Can this tree be felled...

I would say it CAN be felled without hitting the house, but there is no guarantee it WILL fall that way. I wouldn't try it if there is a chance of hitting the house. Measure the height of the tree (triangulate with tree shadow) and measure the distance from stump to house. If tree is taller than the distance to the house, I'd get a pro or at least a very experienced friend to help.

i would say that you should expect to lose some garden scupltures....

Not being able to do a full walk around it is hard to tell which way
that sucker is going to want to go .
I would tie it off at about 12 to 15 feet then have some one or something
like a 4 wheeler putting pressure on the tree the way you want it to fall .
Have used that method on trees very close to buildings with out any
problems yet . But yet is the optimum word.

The first pic looks like it is heavy towards 2:00

if what we are supposed to be looking at is the tree that appears dead, centered in the first pic, but not centered in the second pic.
It also doesn't look quite tall enough to do much more than graze the house should it go that way.
I'd still try a rope or cable to persuade it away from the house..

Can be hard to tell from pictures.

Are you an experienced feller ? If not get some help to give you an in person assessment and to help cut it.

No matter what I would rope it. I've got a slingshot I use to get a line up real high so I can then tie my rope to the line and pull it up to a high leader / crotch.

It's oak. I'm assuming the trunk has no rot ? That's a positive because if you get your felling notch right and leave a good amount of hinge wood, oaks hold their hinge wood very well because of the strength of the wood fibers, even with slight leans going against the hinge wood. Not true with other trees. To combat a slight lean, go thick with your hinge wood, try to pull it over with the rope and truck before your saw cuts enough of the hinge wood away that the tree starts to fall on it's own. Pull the saw out and double up wedges, you can wedge it over while the truck pulls, that way you have a large section of hinge wood keeping the tree falling in the right direction.

Good luck with it. Like I said hard to tell in a picture. A slight lean in the non desired direction is not optimal but you certainly don't want to miscalculate when a house is at stake ! taking into account if the trees trunk is solid, the type of tree in this case oak, a high placed rope attached to a large enough pull vehicle, along with perfectly correct felling cuts, it's certainly something I might drop whole, but impossible to say from the picture.

Good luck let us know how it turns out.

To get a sense of were the tree will stop - take an axe, hold the handle at the bottom by the cutting head with your arms straight out from your body, you should have about 3ft of handle pointing straight up and down (90deg), walk backwards until the top of the handle is level with the top of the tree, that is basically the plus / minus length of the tree once its felled.
You can also take that same handle holding it the same way and line it up to determine the lean of the tree, and also see which side seems heavier with branches to calculate direction of natural fall.
This lesson is taken right out of the hill billy manual; good luck

If there's a possibility that the tree could fall toward the house, get experienced help to take it down. A hollowed out or rotted base, squirrely wind conditions ~ various scenarios could send that tree toward the house.

You may wish to use a climber or bucket truck to remove the top first. The main stem will be easier and safer to drop that way.

If you are an experienced feller, notch and rope the tree in the direction you want it to go. If you don't have much experience, get help!


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Without walking around and seeing what is present it would be harder to make that decision. It does lean and being u are asking for help, i would seek a more experienced person/professional, to assist.

If the pro is insured $200 is probably less than your insurance co would charge for a temp rider to let you fell it.

mass_burner said:

So a tree guy was here today, he says the base, where the cut would be made is compromised, due to rot. It is spongy in some places. For $200, he'll come in with a bucket, drop the tree and leave it. I'm fine doing all the clean up.

Click to expand...

That is wicked cheap!! If he is insured, its a no brainer.

It's probably < 1 hour
Job for a pro w equipment

so much room for activities!