cutting down trees on private land

[BrokenBiker]

firstly, I know how to cut trees down safely, my missus uncles has a company felling dangerous trees for the local college and also has various patches of land he uses to sell firewood. I spent most of my spare time last summer cutting trees down with him and learnt quite a bit.

my mother has a rather large tree in the front garden and its leaning quite badly towards the house. I have worked out a plan to drop it safely and without risking damage to the house.

just wondering if it is ok to cut trees down with land owners permission or do you have to get someone in with any qualifications etc? just want to double check really as she wants it brought down quite soon

 

[doubleboost]

I would think insurance would be the big thing (just in case)

 

[BrokenBiker]

I would think insurance would be the big thing (just in case)

I have public liability insurance to cover any work I do and any damage to property I cause so that is covered. I suppose thinking about it, if its on private land then it is down to the land owner to decide who does what work etc so it should be fine.

the main plan is to tie the branches and have someone pulling them away from the house as I cut them, then when I am left with the trunk take it off in manageable chunks so there is no way anything can come near the house. will be borrowing a stihl form the missus uncle to do it with unless I have one running by the time it comes down

 

[DAPPH]

Have a read of the county councils tree cutting blurb , you might need planning permission especially if it is an oak .. £ £ large fines if you flout the Eco-maniac's rules

Sometimes one of their over paid twerps comes out and argues the toss, saying you can only cut this & that branch not the whole tree .

 

[BrokenBiker]

will have a read, cheers. it has to come down sooner or later or its going to come down on the house the next time we have high winds again.

 

[Rocketman]

Yeah be very careful Brokenbiker it's not just oaks you can't just take down.

If it's protected you may be able to give it a severe pruning.

My parents old house had a oak on the front you couldn't touch, the next door neighbours to them had some kind of rare tree you couldn't touch. The estate I live on has a whole load of trees you can't touch, the new houses were built all around them - and boy are some big and close to houses - all that can be done is pruning to them every few years.

 

[DAPPH]

One last thing, sometimes there is a tree preservation order on your tree and you don't know SFA about it .
Almost anyone can apply to have a preservation order put on a tree without the owners knowledge ..

Wrong I know but it does happen quite often
there should be a tree preservation log for your county or local council ..it's worth checking for again it's big fines if you chop a tree with a TPO against it .

 

[daleyd]

We had a tree cut down a couple of years ago, we had to check the house wasn't in a conservation area as if it is then there are more severe restrictions, as well as checking for specific tree preservation orders.

The guy cutting it down had proper climbing gear and a nifty little one handed chainsaw for cutting the smaller branches. The technique he used was to make a cut about 2/3 of the way through the top of the branch, then move along a few inches and cut upwards 1/2 of the way through. He then snapped the branch off by hand, I think it's not good practice to just cut straight through and let the branches fall,even if they are tied (only what I've heard/seen, so don't take that as gospel) in case they snag the saw on the way down.

 

[rtbcomp]

A friend of mine got into trouble for cutting trees down. It went to the magistrates court. He got off because the trees had fallen down and he was cutting them up.

 

[mike os]

dismantling a large tree is a job for a pro... as this is overhanging a house it may need some proper rigging gear to manipulate and lower safely.

also there is a reason top handled chainsaws are restricted to trained and certified users

 

[BrokenBiker]

hmmm sounds like more bother than i could do with. Will check with the council and see what they say about it. Never seemed so difficult when i was working for the missus uncle, but then again i suppose he had a list of what he could and couldn't cut down

 

[daleyd]

dismantling a large tree is a job for a pro... as this is overhanging a house it may need some proper rigging gear to manipulate and lower safely.

also there is a reason top handled chainsaws are restricted to trained and certified users

+1 for that, I wouldn't consider climbing a tree and using a normal chainsaw.

 

[Shox Dr]

Be aware large trees (esp Leylandii) draw thousands of gallons of water from the surrounding area. And while this might not cause subsidence, when the tree is cut down, the ground will swell with the all the water, causing heave.

It's better to cut the tree down over time, reducing the impact of the increased water in the local area.


And remember a chainsaw doesn't mind what it cuts in half

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Trees over a certain trunk dia sometimes require permission to remove. Neighbour had one in a position where it restricted access so applied for removal and council promptly slapped a preservation order on it. It took several tree surgeon reports that it was dangerous and liable to fall onto the public footpath before council allowed it to be felled.

 

[brightspark]

put it this way if u want to drop it dont ask anyone if there isnt a tpo on it because there soon will be if u ask and it will cost u big bucks to get a tree surgeon to even lop a few branches off

 

[Justme]

also there is a reason top handled chainsaws are restricted to trained and certified users

Sorry but they are not restricted in any way.

Anyone can buy them & anyone can use them.

There are no law preventing purchase or use.

Professionals just like you to think there are.

I am not saying that anybody should use one just that it is lawful to do so.

 

[Hitch]

One of me mates wanted to cut down a tree in his garden. He measured up his garden, 63ft, he reckoned the tree was 64ft. He was quite confident with his estimate.

I suggest as long as he cut it 2ft from the bottom, nothing could possibly go wrong.
Don't think he cut it down in the end

 

[Robotstar5]

One of me mates wanted to cut down a tree in his garden. He measured up his garden, 63ft, he reckoned the tree was 64ft. He was quite confident with his estimate.

I suggest as long as he cut it 2ft from the bottom, nothing could possibly go wrong.
Don't think he cut it down in the end

Drop it in one of the neighbours gardens? don't have to worry about getting rid of it then

 

[daleyd]

Drop it in one of the neighbours gardens? don't have to worry about getting rid of it then

Wait for a windy day first

 

[Hitch]

Depends on the tree, might be good for woodturning.