One I walked from

[sotc]

This is the tree I told the home owners I couldn't pull up the hill a couple weeks. Much to my surprise I found someone had pulled it up the hill. The stump was a bit more solid than I expected though I can see the brown cubicle rot throughout it. It is an awkward feeling to find a tree on the ground that I told the owners wouldn't go that way. The more I look at it, the more I am convinced they got lucky. The butt log did not roll where it lays, it landed there. As you can tell from the divot in the asphalt. The hinge was so thin I think it failed on the off side causing the tree to roll of the stump. I could see no signs of wedges driven hard, no jack seat, just pulling. The face was over half deep on a back leaner, the picture of the rotton log is about 50-60 feet up so I am amazed it held for the pull. Any way, I thought I would post these pics and see what discussion happened

 

[top_notch]

If ya get a bad feeling, ya get a bad feeling about something. You always have to trust your gut. Maybe who ever did the tree didn't have as much as experience to worry about what could go wrong. I only think this because they didn't use wedges to back up such a huge tree to pull. Looks like they did a decent job considering no buildings got smashed and no one got hurt. Props to them!

 

[thattreeguy]

its obvious, someone with less brains, bigger balls, and luck on their side went for it, and they were lucky,
not worth the risk, im surprised there wasnt a jack used
murphy mustve been off that day, cause those usually bite me in the bottom, be glad you walked will

 

[sotc]

Yeah, I can't take away from the fact that they pulled it off...

 

[SkwerI]

Refer to Burnham's signature line.

 

[Peter]

Anyone can get lucky once, but it takes skill to do it right every day of your working life.

Its not that you couldnt do it, its just that you assessed the risk and decided it wasn't worth the odds. It could easily have gone the same way that another heavy back leaner posted up here recently went.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I'm convinced that they got LUCKY.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

The last rotten tree, drum of a hemlock, full crown, annosus root and butt rot, that someone else felled, rather that me piecing it out, "didn't go where they wanted it to go", but missed the house. Guys got lucky on both yours and mine. I'm fine that they did it.

Have you spoken to the HO with the 'autopsy'. They might think that the guys that did it are the best thing since sliced bread, without some expert forensic interpretation. No wedges. Insufficient hinge. Poor form.

My HOs said next time they will save up the money (I even offered to take payments since they didn't have it and the tree could hit their house) and hire me again, rather than go 'cheap'.

You could 'lose the battle' with this tree, but 'win the war'.

 

[Al Smith]

Well whatever it got pulled with had to have had some power and weight .It certainly wasn't a skid loader or a 2 ton tractor .

 

[sotc]

No, they didn't say boo to me, I was working next door. I doubt you can explain the mechanics to a home owner without sounding petty, i'm sure they think its all great. And it is actually, plenty more trees around

 

[gf beranek]

Appears to be fiber enough for corners, but the fellow practically cut it off the stump on that one side. That's a lot of rot to see when opening up a face. In a target rich environment I wouldn't feel very comfortable with that. No way.

all aside, if you get a line up high enough it doesn't take that much power to pull even a back leaner. Especially with the implement up the hill to boot.

I think you made a good call on that one Willy. Better safe than sorry.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Walking away from that one seems like maximum safe working load over breaking strength of ropes and cables, as an analogy. Sure, you can have luck and things go without a hitch, but most experts will agree that the margins are in there for good reason, and it's not something to readily gamble with as a professional. Lots at stake.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Willie, do you have a Resistograph? Use a drill with a long bit for checking wood condition?

 

[pete mctree]

Your running a biz Willie, not a risk taking side show. You made a calculated call & opted for option 2. The rolled the dice & by the luck of the stump got real lucky!!!
Informed decision wins IMHO

 

[Burnham]

Luck is not a very good ops plan, brother. I'm with you on your call.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Willie, you have a good head on those shoulders. Good call. I can relate to your feeling when you see the tree felled by someone else that got lucky. Better them than you. I prefer to play on a table where the odds are in my favor with the tools I have in hand. Well played. I also agree on your opinion of talking with the HO.

 

[stig]

Did they ever get lucky!

That is what I would call a Murphy tree.
A tree that any sane logger/arborist walks away from, and some happy go lucky guy pulled it off by chance.

Now we can just wait for the lucky person to brag it up on the internet.

I don't have any experience with big PNW conifers ( the ones planted here aren't that big yet) But I have plenty and some experience in felling hardwood hazard trees and IMO you were right to take a hike on that one.

 

[Burnham]

It could have just as easily...no, way more than easily...turned out like the one I walked away from, the one the "experts" proceeded to drop on the barn. I look really smart on that one, with the crunched barn as testimony, but in my book, you do too. Maybe a little harder for you to put it in the win column, but listen to the accumulated wisdom the House is giving...it doesn't come as mere courtesy, it's real 'cause we know two things: first, I/we can see that tree had every likelyhood of eating the fallers lunch, and second, SOTC has the chops proven over many a year, so if Willie calls it a walk away tree, I/we agree on that basis alone.

 

[sotc]

Thanks guys. I told them I would send it down the hill through the center of that little out house if they moved the boat dock but the neighbor didn't want the dock moved. I would have loved to have watched that operation anyway.
Sean, I haven't invested in a resistograph yet. We bored it right about a foot in front of Cole's left toe in the second stump picture using the saw bar. It threw good chips briefly, then red powder for the rest of the 28" bar length. We also use an increment borer sometimes

 

[wiley_p]

Don't give a thought Willie. You did your sizeup and walked, the smart play. I don't like the way that cut looks, and like Gerry sid get the line high and its pretty amazing what you can pull. Again, none of that means crap if the guy doing it thinks the exposure is to much. I'm willing to bet I would have walked as well. Done it a lot of times before.

 

[woodworkingboy]

If you pulled that tree and it went as planned, you could of had a back slapper there. Think how you missed out! On the other hand, a situation where things aren't going too well and you find yourself in the scenario where you're thinking, "Oh sh@t", and wishing you would have made another decision on the matter, I think most people would want to trade a few back slappers to not be finding yourself in that terrible worrisome frame of mind. It's like torture! You did good, Willie!

 

[Tucker943]

Willie, you've got nothing to prove. Your success in business proves enough. There's no instruction manual for trees. It's all in our experience and judgement. Let someone else toy with making an insurance claim.

 

[squisher]

Looks dicey to me what they pulled off there. From what I can make out that's a thinnnnnnn to almost non-existant hinge to have a rotten tree of that size standing on. I would suspect they had to cut it up super thin in order to make the pull work, otherwise why would you cut it that close on the one side?

No wedges? didn't look like they left alot of room for them anyways, but no wedges atleast to back-up the pull is just plain stupid.

 

[Ed L]

Definately the right move to walk away, no shame at all. They got lucky, plain & simple.

Some property we bought 15 years ago has a 40 x 40 pole barn on it, there was a 30" Cottonwood & 2 20+" Siberian Elms growing up within inches of the place. One of the Elms cleared the 14' eave and shot a 10" branch right back over the roof. I was lucky the neighboor let me use his property to land the tree.

Ed

 

[gf beranek]

Now there have been a few trees in the past that I truly bit off more that I could chew. And ate it to the extent of time and money lost to see it to a fair end.

I'm sure we can all say that. Least us old timers anyway.