The joys of home ownership.

[Cybercowboy]

Here we have a hickory tree that is in our front yard by the driveway. It's a nice tree, but it has begun to split down the middle. It's gotten progressively worse and if it's to survive we need to put some hardware on it. So, a couple of guys are in the process of strapping it all up with nylon straps and turnbuckles, and then eventually several big stainless threaded rods and plates will hold it all together. I have no idea what this is going to cost, but this tree is about 25 years old and it would be a shame to lose it. Sorry about the potato-quality picture, I'll try to get some better ones later.

http://i748.photobucket.com/albums/xx125/Cybercowboy1961/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-04/C85F4612-21D3-4B23-986D-6C907392D3C6_zps8zu0vh2h.jpg

[Sea Six]

:hurray:










Pic of you hugging it? Ya hippie!


:funny:

[boracayjohnny]

Props for trying to save a very nice hardwood tree. :seasix:

Just in case, you may have firewood for a year or four in the future.

[DAB]

:yum::DAB:

nice wood you have there.....:slap:

[Cybercowboy]

Props for trying to save a very nice hardwood tree. :seasix:

Just in case, you may have firewood for a year or four in the future.

I almost just cut it down, but it would leave a big hole in my landscaping and many years to replace it. Worth a shot I think. Hickory trees are pretty tough and if the repair holds the tree should heal up in five or six years. Had to do this before the leaves come out, one stiff breeze and it would have been all over.

[VITE1]

Good on you for trying to save it.

[Nemesis]

Oh! Look at that tree!

The Christmas Tree - YouTube

[RonC5]

Tree guys are expensive. I have them scheduled for next week. Taking out 2 oaks, both are part of a 3 tree grouping. Middle is nice and straight and strong, the 2 outers, not so much. One is directly over the house, reasonably sure the next hurricane will put it IN my house. The other is leaning across the property line over my neighbors pool, not much of a canopy, but enough to dump leaves, acorns and pollen into the pool. So, he has offered to pay half of the removal for that tree and to have the guys trim the big tree in front of his house that dumps crap into my yard. Win, win. Having 5 other oaks trimmed up for the storm season. Going to be right on $4K for it all.

[mrvette]

in the 18 years I been here, I have been prime mover in cutting down 5 oak trees, one due to lightening back in '98....fried all my electronics....next door lost two, and wish it was 3 damn sick of all those oak leaves and pollen...have two to go, but no $$$ for it....

guy across street, one in his back yard....lightening about 5-6 years ago, another rotten tree in his front yard took out his roof....before that, and yet another tree was cut...these all OAK trees.....

43 years ago when this burb was built....I can't imagine the stupidity of them hippies with planting all these trees, they sure did screw up my front yard...needs about 20 yards of dirt removed, lawn regraded to sidewalk.....

As for the stumps, just have it ground out....and regrade the lawn/plant grass or bush/shrubs.....something with flowers....:cert:

[Cybercowboy]

Going to be right on $4K for it all.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. I bet this is over $1k. They are done with the tree now and are doing a few other things my wife asked them to do. Also they are going to install LED yard lighting front, side, and back in a week or so. My wife works at a place where she gets a big discount on the lights themselves. My old landscape lighting is completely done for, time to rip it out. It was always throwing the GFCI at the most inopportune time, which would de-power my entire garage circuit (and the fridge and chest freezer...) so I ran it on non-GFCI for awhile but got leery of that and haven't turned them on in a couple of years.

I used to enjoy doing stuff like this 20 years ago. Now? Not so much. My back will be screaming at me for a month if I try.

[Fasglas]

Nothing like a good piece of hickory.

[Cybercowboy]

Three big threaded stainless rods, should hold I'd think.

http://i748.photobucket.com/albums/xx125/Cybercowboy1961/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-04/F2966FB7-B30C-4620-BC5B-D542C40C2086_zps0jqpejwt.jpg

http://i748.photobucket.com/albums/xx125/Cybercowboy1961/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-04/32B580BD-7F80-4D3D-BD2C-506EABFC5EC5_zpslpnwfa8k.jpg

[Ol Timer]

Here's the story in pictures:

http://m1.i.pbase.com/o6/61/426861/1/110208201.tqjevm5m.dlb_030626_CRW_0932.jpg

http://m8.i.pbase.com/o6/61/426861/1/110208208.nPBbSQ1q.dlb_080224_L1010819.jpg

http://m7.i.pbase.com/o6/61/426861/1/110208277.3XnSqoWz.20090311VW6Q9957.jpg

http://m4.i.pbase.com/o6/61/426861/1/110208294.8aUuD5Xy.20090314VW6Q9978.jpg

http://m5.i.pbase.com/o6/61/426861/1/110208295.L4xn4cG0.20090314VW6Q9988.jpg

Lost a > 200 year old white oak in the last big ice storm. The tree was splitting at a Y in the trunk, and no cable or rod would hold it. About half the tree was going into the house, so we had to have it taken down. It had to be taken down branch by branch.

