Cabling topped trees: how would you do it

[treelooker]

Hub's a good idea.

I would not call it "safe", but I would say that pruning and cabling will reduce the risk substantially, putting it well within a reasonable level, comparable to other large urban trees.

sotc, if the work is done, what part would be most likely to fail, in what timeframe?? Residual risk would be Low imo, and lower yet if the soil is improved so roots can speed CODIT. But risk is always present; that's boilerplate in the disclaimer.

MB, ain't no donkeys in da House!

 

[Sgriff]

"upon pruning or consulting you are giving your professional diagnosis and are basically clarifying the tree/s safe"

Not really. Sorry to disbelieve, but are you a lawyer?

If liability is such a concern, what kind of disclaimer do you use?

Many firms sell preservation, because it's better business for arborists. Nothing more boring than removal imo.

Hahaa no i am not a fkn lawyer,i am an arborist.
Do you live in California?
Do you know what the lawyers are capable of here?
There was a case where an owner called out a tree service and they put in a bid for the tree work on the property,there was a failure shortly after,followed by a lawsuit,holding the arborist liable because he inspected and diagnosed the trees prior to incident,but failed to identify/recognize/communicate the hazard.

I am not saying I agree with it,but shit is very real.
Don't even get me started about the bullshit lawsuit i am being subpoenaed on currently.

 

[Altissimus]

...the fact that that it was topped long ago is enough for me. Remove / Replant if it were on my land

 

[Pelorus]

Curious, Nick if you have "errors and omissions" insurance in addition to liability insurance?
Curious, Guy, if that original tearout limb failure is not grounds for concern of future replication (involving another limb on that tree), cabling and weight reduction notwithstanding.

 

[Altissimus]

...also , I have never been bored on any removal. Jes me loving that side of Treework. Getting called for tough ones is my favorite.

 

[NickfromWI]

Curious, Nick if you have "errors and omissions" insurance in addition to liability insurance?.

I do indeed.

Amongst ourselves, it's fine to discuss the pros and cons of cabling vs removal. This is an instance where the decision was made that the tree won't be removed- now the question is what steps will be taken to mitigate risk.

All trees are risks. All of them. We've all decided collectively as a society that we are willing to accept that risk. What are we going to to? Cut them all down?


love
nick

 

[Pelorus]

I never even heard of that type of insurance till yesterday.
Seems like having it would be a no-brainer for this sort of work & clients.
Also learned yesterday (ISA seminar on report writing) the importance of documenting and keeping records...

 

[sotc]

I do indeed.

Amongst ourselves, it's fine to discuss the pros and cons of cabling vs removal. This is an instance where the decision was made that the tree won't be removed- now the question is what steps will be taken to mitigate risk.

All trees are risks. All of them. We've all decided collectively as a society that we are willing to accept that risk. What are we going to to? Cut them all down?


love
nick

All trees with a target are a risk
Each tree with a different target has a different risk factor based on the tree and the target. "We" haven't accepted "the" risk of "all" trees. Case by case basis.

 

[sotc]

Guy, from the single image, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't cable that tree. Terrible structure, probable decay at the base of the terrible structure, large tear out at the point of decay. Cabling the 3 will put more stress I the main trunk. Just one man's opinion, I could see the tree in real life and maybe say "heck yeah Nick, let's do this"

 

[treelooker]

Pel with 2 tearouts already heck yes that's a concern, hence the reduction and support! No cracks in forks, so this might be a candidate for a dynamic, or at least not overtightened steel, system.

That done, there's less load on the trunk, tho yes the dynamics will have changed (hopefully for the better). We must be cautious choreographers.
O and was it Dunster's session you went to? His Evidence book is very good.

All trees have risk--to themselves! The fact that trees have value is one glaring error in the 'target' concept.

 

[squisher]

Regardless that's a hell of a abused sad tree. I'm glad it's not mine.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I can't imagine not just wanting to remove and replace. That tree is fugly fuggered up.

 

[stig]

Guy tends to get a bit religious about trees sometimes.
Keeping them alive at any cost.
Kind of hard to understand for a logger.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I like their shade.

 

[NickfromWI]

I wouldn't.
That thing will break in the next storm, cabled or not.

Why didn't it break in the last storm?

 

[MasterBlaster]

 

[sotc]

Why didn't it break in the last storm?

Next time it snows

 

[NickfromWI]

Is this just another thread where Nick tells us how he's not like all the other firms, not a takedown merchant, and that clients think he's great......

Oh yeah it is.

What?! I do that?! No way!

...the fact that that it was topped long ago is enough for me. Remove / Replant if it were on my land

Basically every tree in LA has been topped. It's our job (in this city) to manage the situation. We simply can't cut down every topped tree.

"We" haven't accepted "the" risk of "all" trees...

We have, though. We can all walk around the city and find hundreds of trees that look like this one or worse. Yet we have collectively decided NOT to pursue our government to force a stricter policy on mediating the risk.

Great thread!

love
nick

 

[sotc]

Haha, no thanks on stricter...

 

[stig]

It was waiting for the right storm.
As all trees are.

I am in charge of the ( Way too old in most cases ) trees in a castle park that has about 90,000 visitors every year.
My motto is, Better safe than sorry.

Also, I'm not religious about trees, like Guy. 39 years of logging took care of that.
Sure, it bothers me when I have to drop the hammer on one of the oldest and biggest maples in the country because of Druid's saddle, but when I had it on the ground and realized that I should have pulled the trigger WAY earlier, it made me feel sooo much better.

If your tree was standing way out in the middle of nowhere, I'd say, cable it by all means.
But in a congested area, people are more important than trees.
Any lawyer will tell you that.

 

[NickfromWI]

But in a congested area, people are more important than trees...

Yet we opt to retain so many of them, many of which are far worse than the one shown.


love
nick

 

[NickfromWI]

Haha, no thanks on stricter...

Agreed!


love
nick

 

[treelooker]

Not stricter policy, but more proactive maybe.

Yes people are more important but what does that mean?

All these predictions of imminent failure need some substantiation to be taken seriously. It's easy to freak out when seeing a wound that ugly, but let's keep our heads.
If pruned and cabled, risk will be very low.

 

[squisher]

If you're going to cable and prune it, why not just re top it at a suitable point for future butcherings to be easier? Mow the lawn so to speak. I think that tree might look better topped into some kind of a bush or lollipop than what it does now, it'd certainly be safer and probably end up costing less even with future re-toppings than what the cabling and pruning and future inspections and re pruning are going to cost?

 

[sotc]

Hack!