On Jul 5, 7:08*am, arkland wrote:
I've a 30-foot tall oak tree blocking my view from my bedroom window that
I wish to prune the top of.

I have a 28 foot ladder and an 18 inch Stihl chainsaw.

Is there a good technique for topping such a tree? I'm worried that the
result will look clipped but I also don't like the tree blocking the view..

Is there an easy way to lop off the top ten feet or so, or will it kill
the tree?

These oaks are year round green. They drop leaves, but always grow new
ones, so, they're always green. I think it's called a California live
oak.

Any topping suggestions? It's about a foot and a half in diameter at eye
level and about 30 feet tall. I want it to be about 20 feet tall.

Ideas appreciated.

You need to get someone in. Using a chain saw off a ladder is a very
bad idea.
You will likely kill yourself.

The cut end needs to be treated with a wax protection and ideally a
piece of lead or substantial plastic nailed over to keep the rot out.

On Jul 6, 5:15*pm, Oren wrote:
On Tue, 5 Jul 2011 14:30:05 -0700 (PDT), harry
wrote:

The cut end needs to be treated with a wax protection and ideally a
piece of lead or substantial plastic nailed over to keep the rot out.

Hogwash

Yes, hogwash is something you are expert at.

On Tue, 05 Jul 2011 14:30:05 -0700, harry wrote:

The cut end needs to be treated with a wax protection and ideally a
piece of lead or substantial plastic nailed over to keep the rot out.

I drop branches all the time and don't use any 'wax protection'.

I simply cut close to the tree, close enough for the tree to heal around
the cut, and, at a steep angle such that water runs off (although it
never rains here for 3/4 of the year).