Bottom line: $8,000!! My insurance guy said if I'd let it fall on the house, it would have been covered. :needcoffee:

[Cybercowboy]

Bottom line: $8,000!! My insurance guy said if I'd let it fall on the house, it would have been covered. :needcoffee:

Ouch!

When we built this house, there were two huge oak trees right where our slab was going, they had to go. They were just huge, after the branches were cut off I had two 60' long logs laying in my front yard, diameter about 4-5' each. My contractor told me it would be about $5k to have them removed.

A few days later a couple guys came by as I was checking out the construction progress and asked me if those were my logs. Yes, they are. They then asked if I'd let them take them away. Uh, how much do you want for that? What, no, we'll just take them no charge, for the lumber. Sure man! Go for it! They brought in a semi flatbed with a crane and loaded them right up. Probably got several thousand $$$ for the lumber.

[mrvette]

Ouch!

When we built this house, there were two huge oak trees right where our slab was going, they had to go. They were just huge, after the branches were cut off I had two 60' long logs laying in my front yard, diameter about 4-5' each. My contractor told me it would be about $5k to have them removed.

A few days later a couple guys came by as I was checking out the construction progress and asked me if those were my logs. Yes, they are. They then asked if I'd let them take them away. Uh, how much do you want for that? What, no, we'll just take them no charge, for the lumber. Sure man! Go for it! They brought in a semi flatbed with a crane and loaded them right up. Probably got several thousand $$$ for the lumber.

That's what happened a few years ago with the last ~100' 5" diameter oak in my front yard....I measured 3' on the trunk but the stump grinder man measure the root pattern, and came up with 5'....oh well.....

but when the tree was felled, they took that trunk down in 3 sections, tied on a flatbed, and hauled away for use in some BBQ chain, that probably paid good for the wood, green or not, I paid like 800 bux for the job....

some years later we got the stump ground out....200 bux....

:cert:

[JMC12]

Never heard of anyone doing this, pretty cool...

[island14]

If the split was not there too long and the inner wood did not dry out it may grow back, if it dried out for a long time I kinda doubt it.

Hope it works out for you.

:cert:

[LATB]

Trees are a PITA. I love trees. And when I built this place we encountered huge expense to save trees. I wish now I would have just cleaned the lot clear...build, and then plant trees where I wanted.

Btw, I just last week spent another 3K having trees removed. And there is more to be done.

This selective tree cutting is costly. Especially with 3 buildings on a 1/2 acre surrounded by trees.

Now, you have acreage. 5-10 or many more. Yeah. Love me a private mini Forrest.

Next build. It's getting clear cut. Graded. Build. Plant what I want. Where I want.

One last thing: Pine trees Suck.

[Hoog]

The city where my parents live ok'd development of a piece of heavily wooded property where we had played as kids. The city wanted it to be selectively (minimally) cleared to maintain the woodsey feel of the surrounding area. To ensure this, they would levy a steep penalty to the developer should he violate the restrictions.

The developer agreed, signed on, plowed it flat, and paid the fine.

Guess the fine wasn't high enough.

[Cybercowboy]

If the split was not there too long and the inner wood did not dry out it may grow back, if it dried out for a long time I kinda doubt it.

Hope it works out for you.

:cert:

It was dried out, it started about a year ago. I'm not really counting on it completely healing, but at least the bark growing back together and sealing the wound up. The "live" part of the tree is the outer 2" or so, and that part will heal completely given time. The bolts will stay in place until the tree is too thick for them. Right now they still need to screw them down tighter, but can't do it all at once. Then over the years we'll need to back them off so the washers don't get embedded in the tree. By the time the tree is thick enough that the bolts are too short, it should be fine to remove them. Also there are some straps higher up still in place, those will remain for probably the rest of the year.

Good thing this got done yesterday. Leaves are really starting to grow now and it's windy as hell today.

[Cybercowboy]

One last thing: Pine trees Suck.

Yeah, they can. All I have is two blue spruce and a Norwegian weeping pine (slow growing ornamental.) They are fine. It's the big tall fast growing pines that seem to cause the most problem, and are hell on your paint job. My rental car in Georgia was coated with sticky pine residue.

[mrvette]

My Folk's last house was on 2 acres, part of an old turf farm, so all the top soil had been removed in the process of several years of cutting the turf off...only thing left was sub soil, so they subdivided the lots, and built large homes on them, and left many a lot to just grow wild, as there was no perk for well/septic systems.....still gone wild today....from the late 50's yet....

Dad planted many a Christmas tree surrounding the fence line of the property, and last I saw the place they were dying off and falling over, 2' trunks anyway....but not close to the house....so no harm....one of the blue spruce trees on either side of the driveway looked like a lightening victim.....

:sadangel: