Two small hemlock uprooted and fell onto my client's Shoreline home, taking the top half of a stone dead hemlock with them. The driveway was too steep for a crane, and I figured out a method to get them removed with no further damage.
First I set a line at a mere 15-18 feet in the dead hemlock and did a pull test--which revealed my fears that it could be pulled over with a bit of effort, so we weren't able to use it as a means of back supporting each of the fallen trees. I did set a line in a live hemlock, which , was 15 feet off to the side, so not the best angle. I tied it to the smaller of the two live failed trees, and then to the other one, as a means of somewhat balancing the support. The other tree would be cut after the smaller one. We also used some smaller sections from the fallen dead tree as props. Then, we tied the one to be cut on either side of where the cut would be made, which was about eight feet from the roof. We used simple wraps as a means of allowing some movement when the tree was cut. All went well, though I believe we could have done a better job of securing the tree pr ior to the cut which would allow the top to lay down onto the roof. A false crotch and friction device would have been better to limit the movement, but it all went well, not even close to doing any damage when the tops came down totally onto the roof.
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