FIRE Homeowners: Tree Trimming - DIY or Hire it out?

Walt34 said:
Since my first chain saw (I still have it) my policy has been that if I can't keep both feet on the ground I hire it out. Some risks are worth taking, ladder+chain saw is not.
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I prefer to use a hand saw as it will not do nearly the damage if it slips. For a chain saw you are supposed to wear greaves (lower leg protection), eye and ear protection and a hard hat. If cutting overhand I may put a helmet on. (Since the lawn has a few low hanging trees, I use the riding mower with a Laccrosse helment, makes hitting a branch a lot less painful)
 
I'll do simple stuff like trimming what I can reach with a pole saw, or even a bit higher with a rope saw (flex saw tied to rope on each end that you can throw up over branches to cut 'em). Other than that, it's time to seek professional help.
 
I've taken down a couple of decent-sized trees (about 4" diameter trunk) by myself using only a now saw. Each time it took weeks, a little at a time, small bits at a time. On the first one the saw slipped and gouged a small flap off my thumb that needed stitches.

We do hire professionals to trim our bigger trees regularly.
 
For multiple reasons - my safety being one of them -I happily pay to have my trees trimmed. Last week, for the second time in 2 years, I was ht by a car while cycling. It takes a lot longer, now that I'm in my 60's, to recover from injuries. I don't want to think about the possible injuries I might sustain from DIY tree trimming.
And, how's this for a sobering reality: The owner of the tree service I use is a paraplegic, his injury sustained when a cut branch struck him in the back.
 
< 2", 2 feet on the ground. After that, call in the cavalry.

Not only for safety, but a good arborist will know what to cut, and what to leave to keep the tree healthy. I tend to trim what I think will look right, and end up over-trimming when the liberated branches would have sprung to the desired height with only half the removal. I haven't killed a tree, yet...

I've experimented with all sorts of DIY and home maintenance, and found that there are some jobs that are best left to folks who do them every day for a living. Just had a DIY patio replaced that, in spite of my best efforts, sloped the wrong way.
 
I have no problem dealing with even big trees by myself.
I have a pair of climbing spikes (learned to use them in a summer job while in college) and I can handle chain saws to any degree short of juggling them.

Alas, DW (who has always been smarter than me) puts her foot down on this kind of work, and so we always hire the pros. It bruises my ego a bit, but I know she's right.
 
I have 100's of trees on my property, most of which are well over 50' tall. I'll trim some of the lower branches on the smaller trees near the house but I just don't mess with the other trees on the property unless they die. A couple of year ago we lost several really big (50+ foot) trees due to the drought. I cut down two of them (both pines) but I called out a professional for the 5 hardwoods that had die. (They just looked too dangerous) I think he charged me $750 for the five trees, He and his three helpers, cut them down to about 3 foot stumps and cleaned up everything. After watching him and seeing the equipment he used (and needed) I'm glad I had him handle them.
 
A friend of mine fell off a ladder last year and died. We won't even attempt to do trees. Our lives are too precious to do something dangerous we neither have the equipment nor the expertise to handle.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
 
20 years ago, I could and did regularly climb up 40 feet in my maple trees to trim them, notwithstanding my young wife's vocal disapproval. Now I hire it out.
 
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We hire a tree service with an arborist and they thin and shape the big trees. We have to get the top branches cut back every year or two to keep the critters from using our roof as a squirrel superhighway.
 
I trim with an electric pole saw or hire a trimmer for more dangerous jobs - usually for $250 to $350. If I need a tree removed, I just have them drop it, then I cut it up and place a "free wood" ad on Craigslist.
 
JoeWras said:
4) Limb falls cleanly. Yeah! But then "bounces" back and hits ladder at bottom, and shakes you off.
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That happened to me. I was on a 12' step ladder, with a 11' gas powered pole saw. Limb leaf end hits the ground, trunk part is in the air. After it got cut loose, the trunk part hit my ladder leg. The whole limb sort of 'rolled over' and made it about 12' to my ladder.

I saw it happening, so I scurried down the ladder and jumped off.

