100+ year old Maple in my back yard. Trunk is 3+ feet in diameter, there are (were...) 4 major leaders about 6 or 8 feet up. Judging by the 24 foot deep garage, I'd say the drip line about 50 feet in diameter. One leader got too heavy, plus rot in the crotch and it came down. The main trunk is punky and bug-infested so the safest thing to do is take the whole thing down, especially considering it's proximity to the garage and the house.

Gonna miss that old beauty. Not to mention the dent in the Emergency Fund it's going to make to take it down.

Shots of the break.

Trees are a double edged sword. I loved having big ash trees on the property providing shade through much of the day until the emerald ash borers arrived and killed them all, turning them into rotting hazards.

Trees are great but there comes a day when they become a hazard to life and property so they need to come down. I had a tree in my yard that was half alive and half dead and the root system was rotting away so I needed to have it cut down before it fell down and killed someone or destroyed my house or neighbors garage.

A friend's 70 foot catalpa makes all of 7 feet diameter at the first 10 feet of its trunk. I took most of its lower branches down as they were in the way of his new fence. The lowest was 2 feet diameter. Tree removal company wanted $3,500.00 to take it down. His back lot has a 70 foot water maple with 50 foot branches. I don't go near that one as the poison ivy goes over 30 feet up it. I have eyed that big catalpa for months. I could deal with taking it down but the first 10 feet would remain due to its huge diameter. The shade his trees provide is truly a blessing in the hot weather.

Glad it didn’t squish the house

Do you think the log would have any value?

quote:

Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
Do you think the log would have any value?

Sadly, no. There's not a straight foot-long section anywhere in it, plus twisted around the axis. Not to mention rotted.

Best to do it now before some nor'easter comes blowing in later this year when storm season cranks up.

It's been tree season in the neighborhood, age of the homes is just over 30+ years and many of the planted Oaks are rooting under the street, drives, and one neighbors was popping up tiles out of the pool, it came down yesterday, a big sucker like that one.

Took out a big oak last year, the root system was spread out so thick we couldn't grow grass, you couldn't put a shovel in the ground without hitting roots.



Here's the SIL in his bobcat rolling up the root mess into a ball, one of 4 to 5 that big or bigger from the area.

That's too bad. Love big trees like that. What kind of maple (almost looks like red to me but I am not certain).

quote:

Originally posted by chbibc:
That's too bad. Love big trees like that. What kind of maple (almost looks like red to me but I am not certain).

Not red, but not entirely sure. I'd guess Sugar Maple, but that's all it is...a guess.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
Glad it didn’t squish the house

Me too!

My homeowner's insurance is already giving me the stink-eye over 2 roofs in 2 years.

Do you have a jet pack? Or a drone?
How did you photograph from above the house/tree?

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:
Do you have a jet pack? Or a drone?
How did you photograph from above the house/tree?

Acme Jetpack, courtesy of Wile E. Coyote...

But seriously folks, a DJI Mini2 SE drone.

We had to take out a Pine tree a couple of years ago that was menacing the house, and actually dropped a couple of big limbs on my garage. I miss the shade, but I don't miss the needles. I doubt you'll miss the leaves in the fall. And it'll be nice to not have it crush your house.

Bet she was gorgeous in the fall.

Well, more than I'd hoped, but less than I feared.

$3500, his crew will drop it, limb it and chip anything under 4" diameter. Chips are my problem, I'll buck the rest up for firewood and sell it.

About the same as we paid taking the oak out of the front yard, tree removal isn't cheap...

While I have been fortunate to have had lovely oak trees on the yards of my homes in Virginia and South Carolina, I have had to remove several over time. The last one in Virginia fell victim to a boring insect and the last one in South Carolina had root rot, termites, and a fungi. Part of the problem, though, is that home construction damages the root structure of oaks, which can weaken the ability of the tree to fight off other maladies--at least that is what arborists have told me.