100, Cuprager wrote:
He had a quote from a tree surgeon to remove these trees, the price was about 1k. Quite a lot of cash. Sounds a bit cheap - is this guy kosher ? Leylandii are a git to fell - thick enough to be a problem to shift, too thin to climb, usually in too confined a space to fell in one drop. if you're working near houses, particularly neighbour's houses, then you want to see their insurance signed in blood before they begin. BTW - Anyone want a burned out E-type Jag ? A guy just up the road from me decided to remove a couple of Thrower's Dooms and rejected the quote he had from my friend the tree feller. So he set to and felled them himself - without injury. Patting himself on the back for his economy he then decided to dispose of the wreckage with a bonfire. Those of you who've burned Leylandii before will know what a safe distance is between fresh boughs thrown on a hot bonfire and a garage. He didn't... |
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#13
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Cuprager wrote:
Father in law has about 9 of these massive trees in his back garden. They are a bit taller than his 2 storey house and sit at the back of the garden... there is a lane behind his garden about a cars width wide. There is a greenhouse in front of the trees. You know whats coming next, dont you! He had a quote from a tree surgeon to remove these trees, the price was about 1k. Quite a lot of cash. The question is, is it a diy'able job to take these down? The fears that i have are in their rough order... 1. The height, how do you get 'up' high enough to lop the tops off? 2. Confined space to fell them. Should you rope them into the garden or the lane... what about the greenhouse! 3. I dont think i would be comfortable with a chainsaw at height. Would a bow saw or similar be ok? All comments welcome please!! TIA Gerry Thanks for all of the help so far. You lot really are tearing me in two completely opposite directions! I think that i might be swayed towards letting the tree surgeon do it, but you never know! To clarify a couple of questions that have been asked... AFAIK the quote is for removal as well as felling. (would need to clarify with FIL) It does not include removal of stumps, but we can handle that ourselves. We would need to clarify that the firm has adequate insurance as the trees could indeed wreck lots of things if felled incorrectly (hence my worry about diying it) |
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#14
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"Cuprager" wrote in message
... Cuprager wrote: Father in law has about 9 of these massive trees in his back garden. They are a bit taller than his 2 storey house and sit at the back of the garden... there is a lane behind his garden about a cars width wide. There is a greenhouse in front of the trees. You know whats coming next, dont you! He had a quote from a tree surgeon to remove these trees, the price was about 1k. Quite a lot of cash. The question is, is it a diy'able job to take these down? The fears that i have are in their rough order... 1. The height, how do you get 'up' high enough to lop the tops off? 2. Confined space to fell them. Should you rope them into the garden or the lane... what about the greenhouse! 3. I dont think i would be comfortable with a chainsaw at height. Would a bow saw or similar be ok? A friend removed about 7 house tall leylandi, with my help. We managed to cut them inititally at about half way point, pulling the top over using a rope. Then halved again and finally cutting at the bottom. Didn't take long at all and all sheds, fences and nearby house were neatly avoided. Oh if you trim away the area where you are going to cut its a lot easier. He then spent a week chopping the bits up with two visits per night to local top in his car, before hiring a van for the day at the weekend and completing the job. Some roots he was able to dig up on one peice leaving a monster hole and others he drilled holes and filled with weed killer crystals for a month or two, then replaced with more holes and some substance to cause wood to rot. After a year or two just dug root up with a spade. |
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#15
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In message , Ian_m
writes Cuprager wrote: Father in law has about 9 of these massive trees in his back garden. Some roots he was able to dig up on one peice leaving a monster hole and others he drilled holes and filled with weed killer crystals for a month or two, then replaced with more holes and some substance to cause wood to rot. After a year or two just dug root up with a spade. No need for weed killer, the stumps won't regrow, so they will die soon enough of their own accord -- Chris French, Leeds |
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#16
