At Home In The Woods

[Obed]

Storm Damage
Two weeks ago, when returning home from a day excursion with the family, we noticed hints of a recent storm as we drove down the driveway. The farther we got, the worse things looked. There was a straight line path about 200 feet wide with the tallest trees blown over. The path went up a gulley on the north side of the property, crossing the ridge line where our house sits, and continuing down the gulley on the south side of the ridge line. Fortunately our house had minimal damage but at least a dozen large trees uprooted and fell. For a couple weeks prior, we had an unusual amount of rain leaving the ground very soft just in time for the high winds to blow over the trees that were the tallest and stiffest.

A 50 ft maple damaged one of the rain gutters on the back side of the house.

 

[Obed]

Storm Damage (cont'd)

Many of the downed trees are leaning against other trees. These leaners are known as "widow makers" because of the dangerous unpredictable ways the trees often fall when they are cut.



While it is difficult to assess the size of these trees from the pictures, most of them are 18" or greater diameter oaks. Some are about 2 feet in diameter. One of the biggest trees left a crater beside the driveway. I need to fill in the crater before my driveway collapses into the crater.

 

[lakngulf]

Wow, that is a lot of trees down. So glad you had only minimal damage to your house. Good luck getting it all cleaned up and splitting firewood!

I am sure the little one enjoys that pool, and I am glad the trees missed it.

 

[Larro Darro]

Heavy rain and high winds are a tree killer. Glad the house escaped major damage. Be very careful, but if you will cut those trees off near the base, those big root balls will drop back into the holes. Make sure you have a way to get away, and cut away from the pressure, which would be from the top in this case.

Some of those trees would make saw logs if you know anyone with a mill.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Wow, sorry about the damage. my inlaws have a wooded lot, had a tree fall and damage their pole barn a few yrs back.

 

[Obed]

Wow, that is a lot of trees down. So glad you had only minimal damage to your house. Good luck getting it all cleaned up and splitting firewood!

I am sure the little one enjoys that pool, and I am glad the trees missed it.

lakngulf,
Most of the trees are in the woods and don't have to be dealt with. I have observed since I've lived here that I will never need to cut down a living tree for firewood. There's enough dead-fall each year to completely heat my house. One of my best purchases was a good Stihl chainsaw 2 or three years ago. Why I went so long using a cheap saw baffles me now.
Obed

 

[Obed]

Heavy rain and high winds are a tree killer. Glad the house escaped major damage. Be very careful, but if you will cut those trees off near the base, those big root balls will drop back into the holes. Make sure you have a way to get away, and cut away from the pressure, which would be from the top in this case.

Some of those trees would make saw logs if you know anyone with a mill.

Larro,
We may talk to a logger. We also want to clear some of the trees south of the garden for more sunlight. Maybe some good logs would be an incentive for someone to do the work. We talked to loggers when we cleared for the house and garden but nobody was interested in the logs. That was when the housing market was in the doldrums when may have affected the interest.
Obed

 

[Obed]

Wow, sorry about the damage. my inlaws have a wooded lot, had a tree fall and damage their pole barn a few yrs back.

It'll just help me build up my firewood supply!
Obed

 

[Obed]

Gutters
My wife called 4 gutter guys about the repairs and only one returned her call. Sometimes we are just glad we can find anyone to do a job and can't be picky about who we get. One bonus to the gutter damage was that gutter was originally installed draining water the wrong direction away from the downspout. This leaves standing water in the gutter as a breeding ground for mosquitoes. I've wanted to get that fixed for a while so this time we have an opportunity to improve things.

When we built the house, I specifically asked the gutter guy about how he leveled the gutters? He said he puts a level on each gutter and installs it so water will drain toward the downspout. When his workers arrived, none of them used a level. They just installed the gutters at the same level as our eaves which resulted in half of our gutters keeping standing water.

So this time, my wife talks on the phone to the new gutter guy about replacing the damaged gutter and fixing the level for the rest of the gutters around the house. He says he will use a level and make sure the gutters drain toward the downspouts. All good. When the gutter guys arrive their boss is not with them. So they head up a ladder to install the new gutter. Guess what they did not have with them? You guessed it - no level! My wife calls them out and makes them use a level. This sort of thing is so common, I actually have come to expect it instead of get frustrated.

 

[clemsonfor]

I can about be no logger will want your trees. I am a forester and i get this question all the time. If you give them away and there are enough of them and he has no other better jobs and he is close...maybe? But it costs half a days time plus fuel to move that stuff, then there is lost production from the move. So you quickly see how even free trees dont pay off. The small guys that sell logs are tree services that you may see running around. They have plenty of city people and even rural people that pay them to cut the trees, then they take the logs and sell the logs, so they get paid twice on a job, thats why those guys dont want yours for free.

I would use them for fire wood if that close to the drive. Get all that stuff cut and split in the next few years and your looking at a good bit of fire wood. Or see if someone at the churh needs wood and see if they want to cut some of yours?


An easy way to solve the gutter problem. I had one just like yours when i bought my house. I just put another down spout on the low side and left the other. No one notices it and it really does not look weird or anything. I dont even pay it any attention my self!!