Trees you refused to climb and why.

[Szajer]

I've only had two.

One, a 48" x 140' red oak that was completely rotted from the root flare to the 15' sweet spot. My boss asked "for the first time," if I wanted to do it. I immediately said no F-ing way. So he gets saddled up and begins his ascent with spurs. Each step up the wood would crumble away like he was spiking into fried chicken. Once he got up, he tied in nearly 50' below the crown on a 9" limb and around the main, that's how compromised this tree was. Cut and drop, that's it— everything went well.

The second one was a giant leaning oak with poison ivy the entire length of the tree. It was growing like a bush, branching out over 4' from the vine in every direction. There was no avoiding it-- and I'm terribly allergic to it.
So my dickhead boss told me to "head on up," as he would say and I said to get bent. He knows how bad I get the rash, I've even missed some work in the past because of it. But he was committed to pushing thru regardless. After arguing about not wanting to, he gears up and begrudgingly makes his ascent, ripping angrily at the forest of poison ivy and throwing down the pieces.
Anyway, I still got it and bad too. He had just a small amount of it between his fingers while I was covered in it from dragging it away and chipping it. He just didn't have the reaction to it that I do.
So I still lost...

 

[MasterBlaster]

Just the occasional too dead to climb tree. No one's every gave me any static over it. Also, if it's too close to the powerlines, I'll refuse. Pissed a guy off once, but most understand.

 

[Bermy]

Powerlines.

And there is one HUGE pin oak on one of the properties I do...120' if nothing. Half the crown broke out about three years ago...just crack, boom one afternoon.
What remains is a modest sized trunk, old tearout and decay on one side...ALL the remaining weight on the other, about four large leaders...how that thing is still standing I do not know. It needs thinning and reduction...but I'm not gonna do it, thing gives me the heeebies every time I walk past it.

 

[Altissimus]

...sure a spook here and there, a few that I still bid if there were some other healthy tall ones around to use for my lines and factor in brittle work in smaller pieces w / more rigging...I call it combat fee by the time I am done adding...gotta figure my safety is worth it, usually I don't get hired anyways but when I do (no bucket / crane acces) I am covered for the time the time to do it right....without the other Trees in close proximity I will pass

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Is it a rigging tree, Fi?





I have done a willow or four that were really bad, but at the time, I was feeling bulletproof (and broke). I got a bucket for one tree that was tipping toward the house, day by day (or so the Custy said). I had to lower some stuff.

 

[emr]

I've come down out of a few when I was younger. Looking back at it, they were all fine. I just didn't know how to deal with them at the time.

I guess I still walk away from quite a few but it's because my price would be so high that I just give them a name of someone who will do it way cheaper than me. That usually means they have a bucket truck and I don't.

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[rangerdanger]

Pruning the dead out of huge sycamore once, I posted it awhile back, no central tie in, huge spread, I was way out on a dead limb and just didn't feel good, tip was dying back as well. No logical reason to be afraid of it, but it was an intimidating tree due to the size and I had only been climbing production for 2 years I think. Anyways, I came back the following year and rigged 80% of it out. Dad did the other 20% on days he felt like climbing. Still felt of that fear but it was all good.

Other than that, just the occasional too dead tree or shit close to the powerlines. And stuff with large cracks or fractures in it that can't be braced or tied together.


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[MasterBlaster]

Africanized honey bees, hornets and wasps have chased me outta several trees.

Oh, and a redneck with a shotgun. We had to call the cops on that fella.