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"Ian_m" wrote in message ... A friend removed about 7 house tall leylandi, with my help. We managed to cut them inititally at about half way point, pulling the top over using a rope. Yes, we did that with ours a few years ago. It wasn't difficult. The top half was dropped with a rope onto the roof of the neighbour's long garage, dragged into his drive (all with his permission) and taken down to the church at the bottom of the street to use as a Christmas tree. Then halved again and finally cutting at the bottom. Didn't take long at all and all sheds, fences and nearby house were neatly avoided. Oh if you trim away the area where you are going to cut its a lot easier. Indeed it is and it's not too difficult if you start at the bottom. He then spent a week chopping the bits up with two visits per night to local top in his car, before hiring a van for the day at the weekend and completing the job. We let ours grow up again, I don't want to lose it because it's a nesting site to very many different birds and such places are becoming rarer. If we ever did we'd start by taking off the lowest branches until there's only the trunk then cut it into handy lengths and drop them vertically, the rope over a higher branch stump to aid control, one by one. It's what we've done with other trees. Disposal would be the most difficult part. We'd use a shredder for smaller parts, that would be used on the garden. Thicker branches would be dried and stored for fuel in a few years. Mary |
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#17
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In article ,
"Ian_m" writes: A friend removed about 7 house tall leylandi, with my help. We managed to cut them inititally at about half way point, pulling the top over using a rope. Then halved again and finally cutting at the bottom. Didn't take long at all and all sheds, fences and nearby house were neatly avoided. Oh if you trim away the area where you are going to cut its a lot easier. There was a row of leylandi-like trees belonging to my neighbour along our boundary. House changed hands, and I asked if they could be pruned or taken down. It turned out that new neighbour's son is a tree surgeon (or at least something related to forestry). He did pretty much what you said, except having got them cut to about 1/2 height and removed all the substantial foliage, he then used a rope from the top to a digger, and pulled the trunks over sideways to remove the stumps. They did leave big holes in the ground though, which I've been emptying my garden waste into ever since. BTW, it is very important the rope used for this has virtually no elasticity, or imagine what happens when you get pinged with a 50' heavy elastic band. I saw this happen when some tree felling was going on in the grounds of a former workplace. The rope snapped, and the loose end shot across the road and smacked into a building on the other side with a very loud crack, fortunately high enough up that it was above the roofs of the cars driving past. There was someone from the council parks department on scene to inspect the work, and he had it stopped instantly and the contractors removed from site. -- Andrew Gabriel |
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#18
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On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 09:50:46 +0100, Cuprager wrote:
Father in law has about 9 of these massive trees in his back garden. They are a bit taller than his 2 storey house and sit at the back of the garden... there is a lane behind his garden about a cars width wide. There is a greenhouse in front of the trees. You know whats coming next, dont you! He had a quote from a tree surgeon to remove these trees, the price was about 1k. Quite a lot of cash. The question is, is it a diy'able job to take these down? The fears that i have are in their rough order... Definitely diyable, I took down two of similar size to your Father in Law's. A bow saw is perfectly adequate - I took of branches from the bottom until I reached full ladder height then lopped the tops off. Reasons I wouldn't do it again: - despite securely tying the ladder, it still swayed about a lot and scared the pants off me. - difficult to get it to fall the direction I wanted - fortunately my neighbour was just as keen to see them felled as I and didn;t mind it landing in his garden (nothing would grow near the damend things anyway!) - there was so much rubbish left over that I had to pay someone to take it away and it cost me nearly as much as he would have charged for felling them anyway. I would gladly have paid 110 quid per tree, so provided insurance cover is up to scratch, I would have thought 1K for all 9 trees to be well worth it. David |
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#19
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"David Shepherd" wrote in message - difficult to get it to fall the direction I wanted - fortunately my neighbour was just as keen to see them felled as I and didn;t mind it landing in his garden (nothing would grow near the damend things anyway!) Oh! There's a large rose and a gooseberry bush (which fruits) within two feet of the trunk of ours, I grow rhubarb, potatoes and redcurrants only another yard away. We used a bow saw too. Mary |
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#20
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They don't call 'em tree surgeons for nothing.
