Can I cut down a tree with my mind?
 

This was Mom's tree and I back on 6/22/2009. Unfortunately, I am now old and decrepit, and Mom's tree is mostly-dead:
https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1698184725

This was Google's streetview of it back in May:
https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1698184800

My sister took this picture yesterday.
https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1698184883

Mom has been saying for years that it has been dying and we needed to cut it down.

She is dying, but I am not holding that against her!

I got the number of an arborist, but Mom said that she knew one, called, and he would totally get back to us.

A couple of months later he finally did and said that if we cut the dead branches, hopefully the remaining branches would be enough for the tree to pull through.

He said that they would stop by after work and trim the tree, but a couple of months later it just looked worse, so I bought the Harbor Freight pole saw with an 8' handle

I am 6'2" and I have long arms. I trimmed all of the dead branches that I could reach and it didn't get any better.

The neighbor keeps saying that it is dying, we need to cut it down.

He is dying, too, but I didn't say anything.

It doesn't have any leaves and it has a crack now, so it needs to go--except I am down here.

Mom is already paying thousands to fix up her house and she still refuses to discuss many aspects, but my sister drove her up on Sunday, and somehow Mom's toilet broke while we were away.

It didn't leak badly, but now there is black mold in both bathrooms, so my sister insists we need to remodel both bathrooms.

I don't think that was a jump from A to B.

I think that her brain went to warp in the wrong direction.

Both vanities are old and should be replaced, as well as the linoleum.

No part of the interior of the house has been painted in 27 years and maybe it would benefit from paint.

Home Depot says, to treat black mold, locate and fix the source of moisture (apparently, each toilet), turn off the HVAC and all fans, seal vents, don PPE including a respirator, and:

1. For a natural solution for getting rid of black mold, combine one part baking soda with five parts distilled white vinegar and five parts water in a spray bottle.
2. Spray the black mold and let the mixture sit for about 30 minutes to one hour.
3. Scrub the area with the black mold using a sponge and the solution of your choice.
4. Let it dry and repeat the process as needed to ensure that youÂ’ve removed the mold.

I don't see where the home improvement store said to remodel your home.

Angi says "On average, removing a tree costs around $750, but you can expect to pay between $200 to $2,000." https://www.angi.com/companylist/us/...ee-service.htm

If I could spare a weekend to go up, I just don't see how I can do it.

This guy explained how he did it: https://www.instructables.com/Cutting-Down-a-Tree-Solo/

Can you imagine climbing a ladder and\or a tree and using a reciprocating and\or chainsaw for hours?

He installed arm rests.

So, hire an arborist, and plan a trip to remove the stump?

I did that before, but I still have much of the wood, in a medium-sized garbage can!

It would be better to just throw it in Mom's compost pile--or have them remove the stump, too: "Stump removal costs between $175 and $550, with an average price of $360." https://www.angi.com/articles/stump-removal-cost.htm

Should we plant a new tree there?

That should probably wait until the spring.

There are mice in the house, too.

I asked if they put down traps and of course, that was considered absurd, ew need to call an exterminator.

I have climbed trees and spent hours with a chainsaw.

If there's a clear direction to fell it, this would take like 1 minute of sawing to bring it down. Then cutting into pieces would take maybe 30 minutes.

I had a big beautiful birch tree die at my previous house, and I cut it down towards my driveway to get it closer to the truck when I cut it up. Whole thing took maybe 45 minutes.

Folks getting paid hundreds to do an hour of work has me considering my choice of occupation.

I figure that if I secure a long rope as high as I can, tie it to my car, and idle up the street until there is just tension on the rope, and then have someone sit in the car, idling again, unless the tree can pull on the car, the pull will pull on the tree, ensuring that when I cut it, it falls that way.

As long as the rope is much longer than the tree, it can't possibly fall on the car, right?
Right?!

I am concerned regarding the widowmaker.

When I was in scout camp, a kid pointed out that sometimes when you break a stick, a small piece flies in the other direction.

This sometimes happens with trees.

Maybe get another long rope and tie it off every 4'?

What about trying to cut it in half first?

We have a stepladder.
Climb it, tie it to the tree (top and bottom), tie a long rope as high as I can, secure myself to the tree with a carabiner and another rope, and cut much of the way through, but not so much that it might fall before I am a safe distance away.

Then tie the rope to my car, and slowly drive up the street?

Cut the notch right, and that dictates the direction it falls. The point is to create a hinge that directs the path the tree falls.

Ken Kesey said when you take something out of the forest, the forest takes something out of you. Beware.

I'd fell it directly toward where your picture was taken yesterday. I wouldn't climb anything. I'd soak the ground and then dig out the root stem until you can see major roots running away from the street. Chainsaw those, keeping the saw blade out of the dirt.

This will lever the root up out of the ground and you can cut the rest and backfill. Make a smokeless fire pit and make activated charcoal.

And for pity's sake, put a composting outhouse in the back yard.

The outhouse could be this simple:

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-f...5-11-28-42.png

Wheels and hitch are optional. Four sheets of corrugated material, a framed door, and a 3x5 floor and ceiling. 55 gallon drum composter.

edit: Today is't easy to calculate a superelliptical profile. A 2ft door opposite a 2ft translucent and four metal corner sheets. 12ft perimeter.

I barely charge anything for friends and neighbors.
With a moderately powerful 60cc saw that tree could be dropped in the street and sawed up into firewood sized rounds in about 20 minutes. It looks like it's leaning away from the house and seems pretty low risk, but street views can be deceiving. I have already made that mistake...
Never ever try to cut a tree on a ladder, ends badly all too often. I rent a boom lift if necessary.
Stump grinders are expensive and break a lot of stuff that's why stump grinding is expensive.
That's why I built my own. A stump grinder like I made would cost around $6,000 prior to bidenomics... It's probably pushing 5 figures now. But mine is lacking guards and such. I figured if you're close enough for the guard to be effective while it's running and stump grinding, you are wrong. You are danger close to the cutter head and to flying stump chunks, rock bits ect.

When I climb trees and take it down in sections, I attach the saw to a lanyard long enough that the saw would fall just past my feet if I dropped it, so a spinning chain would be below my body. That gets attached to my harness gear loop.

.

This is why I built a stump grinder and is one of my concerns with burning them.
"A fire was covered with dirt and reignited 6 days later by high winds". Sounds a lot like someone was burning a stump.

https://coloradopeakpolitics.com/202...limate-change/