Advice on oak please!

[Tom_Pinch]

I've been asked to look at an oak tree on the boundary of someone's garden. Mature oak, close to houses with a fair amount of disease at the base of the trunk. My thoughts are it needs removing or monolithing at a minimum. It's a beautiful tree so I'm open to anyone suggesting otherwise. 

 

[Will C]

I would of said that was a old wound rather than disease. From first glance I would of said that would out live many of us. Possibly a candidate for starting retrenchment pruning, it’s a cracking veteran tree he last thing I would do is recommend removal.

I would possibly look at tucking in the over extended limbs now, come back in a few  of years and reduce back to new growth lower down that has grown from a bit more light in the canopy.
There is some nice metal work in pic 4, another reason to not take it down, some other bugger can have that sharpening fun 

Edit:

Is that a large shear crack in pic one running up the trunk? In which case give it a bit more of a hammering! 
 

*all dependant on location and prevailing wind etc as well as some random bloke on line who can’t see the full picture!

Edited August 8, 2023 by Will C

[Dan Maynard]

The canopy looks green all over, I don't immediately see a lot wrong. My suggestion would be to get proper advice on veteran tree management, from an arb consultant. That way you've done the best for the tree (best practice long term), best for client (avoiding unnecessary work), best for yourself (fair reputation, liability passed on).

 

We can't take down all veteran trees just because they have some decay else there would be no veteran trees at all, especially oak.