There's a definite skill to felling large trees and chipping them. It's also very dangerous. Just ask the now one legged landscaper round our way who had a flash of genius (not) deciding to push the cuttings through the chipper with his leg. Lucky for him he had the good sense not to nudge them through with his head. If you're not suitabley qualified and careful there's many a potential disaster looming. Get the pro's in. In this rip-off world you should find that most tree surgeons still charge a fair and reasonable price. |
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#21
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"Mary Fisher" wrote in message . net... "David Shepherd" wrote in message - difficult to get it to fall the direction I wanted - fortunately my neighbour was just as keen to see them felled as I and didn;t mind it landing in his garden (nothing would grow near the damend things anyway!) I cut down a triple trunked Leylandii, more than 20 feet high. I had an advantage as it was close to my garage so I stood on the garage and cut off the tops first. My advice, if you do go DIY, is to check that the teeth n the bowsaw have an adequate amount of 'set', otherwise it sticks, have another person out of harm's range pulling with a rope, make the appropriate wedge shaped cuts in the trunk, one on the back, one on the front ( I think the one on the front goes below the rear cut ), and for heaven's sake, make sure there is either no wind at all, or a very light and steady wind going very largely in the direction you want the tree to fall. Andy. |
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#22
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"andrewpreece" wrote in message ... "Mary Fisher" wrote in message . net... "David Shepherd" wrote in message - difficult to get it to fall the direction I wanted - fortunately my neighbour was just as keen to see them felled as I and didn;t mind it landing in his garden (nothing would grow near the damend things anyway!) I cut down a triple trunked Leylandii, more than 20 feet high. I had an advantage as it was close to my garage so I stood on the garage and cut off the tops first. My advice, if you do go DIY, is to check that the teeth n the bowsaw have an adequate amount of 'set', otherwise it sticks, have another person out of harm's range pulling with a rope, make the appropriate wedge shaped cuts in the trunk, one on the back, one on the front ( I think the one on the front goes below the rear cut ), and for heaven's sake, make sure there is either no wind at all, or a very light and steady wind going very largely in the direction you want the tree to fall. I don't think the OP can allow his to fall. It would have to be a piece-meal task, lowering branches and trunk sections vertically downwares to avoid damage to other features. That would have to be the case here too. Mary |
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#24
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"Cuprager" wrote in message
... Father in law has about 9 of these massive trees in his back garden. They are a bit taller than his 2 storey house and sit at the back of the garden... there is a lane behind his garden about a cars width wide. There is a greenhouse in front of the trees. You know whats coming next, dont you! He had a quote from a tree surgeon to remove these trees, the price was about 1k. Quite a lot of cash. The question is, is it a diy'able job to take these down? The fears that i have are in their rough order... 1. The height, how do you get 'up' high enough to lop the tops off? 2. Confined space to fell them. Should you rope them into the garden or the lane... what about the greenhouse! 3. I dont think i would be comfortable with a chainsaw at height. Would a bow saw or similar be ok? All comments welcome please!! TIA Gerry I payed £400 to have two 14 metre Leylandi removed from a difficult location (no possibility of felling, and all the bits had to be hand-carried down a narrow alley). This was probably slightly expensive, but I wouldn't have liked to do it myself (I did try). The tree surgeons climbed to the tops of the trees, and then climbed down, removing the branches and trunk with a chainsaw as they went. The logs do burn well, so if you know someone who can make use of them, the tree surgeons may give you a discount for leaving the heavy stuff behind. |
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#25
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I've just felled four 30ft leylandii, 10 inch diameter at base. A
long rope tied high up and looped over a handy branch of the next tree allowed them to be lowered gently to the ground after cutting through with an axe. I didn't wnat to cut them down in stages as I am going to use the timber. It is very strong and the heart wood is very durable. It's a cross between Monteray Pine and Alaska Yellow Cedar, which has a couple of natural chemicals that are toxic to fungi. In New Zealand and Australia leylandii are grown comercially for the timber. The smaller pieces do make excellent firewood, even the leaves having a very high calorific value sa there is so much resin. One day we'll be planting them everywhere as a fuel and timber crop. |
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#26
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One day we'll be planting them everywhere as a fuel and timber crop. NIMBY  -- Tony Sayer |
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#27
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On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 09:50:46 +0100, Cuprager wrote:
