Would cable bracing save Oak tree?

[Nick Connell]

I've got a large Oak tree at home which has a big split between stems. Would cable bracing work if I winched it back together? I really don't want to have to take it down.

[oakum]

A picture of te whole tree might help. Any chance of lightening loads on either limb ? Cabling would help to some extent I should think.

 

In the bad old days a steel rod or 2 would have been drilled throught with pads on either ends. (I should imagine this is frowned on these days) although if it prolongs tree for a bit then why not?

[Gary Prentice]

A picture of te whole tree might help. Any chance of lightening loads on either limb ? Cabling would help to some extent I should think.

 

In the bad old days a steel rod or 2 would have been drilled throught with pads on either ends. (I should imagine this is frowned on these days) although if it prolongs tree for a bit then why not?

 

I should know, but is it frowned upon? I'm going to have to look at BS3998 now.

 

Also I doubt that normal steel bolts would be suitable due to the tannin content of the timber.

[oakum]

I should know, but is it frowned upon? I'm going to have to look at BS3998 now.

 

Also I doubt that normal steel bolts would be suitable due to the tannin content of the timber.

 

Boats, oak, steel fixings and tannin lived together in harmony for many years.

 

They could be replaced every five years or so I suppose -

[Gary Prentice]

Not arguing, just musing.

 

Looking at the reaction and degradation of steel and iron in tannin rich timber, personally I'd look to be using galvanised hardware or stainless- but I think s/e bolts might have to be of a larger diameter. Ergo, larger wounds and more invasive. But, research suggests that small dia. Wounds from micro drills creates a better environments so bad for spread of hyphae, so larger woundsay not bad.

 

I wouldn't want to be installing hardware with such a short life span as five years, as you'd want the washers to become occluded

[oakum]

Likewise not arguing - just saying that steel and tannin have been used together for a long time and lasted for a long time. Stainless rod could be way to go with wooden blocks at either end then large pad washers. Only trying to discuss ways of prolonging safe life of tree before its inevitable(IMO) collapse and only OP can see tree as whole and decide what he's happy with - ie fell - v - brace and rod thereby strengthening structure to a limited extent with the added risk of introducing pathogens and their problems.

 

Difficult but interesting.

[Gary Prentice]

I've seen trees that I rodded thirty years ago, like the picture, that have successfully formed complete annual rings to join the stems. And trees that were braced and rodded that either snapped near to ground level or uprooted during the great Storm at the end of the eighties. The bracing worked to ssfully stan extent that the whole tree failed.

 

There's a fair chance, in oak, that rodding could stabilise the split (along with a cable) and lead to occlusion over time. In the absence of high value targets, I'd definitely consider it as a long term solution

[Gary Prentice]

Another observation,

 

After the great storm, the majority of failures I worked on( in Cambridge) where cables were present; either the whole tree had failed or the cables had held the failed limb and suspended it.

[Jesse]

Short answer, no, thats gone too far, ok to brace if you suspect failure may happen , not when its showing, and bracing is not something i would ever recommend, its an admission of a defect and most insurance companies would question it should failure occur, all depends on the target value.

[Gary Prentice]

Come on, I'm sure that's no longer a valid argument.