Dead Oak Trees

[muncybob]

Got a fairly quick response to a recent Craigs List ad I placed. I need to learn to ask more questions before I go to see the situation....this guy has 4 dead standing oak trees...2 I may take down, the other 2 larger trees are near structures and power lines so I'll pass on those. Too bad as they are large and look like good wood. Told the homeowner if they are felled by somebody else I'll do the cleanup.

The situation is, the 2 I could fell have been standing dead for 6+ years(gypsy moth infestation?) and have little to no bark left on them. It's obvious they have been bird feeder trees over time and a lot of the outside wood is "crumbly". The base of the trunks do not appear rotted but I do fear that I'll fell these and find rotten wood and little decent firewood. Any way to determine if they are worth it other than actually cutting into them? Last thing I want to do is cut them down and wind up cleaning up a mess with nothing to show for it.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Caution: Be super careful cutting those dead trees. Dead that long you don't know for sure how far in the punk goes and that tree can fall very fast. Make sure and doubly sure where that tree wants to go and do not try to vary from that direction at all. You'll be able to tell a lot when you make the wedge cut. If in doubt, cable it. Those type of trees have bad reputations.

 

[willworkforwood]

+1 to what Dennis said - pass if there is any doubt on safety. That being said, a few years ago I took down a large standing dead Oak, hollowed out 20' or so at the base, but it still had a huge amount of great firewood. One other consideration is cleanup. Depending on what the cleanup deal is (and I would always expect to do full cleanup unless otherwise agreed-upon), you might have way too much work getting all of the broken-down stuff off the ground. Figure cleanup in with everything else, and then decide if it's worth that amount of your time.

 

[Woody Stover]

You can take a hatchet and chop into the trunk at different spots to get an idea. You can also use the pounding end of the hatchet to hear if it sounds hollow.
Are these Red Oaks? It's great if you can get 'em after all the punky sapwood has fallen off, but the heartwood is still solid.
I'll echo what D and willwork pointed out...safety first!

 

[golfandwoodnut]

I have alot of dead Oaks from the gypsy moths. But believe it or not the gypsy moths came through about 20 years ago, so they have been dead along time. This does not mean the wood is bad, especially the white Oak. I pushed over a tree just as you described and it was dry as a bone. I did not burn it last year but I am sure I could have. You probably will not have that much cleanup as most of the dead branches are down by now.

 

[smokinj]

Plunge cut vertical in a few spots and that will tell the story.

 

[Thistle]

In the past month I've dropped at least 10 mostly White,couple Bur & 3-4 Red/Black that were standing dead 6-7 yrs at least.From 12" to 20" diameter.Some of the Red had a couple hollow spots maybe a foot or so long 30 ft up the trunk,but rest was sound all the way to the ground.Always have a hatchet or axe with me when I'm walking through checking stuff out.Give the trunk a couple raps & you can tell whether its sound on outside & hollow in middle or soft all da way through.If you got a 12" tree with just an inch or two hollow in center,that still leaves enough good wood for strength.