Father in law has about 9 of these massive trees in his back garden. They are a bit taller than his 2 storey house and sit at the back of the garden... there is a lane behind his garden about a cars width wide. There is a greenhouse in front of the trees. You know whats coming next, dont you! He had a quote from a tree surgeon to remove these trees, the price was about 1k. Quite a lot of cash. The question is, is it a diy'able job to take these down? The fears that i have are in their rough order... 1. The height, how do you get 'up' high enough to lop the tops off? 2. Confined space to fell them. Should you rope them into the garden or the lane... what about the greenhouse! 3. I dont think i would be comfortable with a chainsaw at height. Would a bow saw or similar be ok? All comments welcome please!! TIA Gerry I'd DIY it, ladder up, clean branches with loppers, cut with bow saw, pull top down with rope - which had been placed on the very top. ladder down, chainsaw out, again use rope to guide fall. Of cource you could make more sections, or even scaffold the things. If you could make them fall into the lane, you'd be on to a goodun. Stumps, - 2 choices hire a transit and pull them out, hope clutch is good enought to get transit back to hire depot, or mini digger. Disposal - bonfire. Rick |
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#28
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Cuprager wrote:
Father in law has about 9 of these massive trees in his back garden. dont you! He had a quote from a tree surgeon to remove these trees, the price was about 1k. Quite a lot of cash. The question is, is it a diy'able job to take these down? The fears that i have are in their rough order... 1. The height, how do you get 'up' high enough to lop the tops off? if youve got enough felling room, no need. Use weight and rope to avoid having to climb it either, just sling the weighted rope over a branch twice so you get it round the trunk, make a knot at ground and pull it closed. If you do cut it, _do not_ cut right through, or pull it to break it while up the tree. Always get right out the way during breakage. If you do one you'll see why. 2. Confined space to fell them. Should you rope them into the garden or the lane... what about the greenhouse! not seen the plan. 3. I dont think i would be comfortable with a chainsaw at height. Would a bow saw or similar be ok? yep I diyed it. Its not rocket surgery, all fairly basic. Bowsaw is fine, and user friendlier than a chainsaw. But you must take care that your plans are right, and think about what can go wrong: if something does go wrong, death is possible. There is a very simple way to avoid this: stay out of the tree's height radius at all times during felling. Ie cut far enough till you get cracking sounds when its pulled, then get out, and pull it over by rope. That way, no matter what happens, it wont hit you. The stump end often flips backwards if youre pulling it over with a rope. Even the thinner branches can cause serious injury, stay out the way. Certainly dont do it if its windy. Take sensible precautions and its perfectly diyable, and you'll have enough wood to pay for the tablesaw and more. Lots of wood in a 10" 30' leyland - just a shame its not a nice hardwood. NT |
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#29
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wrote in message Lots of wood in a 10" 30' leyland - just a shame its not a nice hardwood. Spouse made a very serviceable longbow for a grandson from the greenwood of one. Boy used it, I used it, it's still going strong after eleven years (boy is now 6'6"and 21 almost). Mary NT |
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#30
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Andy Dingley wrote:
On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 15:39:40 +0000 (UTC), (Andrew Gabriel) wrote: BTW, it is very important the rope used for this has virtually no elasticity, Just don't use rope for winching - steel cable. The thing that worries me here is so many people talking about taking Leylandii down from halfway up. Ever climbed one ? Yes, those were my thoughts too. We've felled some quite substantial Leylandii (18" or more trunks) around our house but we're in the fortunate position of having lots of space so that we just felled the whole thing in one go with no risk of hitting anything important (except ourselves). Thus all we needed to do was rope the trees to ensire they fell the way we wanted and make *very* sure no one was in the vicinity when the tree actually dropped. Using a chainsaw while half way up a tree is a *very* skilled/dangerous occupation and is something I don't think I'm ever going to attempt even though I've felled trees etc. with a chainsaw. -- Chris Green |
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#31
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Biff wrote:
I've just felled four 30ft leylandii, 10 inch diameter at base. A long rope tied high up and looped over a handy branch of the next tree allowed them to be lowered gently to the ground after cutting through with an axe. I didn't wnat to cut them down in stages as I am going to use the timber. It is very strong and the heart wood is very durable. It's a cross between Monteray Pine and Alaska Yellow Cedar, which has a couple of natural chemicals that are toxic to fungi. In New Zealand and Australia leylandii are grown comercially for the timber. The smaller pieces do make excellent firewood, even the leaves having a very high calorific value sa there is so much resin. One day we'll be planting them everywhere as a fuel and timber crop. Yes, we burn ours, it's pretty good for burning as long as it's properly dried/seasoned. As you say too it's also very durable out of doors. We've used some of the straighter pieces for marking out a manege (for exercising horses). They're just laid on the ground and are still quite sound after being there for several years. -- Chris Green |
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#32
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1. The height, how do you get 'up' high enough to lop the tops off? I took down two monster leylandii , about 49ft as best that I could measure. Use a laddder with a board tied across the top, say 3ft by 6" or whatever you can find. Then just lean it into the tree. With a bit of jiggling it works a treat. Use a bow saw to take out side branches to reduce weight/volume. May need a smaller saw to start with to make access for bow saw. Use ropes to restrict fall of any heavy branches so that they don't swing into your ladder. mark b |