 

[Page]

What Butch said, some are too dead to climb. There is always a way to get it down

 

[emr]

A former coworker would always say, "Don't make someone else's problem your problem"

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[Husabud]

None yet. One I should have. 70-75' Scarlet Oak that was split from 18'-30'. I had to climb to at least 50' to get limbs away from the house before I dropped the top. Although I strapped the trunk twice, it was a Nantucket sleigh ride for sure.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Only a few... One that today I probably would. Oak with epi growth only from being topped. Big ol hollow oak. Knowing more today, I would have done it. Now I know more ways of climbing and rigging than I did back then. Once I saw my competition (whom I referred to the job since it was an existing client to them anyway.) I felt I could have done what he did anyway. There was a lot more that needed doing, but they were going to try and get a bus moved to allow more bombing. Andy and his wife did tell me it was terribly hollow and they did it from a bucket. I even let them use some of my rigging on it
Only others have been too damn dead or too near power lines. Refused to fell one once due to primaries. No shame in staying alive

 

[mistahbenn]

Was setting up on a big red oak, right over a pool and garage and fence, with about a 5' x 20' landing zone, climbed up on it, and found two big cavities on the two limbs I was going to tie off in and rig from. I called Rob, took some pics, and said EFF this, lets get a crane in. Customer too cheap for that, so we walked. I could have gone small, but then the job would have run over making any moneys. And it was a ball ache!

 

[MasterBlaster]

I hear that!

 

[mistahbenn]

 

[Bermy]

Is it a rigging tree, Fi?

.

Yes and no, drop zone is fairly clear, but there are ornamentals on the periphery, and its a long way down through some branches to crash tops, I wouldn't want to damage the lower portions too much...but even cutting out sections, thinking about the physics of the leverage forces that could act on the tree give me serious pause.

 

[treesmith]

I've got a tree lined up for tomorrow that another tree guy said was too dangerous to climb due to a fork having sheared off last year in a storm, leaving the remaining portion leaning toward the house. The owner was concerned that a bucket was needed....had already gotten a price from a guy with a big bucket truck...then called me for an estimate. I took one look at it and told him no problem......

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Seems like the other half of the tree above the split is going to be close to strong as before in some co-dominant tear-outs/ splits. The balance of leverage on the root plate and trunk down below the split is going to be different. I see trees like this, and Fi's and think its not much different. Less rigging points and half the tree is already down. Am I crazy?

I wouldn't want to rig heavy stuff on it, or do it in a windstorm or with saturated soils or basal decay, by climbing.

 

[Jomo]

Eventually everyone bumps into a widow maker that only a fool would climb. But that don't mean it ain't comin down one way or another!

Tryin to rig this hollow oak down woulda been suicide. But with a two pill 90 ton crane it was cake, despite having an active bee hive!

 

[Szajer]

What shame to have lost that.

It would've been the marque for the resale of that home.

 

[Limbrat]

I hear that!

They get a little roof damage there M.B.? The lineman climbing and the tree guy in the bucket, nice shot.

 

[MasterBlaster]

That's moi in the bucket. The lineman was restoring the service drop that was torn down when the top of the tree came crashing down on the roof, messing it up pretty bad.

 

[Szajer]

I could tell it was you.

Just like every cyclist here has their particular riding style that you can spot a mile away, you too have a certain resting lean you do.

 

[treesmith]

Seems like the other half of the tree above the split is going to be close to strong as before in some co-dominant tear-outs/ splits. The balance of leverage on the root plate and trunk down below the split is going to be different. I see trees like this, and Fi's and think its not much different. Less rigging points and half the tree is already down. Am I crazy?

I wouldn't want to rig heavy stuff on it, or do it in a windstorm or with saturated soils or basal decay, by climbing.

That's how I look at it Sean. The half that failed was obviously not supporting the half that didn't, as witnessed by the obvious grain separation. I do try to take off a few limbs as I go up, reducing as much weight as possible before having to climb way out on limbs and such, but if the tree is still standing after some of the winds we've had, I'm sure my 200# isn't going to bring it down. (That 200# is me, saddle, saw, etc, plus a little for shock loading from swinging about.

 

[Tucker943]

I walk away from more trees now then I ever have. Ive done a lot of trees that everyone with a brain and experience walked away from. That part of me is dying. I don't care about big, but severely compromised makes me really think about if its worth it. The whole just bid it high and hope you don't get it seems to always bite me in the ass. I always seem to get it. I just say no if I don't want it. Now, I don't care what shape the tree is in if I can tie into a tree nearby.