tree troubles

[Deb&Al]

i have been after DH for three years now to have something done about the three large trees near our house. one is a maple, and it is as tall as the house and the other two are lindens, and they are TWICE as tall as our house. we live in a farmhouse, two-story.

well, the winds have been howling like mad here for two days, and today when we get home from work we find one of our large pines, away from the house, out by the garden, snaped about four feet from the ground, and laying across the front of the pasture in front of our small fruit tree orchard that we just planted last year.

anyway, here is my question...i've decided to just take charge of this problem and in front of DH i got out the yellow pages and checked off a couple of tree services near us. i'm going to call tomorrow and see what their prices are.

does anyone know...will they give me an estimate/price on the phone, or do they have to come out and see the trees?

also, our house is on a sloping hill, and i don't think they can use a bucket truck because if it's heavy it will not be able to get up the hill to be near the trees, so it looks like they will have to use climbers to use a block/tackle setup to drop the limbs from the top of the trees.

i don't want to lose the trees, i just want to have them down to a level so that if a limb snaps and drops, it won't destroy the house, or kill us, if a limb falls and we're in it.

does anyone know what tree services that have to use climbers charge?

i don't know why my DH has been so neglectful of attending to this issue. he is always on top of every other thing around here. we have a workable approach to homesteading, in that many things are a joint effort, but some things i'm in charge of, and he helps, and other things he's in charge of and i help. i guess i should have stepped up sooner. now i'll never go to sleep tonight with this wind. i haven't seen it like this for over about five years.

thanks for listening, and thanks for any advice on having our trees trimmed.
debbie

[MELOC]

i think these guys charge alot. especially for the labor intensive climbing. it is dangerous to cut and climb.

if the trees are the responsibility of another, i would try to pressure them into taking care of it. you could be talking $500-$3500+.

[sullen]

Most trees die (eventually) after a cut, don't they? I am always hearing how bad it is to top off a tree.....why not just bite down and cut them?

[woodspirit]

You are going to pay at least $1000 per tree. It doesn't matter how they take them down really. Make absolutely sure that they have insurance that is up to date. You must have a copy before anything is done. Make sure that the price they qoute you includes getting rid or all the branches and twigs. Also make sure that any and all incidental damage done by them and there equipment will be restored to original condition. ie. Ruts in the yard or lawn damage. Pay them half to do the work and the other half after it is completely finished to your satisfaction. Climbing with chainsaws is the most expensive type of insurance going. Even the smallest branch falling on someone can kill. In the logging industry the main cause of death and injury isn't related at all to equipment like chainsaws. More than 90 per cent of injury and death is caused by falling limbs. That's why they're called widowmakers.

[woodspirit]

I agree sullen that hardwoods should never be pruned like a hedge as that will weaken it. They can be thinned but eventually they will fall where you don't want them to. Get them down and sleep safely.

[bluetick]

I have a huge maple in front of my house. During a wind storm in September, a huge limb of almost 2' in diameter came down. On its way to the ground it hit the front roof, a chimney, broke two windows, and sheared off some siding. The house shook when it landed.

The good news - my insurance company paid all but the deductible for repairs, and it looks like I'll get close to a cord of wood out of the limb.

The bad news - my deductible is $1,000, and another smaller limb looks seriously weakened because of the larger one coming down.

I've gotten an estimate of $600 for a guy with a bucket truck to take down the above-mentioned limb and three dead ones higher up in the tree. He had to come out to the house to give me the free estimate.

[woodspirit]

$600 for four branches. ouch. But they have the expertise and insurance to do it safely. Ouch anyway.

[agmantoo]

You probably will not agree nor want to hear my suggestion. Trees are like any other living things. They have a life span and large trees are on the decline with rot, insect damage and disease. Tree huggers have not done there research, they think these old beauties will live forever. Old trees are pretty but they are not safe when in close proximity to humans. Such trees that are threatening to homes need to come down and need to be replaced with a good mixture of different species strong and young trees that are planted a safe distance from the home. As mentioned above, once pruned heavily they will just be another expense when they die and you have to call the tree people again.

[MELOC]

any tree that is high enough can be blown into something and destroy it. stuff happens. but sometimes trees that are trimmed can heal perfectly...with a little hugging. some of the hardwoods like oaks can live for centuries.

larger trees have more roots and more leaves and therefore transpire more moisture and oxygen into the air and pull more carbon dioxide from it than smaller trees with less established root systems. in that sense they are more valuable to the environment...or perhaps it is best said that loosing large trees has a greater negative impact than loosing smaller ones (the theory being that since the balance has been severely disrupted by human scum, more larger trees have been compromised according to percentage of population).

having said that, it would be stupid to pay thousands to save a tree that will always be a threat to your home and require more expensive maintenance in the future. cut it down and plant something a little further away. just don't give up on every big tree just because it needs trimmed.

maples and willows are good examples of trees that recover well. oaks would take longer, but with care and in the right conditions (not to moist, lots of ventilation) they can heal properly. some trees are very susceptible to diseases, however, and that can vary by locale. around my parts all members of the peach and cherry family are being attacked by black knot/rot and plum pox virus not to mention canker. if i had a wild cherry that was a problem i would need to just cut it down. making cuts would only open it up to disease.