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#33
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#34
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#35
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Andy Dingley wrote:
On 12 Apr 2005 08:15:48 GMT, wrote: Thus all we needed to do was rope the trees to ensire they fell the way we wanted This is very difficult to do. There's a significant risk of them "kicking". Instead of your rope pulling them to the left, the base Which is why (as I said in another post) I do the 'proper' cut a notch one side and then above the notch from the other side. The rope was just to assist a little in falling the right way, the 'hinge' does most of the work. goes out to the right instead. This is especially the case for skinny trees like Leylandii being cut halfway up. As I said there was no way I was going to try and cut it half way up, all of ours cut at (or near) the bottom have fallen pretty well as expected with the bottom staying attached by the 'hinge' until it hit the ground. The worst miss we had just wobbled an unused television aerial slightly as it went a few degrees away from exactly where it was intended to drop. Using a chainsaw while half way up a tree is a *very* skilled/dangerous occupation It's just not possible for mere mortals. Doing it safely needs a top-handle saw, and you're not even allowed to buy / hire a top-handle unless you have a current ticket. Oh yes, I'd fogotten that bit of it. Actually I remember now that we did do some trimming of the first few Leylandii that we felled from a scaffold tower but that was only trimming. I always actually felled the tree by cutting at ground level. It's not exactly easy to 'escape' from a scaffold tower if something goes wrong. -- Chris Green |
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#36
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wrote:
wrote: The stump end often flips backwards if youre pulling it over with a rope. Even the thinner branches can cause serious injury, stay out the way. Surely if cut properly with a notch on the falling side about 1/3 of the way through and then a cut on the other side about 2" above the notch this should form a hinge as the tree falls. yes, it does if you dont pull it over. If you pull it, it works differently, and the trunk can flip back a fair way, and with huge force. Pulling them down is good for situations when you cant get quickly away from the cut: with cut and fall you've got to get away at speed. I used the rope trick for trees growing out of the top of a structure, so I couldnt get out the way easily. All the one's we have felled I've done this way and mostly the rope was just a bit of insurance to be sure the tree didn't go the wrong way, it wasn't used to actually pull the tree over. When sawing the cut on the other side above the notch it's very obvious when the tree is about to fall and you have ample time to get out of the way. This is the way it's described in all the information I've read about it. The one big thing they all emphasise is that you *must* make sure you can move quickly away from the tree once it starts falling. yes, works fine if youre able to get out quick. Relying on pulling the tree over after you've moved away from it is risky as it *might* decide to fall while you're cutting thats not hard to avoid. and, if you haven't a well planned and easy escape route, you're in trouble. if you dont stop cutting to test its remaining strength occasionally, I agree! NT |
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#37
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#38
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"Andy Dingley" wrote in message Thus all we needed to do was rope the trees to ensire they fell the way we wanted This is very difficult to do. There's a significant risk of them "kicking". Instead of your rope pulling them to the left, the base goes out to the right instead. This is especially the case for skinny trees like Leylandii being cut halfway up. Skinny? You haven't seen ours :-) Mary |
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#39
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Rick wrote:
Stumps, - 2 choices hire a transit and pull them out, hope clutch is good enought to get transit back to hire depot, or mini digger. Use ancient landrover in low ratio 4WD.;-) Disposal - bonfire. Rick |
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#40
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wrote:
wrote: The stump end often flips backwards if youre pulling it over with a rope. Even the thinner branches can cause serious injury, stay out the way. Surely if cut properly with a notch on the falling side about 1/3 of the way through and then a cut on the other side about 2" above the notch this should form a hinge as the tree falls. All the one's we have felled I've done this way and mostly the rope was just a bit of insurance to be sure the tree didn't go the wrong way, it wasn't used to actually pull the tree over. IF teh hinge gives way completely the tree will rotate about its CG -that flicks the stump up, backwards and then down. That's why its easier to stop before the hnge breaks, and use a rope from well clear. If you are experienced, you know when to get out of teh eay (sidewqys) If not, pull the ******* over. When sawing the cut on the other side above the notch it's very obvious when the tree is about to fall and you have ample time to get out of the way. This is the way it's described in all the information I've read about it. The one big thing they all emphasise is that you *must* make sure you can move quickly away from the tree once it starts falling. It is to someone who has done it a few times. Not to an out and out newbie. Relying on pulling the tree over after you've moved away from it is risky as it *might* decide to fall while you're cutting and, if you haven't a well planned and easy escape route, you're in trouble. No, it won't. You simply try it again and agaimn, cutting a little more - till it takes HUGE heave and JUST snaps. |
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