And a few years earlier I had a limb (8") snap and hit me in the forehead. Almost knocked me out. I went off the ladder and broke a wrist. It could have been much worse...
 
I usually hire a local tree trimmer and have 3 or 4 come and give bids. in my situation I found a guy that was insured and had all the equipment, would work reasonably priced to have what I wanted done. I was in the tree trimming and logging business for 20 years and could tell you horror stories about accidents that happened to homeowners cutting their own trees and cutting down dead elms for firewood. If you value your health, mobility and ability to enjoy your retirement, remember it only takes one mistake to cause serious injury.
 
I will go as high up on a ladder as I am tall (5 feet 7.5") with a hedge trimmer or pole saw to trim shrubs. That is not, however, a very useful height for trimming trees. Mr. A is less confident of his balance and won't climb a ladder any more.

Despite the high cost ($3K for a 20-year-old tree), we hire out tree removal. We can still manage to cut up a blown-down Bradford pear, but can't rent a work truck anymore to haul the remains to the landfill. The place where we rented the battered truck went out of business, and the other rental places charge for every scratch.

The stories about ladder injuries and deaths are in line with what we've observed and heard about (and don't want to experience). Be careful out there.

Amethyst
 
With so much interest about trees, maybe a good place for some notes about "Tree Law", one of the busiest areas of homeowner legal responsibilities.

Conflicts Involving Trees and Neighbors - FindLaw

and one more... with which I learned about at total cost of about $2000.
SC fallen tree - no storm- Act of God? and cleanup liability - Lawyers.com Community

These articles cover responsibilities for expenses involving costs associated with having trees on the property.

Some of the Q & A quetions:
A storm knocked down my neighbor's tree limb onto my property, damaging my house, car, and yard furniture. Is he responsible for the damages? -
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...and a "boundary tree"
Most of a large tree hangs over my yard, but the trunk is in the neighbor's yard. Who owns the tree?
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The spreading of tree roots on my land damaged my neighbor's septic tank. Do I have to compensate my neighbors?
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Do you know what your homeowners insurance covers?

Back to tree trimming.
 
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We had an 18 yo laborer in a neighboring town killed by the tree he was pulling with a rope. The guy who helps me at the lake lost his son working as a lumberman ... crushed by a tree. And these guys worked for "professionals".

Never want to be below the "work" ... that's why I like the 50 ft lift.
 
My step-father who raised me 'learned' me: "Never let a bush touch the side of your house--never let a tree hang over your roof--and I never have!" I'm like Amethyst---we are down to 10 trees (3 whimpy ones and 7 that are 15+' tall after they're trimmed--they were supposed to be dwarf trees, but somebody lied to me). I've been trimming them and hauling the branches to the dump for almost 40 years--and yea, I hate it. I use an 8' stepladder, me on the next to top rung gets another 5-6', arm in the air is 2'+, and holding a hedge trimmer is 2'--so I'm able to go 17 feet off the ground. Had a 110' sliver maple that a tornado took out 1/3 of in Jan.-2008. I hired a crew to take it down, plus 14 12+' bushes around my pool fence, plus 6 30' trees in my garden, for $2k. I had to split and stack all the wood and clean up at least 1/2 the debris. Have never been on a ladder with my chain saw that I can remember. I'm doing it the cheap way, but the older I get, the harder it seems to get. Hmm....any of my neighbors doing the same??--not a chance--mostly, they just let them go.
 
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braumeister said:
Alas, DW (who has always been smarter than me) puts her foot down on this kind of work, and so we always hire the pros. It bruises my ego a bit, but I know she's right.
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I suspect this is one reason that married men live longer than single ones. The wife keeps them from doing stupid things that will get them killed.:D
 
Walt34 said:
I suspect this is one reason that married men live longer than single ones. The wife keeps them from doing stupid things that will get them killed.:D
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I have posted before about every year DH wants to save $150 to clean out the gutters and I insist on hiring a younger, more nimble footed, experienced roofer with workers comp insurance to do it.
 
Walt34 said:
I suspect this is one reason that married men live longer than single ones. The wife keeps them from doing stupid things that will get them killed.:D
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Pretty much sums it up. ;)
 
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