Hung up and windblown

[David Dobedoe]

I am interested in developing my understanding of best practice/ the most effective ways of dealing with single trees that have windblown and hung up. What is currently being trained and expected on assessments?

 

For these purposes I would like to ignore side to side issues. ( but recognise how important they are.)

 

The three variations I would like to consider are:

 

a) The tree has recently blown over, it is steep (65°ish) and is significantly supported by the tree it is leaning on. Perhaps the topside is in compression and the underside is in tension.

 

b) The tree has recently blown over, it is steep (65°ish) and is mostly still supported by its root plate. Perhaps the topside is in tension and the underside is in compression.

 

c) The tree has blown over a long time ago. It is steep (65°ish) The root plate has had a chance to 'recover/stabilise' in it's relatively new position. The tree has been supported by the tree it fell on and it is very difficult to assess the extent to which the tree is holding itself or supported by the other tree.

 

 

 

Thoughts please, thanks in advance

David

[mendiplogs]

I am interested in developing my understanding of best practice/ the most effective ways of dealing with single trees that have windblown and hung up. What is currently being trained and expected on assessments?

 

For these purposes I would like to ignore side to side issues. ( but recognise how important they are.)

 

The three variations I would like to consider are:

 

a) The tree has recently blown over, it is steep (65°ish) and is significantly supported by the tree it is leaning on. Perhaps the topside is in compression and the underside is in tension.

 

b) The tree has recently blown over, it is steep (65°ish) and is mostly still supported by its root plate. Perhaps the topside is in tension and the underside is in compression.

 

c) The tree has blown over a long time ago. It is steep (65°ish) The root plate has had a chance to 'recover/stabilise' in it's relatively new position. The tree has been supported by the tree it fell on and it is very difficult to assess the extent to which the tree is holding itself or supported by the other tree.

 

 

 

Thoughts please, thanks in advance

David

 

HI DAVID after sunday and monday this week there may be alot of wind blown trees around mate we have done lots in the pasted mate just take your time on it mate as some can be a night mere job and make sure your safe do not work on ones own mate thanks jon

[JimM]

Jon makes good points.

I approach every wind throw as a new situation. Take time to assess with the saws switched off. It is probably the most dangerous treework you can do.

Spend the couple of hundred quid and do the course.

Not the answer I suppose you really want, but it's not a textbook course, it's a get your hands dirty with winches and other toys course.

[j r hartly]

Hung and windblown can be the trickiest to determine how they will react. To convert an old chippy phrase into arb talk. "Think twice, cut once!":-)

 

trees, waves and cakes!!:-)

[treedave]

Dave,

There are a few cuts that you may not have across yet, and as others have said winches etc to restrain plates, hold side bend etc etc. I've a few small ones to do in Windermere, pm me and you can come and see what you think. I'd would be good to get it done as there's some to do in December😳

 

 

 

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[AlexB]

Plate up & hung. 1st I'd try and winch it back up. Standing on a lifted plate and cutting isn't good. If that's not possible find out where the nearest harvester is. If you can short wood it and reach the stem to sever it away from the plate then i'd treat each as a leaning tree, use a dog tooth cut. I'd be pretty sure it'll shift back and sit the plate back down (use a winch to make sure) if it's still hung treat as hung up, sever from stump completely and winch off. Though every tree is different. Either do the course, it's now a combined course for single and multiple so loads cheaper. You need some one with you who's done it hundreds of times not just once or twice if you're getting "a mate" to advise you. It's bloody scary stuff. Oh, remember to keep you're toes clear too!

[Brushcutter]

Windblow is the hardest and most difficult thing you will come across. You need lots of saws, a spade, strops and a winch.

 

Don't be fooled because its old it can still have loads of tension in it. Got a black and purple leg from thinking that and got smacked by a bit of well springy chestnut.

 

Dogs tooth, golden triangle cut, step cuts, standard felling cuts all have a part to play. Its all about the winch though, you can pull back, restrain, retension, cross tension etc.

 

Best thing to do with windblow is to go with someone who has done a lot. Single trees are fairly easy unless they're big or on a slope. Its the multi blows with timber and root plates everywhere when you really know what to cut and when.

[David Dobedoe]

Many thanks so far everybody.

 

I do have some training and experience in this area. The thread is developing my thinking and that's what I asked for.

 

( re plunging a big saw into it a seeing what happens it would seem is part of the solution. But only one part of the solution! )

 

I fully accept that this work is both dangerous and more technically demanding than many others.

 

D

[Matt Butler]

On a serious note I have dealt with hundreds of windblowns as we have the contract for west berks road clearence. Our favourite method of clearance is the use of telehandler and timbergrab. This can be use to pull hung up trees down if deemed safe. Also the use of a cooks pto winch on the back of a major has prooved helpful in tricky situations. Where the root plate is moving mewps can sometimes be the order of the day, I did once climb and dismantle a 50 ft silver birch while the rootplate was yawning up and down however this was not a pleasant experience . Stay safe out there :-)

[Tom D]

My favoured method is to use machinery wherever possible, cutting the root-plate off is the easy bit, getting them down is often the hard part.