[mountainman_bc]

Yeah- any ad in the phone book- or arborist in general that suggests "topping" doesn't know what their doing and may be a liability when it comes to a big job.
Better to cut down and replace with something that stays smaller.

[woodspirit]

It's funny but when you said "human scum" it made me think of Mel brooks movie History of the World, where the female barkeep would refer to the people as scum. "We are so poor that we don't even have our own language". "All we have is this stupid accent". Very funny part of the movie. Anyway, most fruiting cherries plums and peaches will eventually get black knot etc. In fact even the ornamental purple leaf plum will and usually is totally dead in 15 years. It is something that happens in all areas of the country. Everyone wants a fast growing tree and they want purple leaves. The trees that are left standing by builders are generally greatly weakened by soil compaction and get bark damage etc that might not be visible twenty years later but hides major problems inside. Mostt trees that are growing for 50 years in yards have been abused too with nails and spikes and ropes etc which also compromises the integrity without being visible. It's true that big trees create the environment and by removing them the microclimate gets changed abruptly. Still, safety is primary.

[jassytoo]

We had a huge cedar tree snap and fall on our barn 3 years ago.Our barn is metal and the tree went right through it destroying the front part of the barn. It was only the top 1/3 of the tree but that sucker was HUGE. Our insurance paid for the removal of that one but we also had the tree people take out the one next to it and top two that are next to the house. The tree they took out was 700 and the other two they did for another 500. Also did one at my MIL house for 700. She had 2 huge pines on her city lot, neither one in really good shape. If either had come down they would have wiped out her house and probably her neighbors too. The city cut down one for free and used it for the town Christmas tree. She wanted to keep the other but when she saw the damage to our barn she changed her mind.

[sullen]

So, Deb and Al, I hope you are not taking all this advice too hard, it looks like taking the trees down is better than keeping a chopped up tree. I hate to loose trees, too, but after a while I get over it, and look for more to take down. DH is the same way. We have 3 in the back that sway like no tomorrow in bad weather, DH will take them down eventually. (they only sway because the ones in front are gone)
So good luck!

[raymilosh]

i have spent parts of my life being a tree guy. some of it in NJ and some in NC. Most companies will do free estimates. A person comes to the house, asks you what you want and gives you options and prices

Don't bother trying to figure out how they're going to do their job. Good tree guys can do amazing things. Good tree guys also can answer your questions about the safety, longevity, and healing abilities of the specific trees in your geographical area.
For example: Oak trees in the south can handle topping that would kill a similar tree in the north. I see oak trees topped in the south all the time. They look like a hat rack for a while, but eventually, you wind up with a short tree with wide spreading limbs that shade the whole yard without taking up much real estate on the ground. They're short enough that the wind won't be likely to tear them down and if they do, they don't fall far or do much damage.
So, basically, call up a few tree companies, set up a few appointments and when the fellow comes, tell him your concerns and listen to the advice and ask more questions and then think about it. Get several opinions. They're free, you get a good education and you will feel better about the decision you finally take.
there will likely be options you hadn't even considered, like cabling one tree to another.
Consider doing some of the work yourself to keep the costs down, if you want to...if you hire them to just put the stuff on the ground, that's cheaper than if you hire them ot also chip all the brush, haul away the wood and rake up after themselves.
If you're willing to let them drop the limbs and the wood on the ground (which may damage bushes, benches, and make dents in the yard rather than requiring them to carefully lower everything, that will save time and money, too.

[Paula]

A big maple can be worth money. See if you can find any loggers in your area who will come out to cut just a couple of trees. I don't know if Lindens are worth anything, but if the Maple has some good logs in it maybe you could get a logger to cut them all if you give him the Maple.
Call the local sawmills and ask if they know anyone, and look in the yellow pages. Anyone you find in the phone book will probably not do a small job, but might be able to give you someone's name who will.

I just called DH and asked him if Lindens are worth anything to loggers and he said yes, about the same as Poplar. Maybe you can get the trees cut and make a few dollars too...

[Mutti]

I don't know about where you live but here in Mo. our Electric co-op will take down trees if they are a potential problem for the power grid....we had a huge ancient maple come down in a storm last year barely missing our house so they came and took out the other one which would have taken out power to the whole area if it had fallen the same direction...cut and stacked it up neatly for FREE. Just an idea and sure saved us some bucks. DEE