That one oak removal in Nashville turned into an 8 hour ordeal

Thought it would be a simple 3 hour takedown but that crotch was so decayed inside I spent half the day rigging pieces to avoid it splitting wrong... Has anyone else had a "quick job" turn into an all-day battle with a rotten trunk?

3 comments

3 Comments

beth_reed1mo ago

Drill into the rot first with a long bit to see how far it goes before you even tie in. Once you find that hidden hollow spot, plan for a lot more rigging time than you thought. Always double your time estimate when that bark looks suspicious.

amy9741mo ago

You drill into that rot and find a hollow spot big enough to set up camp in. @beth_reed I swear that trick has saved me from a few nasty surprises, but it also means I'm adding another hour to the job for every foot of that hidden hollow. Last time I found one that was basically a tree cave, I ended up rigging it like a puzzle piece to keep everything from collapsing on me. The bark looks fine, then you get a core sample and it's basically just a fancy shell. At least the customer gets a good story about why their price tag doubled.

alicehernandez1mo ago

Isn't that how everything works though... looks solid on the outside, hollow underneath?