Pine tree take down

[Jack.P]

I don’t normally climb trees but ended up taking a 45ft  pine down today .it was bloody scary especially in the high winds .went up on builders ladders and tied it up and had a basic harness attached to some limbs and used the cut and chuck method.all went ok and felt safe enough but when I got to topping it out it wasn’t that simple.had a rope attached and cut it partially then got off the ladder and pulled it down but this took several goes until enough fibres broke .but obviously this method of pikey tree work wasn’t particularly clever idea as there was a small chance it could have fallen in the wind onto me at any point when I was up there 

what could I have done differently apart from getting the climbing tickets or perhaps getting an even  taller ladder and cutting a few foot at a time until it could go in one 

also feel like I been on a boat all afternoon the thing been swaying a lot 

[David Cropper]

15 minutes ago, Jack.P said:

I don’t normally climb trees but ended up taking a 45ft  pine down today .it was bloody scary especially in the high winds .went up on builders ladders and tied it up and had a basic harness attached to some limbs and used the cut and chuck method.all went ok and felt safe enough but when I got to topping it out it wasn’t that simple.had a rope attached and cut it partially then got off the ladder and pulled it down but this took several goes until enough fibres broke .but obviously this method of pikey tree work wasn’t particularly clever idea as there was a small chance it could have fallen in the wind onto me at any point when I was up there 

what could I have done differently apart from getting the climbing tickets or perhaps getting an even  taller ladder and cutting a few foot at a time until it could go in one 

also feel like I been on a boat all afternoon the thing been swaying a lot 

You must be a masochist putting this on here! They'll be on you like sharks on chum! I shall now sit back and watch the attack begin. 

[Jack.P]

6 minutes ago, David Cropper said:

You must be a masochist putting this on here! They'll be on you like sharks on chum! I shall now sit back and watch the attack begin. 

Not worried really if it’s constructive criticism.got 300 quid for an afternoons work and all good .that pine juice is nasty stuff

[tonytree]

Some trees I can see why home owners do themselves ( I have nothing against it), others I don’t see why they take the risk to save a few quid. Yours sounds like the latter.

Good on you for getting it done though but to put something into perspective we took down a tree roughly around the same size as you described.

Long story short the client tried to tackle the tree themselves a couple of years ago, took off too big of branch and it chucked them out the tree. They landed on block paving and shattered both of there legs and haven’t walked the same since

[Jack.P]

yes I know it does very amateur but I had tried to think about all possible scenarios before I started and so was harnessed in with ppe and so chances of injuries considerably lower and a lot of the smaller stuff cut by hand .I think he had another quote from someone which he thought was too much for not particularly big tree so anyway it was for a chap up the road i know and  I just happened to have seen him filling his petrol can this morning and said he’s trying his new electric chainsaw and cutting this tree down today (70 yrs old and was planning to cut it one and had a bit of a back lean ) 

All sounded like a bad accident waiting to happen but maybe I should have just talked him out of it and left him to it .

 

[Derek Eames]

Nothing difficult about dismantling a Pine. Try an 80ft Beech or worse a 100ft Poplar. Just a point; never use a ladder apart from initial access. Always use recognised roping techniques.. Cheers

[Conor Wright]

Sounds like you put yourself and possibly others at risk here, climbing down a ladder with a partially severed top over you? Be glad you made it through the job unharmed and put that 300 quid towards a climbing course.

[Stubby]

Did you spike up  ( after the top of the ladder ) and strip it as you went ? 

Edited April 30, 2020 by Stubby

[Mick Dempsey]

....

[tree-fancier123]

give him an epidural to simulate paralysis