Tree removal.. help?

[Creamer]

I guess I am curious is the tree still standing or is it just a stump? If the tree is still standing and you know how to fell it go ahead and cut it down and get rid of it. With a BX you do not have the weight or power to mess with a tree that size. The stump will burn even if wet with the charcoal technique mentioned - it will take a few days but it is the safest then you can play with the remnants with your backhoe. As someone said though I would burn out as much as you can and if there are shallow roots dig them out but still wait a year to let things rot and make sure no sprouts come up before you put a pool in.

 

[Richard]

The fastest, easiest and cleanest method that I'm aware of is to dig down through the roots on both sides of the tree, then change positions and do it again on both sides so you have a big, deep trench on all four sides. The tree will stand there during all the digging and cutting through the roots. Then decide where you want it to go and get on the opposite side. Reach up as high as you can and push it over. Sometimes this works quickly, other times you have to dig a bit more. I use the tip of the teeth at the corners closest to the tree and dig under it.

This is essentially what I did.

I dug on three sides, leaving the falling side intact thinking it would act as a 'hinge' and help hold the tree (in case it decided to fall towards the house)

Maybe it's a good excuse for you to rent a large backhoe?

This was my wifes uncles house next door and the tree was right where his son (her cousin) wanted to build out the patio.

Was a bit nerve wracking but it's gone and he cleaned up the mess.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I don't think you stand a snowballs chance in **** to get that tree dug up with a BX25. I once tried to dig up an oak tree stump with my B26 which is much more capable machine than a BX and after digging all around it as deep as I could and cutting all the roots as close as I could with the B26, I still couldn't budge it even with my LS P7010.

You certainly wont have enough force with the BX to give it much of a push and the danger of it falling back on the BX is at least a possibility.

Get someone with a full sized backhoe to dig it out for you.

 

[Ken73]

Pictures of the offending tree..



I might see if I can rent a larger backhoe - or maybe see if one of my neighbors will let me borrow theirs for an afternoon.

As for the pool, I'm going to put down a heavy base of sand over the top anyway - I've had above-ground pools before and never had an issue with that.

I've taken out many many smaller trees with my BX25 before, and when I rented a big JD 310(?) several years ago I used it to dig out at least half a dozen larger stumps. I used the method described where you dig a trench all the way around and push the remains over.

Keep the ideas coming guys! I appreciate it!

 

[LD1]

After seeing the tree, if you want it done safely and in less time than a solid 20hrs work, then ya, rent a larger machine

 

[MossRoad]

After looking at those pictures, why don't you just cut it down with a chainsaw then dig out the stump?

 

[Pilot]

It looks like the top broke off some time back. If so, decay could make anything you do trying to push it over very unpredictable and unsafe. Cutting it down could be risky, too. Get someone over there with a BIG excavator and he can safely have it on the ground and dug up in less than half an hour and can prep the ground, too.

 

[Coyote machine]

Speaking as a former professional tree surgeon, that is a potentially very dangerous tree to try to push over, regardless of size of machine. The bigger the better though if it has to be done by push and trench method. There is dead wood hanging overhead and lots of leaders that can't be evaluated by your pics except to say they pose problems.
Best over the net evaluation with existing pics is drop as many leaders as possible then drop the remaining stalks and then dig out/grind stump or dig it out/burn it out.
Hard to tell what the center area of the trunk poses; rot/decay or solid connections to the various leaders, and therein lies the potential for things to go from bad to worse.
I say hire a pro and get it done safely. Any thing else is sheer foolishness.
People will tell you all day long how many times they've removed a forest full of trees simply and easily with this or that piece of equipment, BUT they won't be there to pay your hospital or funeral bills, of that I'm absolutely certain.
Your life is the only one on the line.

 

[EddieWalker]

From what I can tell in your picture, the branches look like they are blooming and the rot is all pretty much broken off already. I like how open and flat it is with plenty of access. This looks like about an easy a job as you are going to find to take it all out with a backhoe. I've never used a compact one, so that would change my opinion, but for a full sized backhoe, it's a piece of cake.

I would dig my first trench on the side you want it to fall. Dig it deep and get all the roots you can. Then on the opposite side, dig it down deep enough to get all the roots. My guess is they are a foot or two down, spreading out. If they are too thick to cut, go out a little bit farther until you can cut them, and then work your way back to the main tree.

Change positions so the backhoe is now facing the opposite direction of where you want the tree to fall and the hoe is facing the direction you want it to go. Dig out the roots on both sides and then push. Get as high as you can when you push and it should fall over easily. They always seem to fall in slow motion.

Look at the tree and decide which side has the most branches or which side you think is the heaviest. With all that room to work around, keep it simple.

I would never use a chainsaw to on this tree. Take it out whole and avoid the nightmare of dealing with the stump.

Eddie

 

[Richard]

Side comment, not related to this thread.

Just today, I was driving home from work. I always notice industrial equipment so, an industrial backhoe/loader caught my eye as it was in the middle of a VERY open field.

Long story short...

The backhoe was facing this tree (which was the ONLY tree in the field, nothing around it for probably 200/300 feet in any direction)

Anyways, the front loader bucket was raised against tree, ostensibly ready to push. Someone (who I think was probably the son) was at the wheel, ready to drive/push as needed.

Person B, presumably father, was cutting tree. What caught my intrigue was no notch cut. He was simply starting to cut through from left to right (backhoe on left preparing to push to the right). I'm guessing he was applying some pressure with the backhoe to keep the tree from setting back on the blade. It looked very awkward cutting from left to right (for my saw (Stihl 044), that would be "backward" for a bigger cut like that, not necessarily a problem for a small branch)

I almost stopped and felt I could offer some advice on how to take it down in a more safe fashion however, I'm not a bona-fide expert and what I risk with my own sensibilities might not be what they want to risk.

(I also noticed no hearing protection nor chaps)

He was probably half way through the trunk when I saw this. I just hope I don't hear about this in the local news. I won't be by that area until Wednesday to see if they dug up the stump or left it.

If they dug the stump, I'll be really perplexed as to why they didn't just dig and push entire tree over. Then again, he was cutting left to right so several things didn't make sense to me. (he could have gone to far side of tree and cut from that side, right to left and made same cut)