Cheryl wrote:
> Feliks wrote:
>> Once you have the falling direction planned out, you should climb up the
>> tree and tie two long ropes near the top. Anchor them on the opposite
>> side of the one that you want it to fall towards. This will allow you to
>> adjust the direction the tree is being lowered in, just in case it
>> starts leaning towards anything it could destroy.
>>
>I watched tree trimmers take down two dead trees in my yard that were
>precariously close to my house and my neighbors house. Tall poplars.
>They did it just like that but I had to laugh when one of the ground
>crew was pulling so hard to get the tree to come his way that he
>slipped. It was successful though. The guy in the tree doing the
>cutting of limbs and the very top part did it barefoot so he wouldn't
>lose his grip on a tree without any more limbs.

That's most ridiculous, professional tree cutters would never attempt
such a hair brained scheme to fell a tree. When trees are too close
to structures to fell safely they climb the tree with a chainsaw and
drop one limb at a time and drop [liftable] sections of trunk as they
decend... they wear pole climbers leg spikes and use a heavy leather
safety belt looped around the tree (same as utility pole climbers) and
loggers protective clothing including hard hat and eye protection. In
open spaces I can fell a large tree with a chain saw so it lands
within inches of where I plan but since I'm not capable of climbing
trees with a chain saw I have often hired professionals to remove
trees near buildings... just last fall I had a crew out to remove five
large maples that were alongside my rental garage and with the utility
wires passing through the branches... there's a stream alongside and
the trees were growing fast. They topped two with use of their bucket
truck but with three their truck couldn't get close enough so they
climbed. They did an excellent job, shredded what they could, and
took the larger sections for firewood, which is why they charged me
only $400. The stumps were sawed within inches of the ground, they
were in too difficult a location to bring in a large stump grinder,
plus I didn't need the stumps ground and I didn't need the added
expense. I've had trees removed several times over the years, only a
nincompoop would attempt to guide a tree weighing several tons with a
rope... odds are once the tree begins to fall rope tension is released
and the tree can go anywhere it wants and rarely close to where the
rope is anchored... a great way to kill yourself... even a spindly
poplar can weigh 2-3 tons, once rope tension is released the slightest
breeze can blow the tree wherever. Logging is very common around
here, and after Irene hundreds of people with chain saws were removing
trees... I've never in my life seen anyone use a rope to guide a
falling tree. If a rope lets loose it can slice you in half.