Saguaro Cacti removal (Any Clues)

[EddieWalker]

After looking at your picture and reading your description, I can now appreciate your concern over all the posibilities that could happen. You got a 50/50 chance it will hit your house. Not very good odds.

The net sounds good until you try to find a net and come up with enough horse power to pull it over. Lot's of ropes will also have the same issue, except one or two will probably be tighter than the others and then it's another gamble on what will happen.

Cutting it like a tree or aproaching it as such seems logical, but since this thing is so totally different than I tree, I'd hate to take the chance of it twisting or turning right back on top of the house.

With the arms weighing thousands of pounds, the whole thing must weight well over 5 tons with ten tons a possibility. That's too much weight to take a chance on.

I'd think it was cheap money to hire a pro with insurance that you've verified to do the job. I got that advice here, check the insurance company yourself to besure he's up to date and has the proper coverage in case it drops on your house.

A large trackhoe might me another option. Something big enough to swing around from the back and push it over away from the house. Delivery alone might be more than you'd want to spend, but it don't cost nothing to get a few estimates.

Good luck and thanks for the picture, it's truly an amazing plant. Kind of a shame to remove it, but there's no way I'd leave it in next to my home. It's got to go.

Eddie

 

[have_blue]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( It is difficult to notch it like a tree because the saguaro has a skeleton of sorts. )</font>

I bet a chainsaw would notch it in 10 seconds.

It doesn't have to be a big notch. Just 1/4 way through is all you need.

Since the cactus is balanced, it's ideal for notching, cutting, and felling. It's safer and easier than a tree, because balance and wind are not a big factor as they are in trees. The physics do not change because the cactus is heavy or the arms are heavy.

*Put a slight bind on it from high up... 25 feet will do. Make it bend just slightly away from your house. A foot or so deflection at the 25 foot level is fine. If you can't keep the rope away from the arms, it's a "no-go".
*Wait for no wind or favorable wind, just to be sure.
*Notch it 1/4 of the way through, opposite your house
*Cut it through on the house side, and it will fall the right way 100 times out of 100. (I bet you are worried about that 101'st roll of the dice!)

If you are not confident of your tools and skills, get a pro to do it.

Easy for me to say. My house is safe. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Sully2]

Like some others...Id sure go for the notch it and rope it deal.

TWO GUYS..100 ft of 1/2" nylon ( or more.. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif..)

Get the rope up high as you can...(around the main trunk) get on the tractor and have your partner notch the side you want it to fall toward. Put "tension" on it..and cut it on the back side. With the tension on it..you'll KNOW when it starts to get weak..and THEN ..give it H***..and pull it over.