Have some trees at the end of mine and my neighbours gardens. Currently around 30ft but want to take then down to around 12ft. Is this a job that me and a couple of mates could do or do I really need to get professionals in? If so what sort of price would I be looking at?

How far are they away from the property’s? I’d have a bash if they are pretty far away. Hacksaw, set of ladders. What could possibly go wrong???

Reduce them by that much and they’ll look a mess. Just trunks left. Just get rid of them, if that’s a possibility.

duntstick +1. It’ll look shite.

I’ve just been taking a 10m tree down today. Quite a tedious process, just using ladders, a hand saw and some climbing kit. For every 5 mins up the tree felling, there’s about 30 mins of cutting up and chipping on the ground.

Tree felling by brf, on Flickr

Ladder, pruning saw, rope. Reduce from the top incrementally and rope the biggest sections for a controlled drop. But really if your going to reduce by that much you may as well take them down completely.

Hacksaw, set of ladders. What could possibly go wrong???

Saw fail, try a bow saw at least.

Easily do-able with ladders and a bowsaw – they’ll end up pollarded, though, which is a look some people don’t like.

I recently tried reducing the height of a 20ft holly tree in my garden. It looked like a tree that was cut in half! It’s now totally gone.

Those wee trees won’t need any special treatment or the whole “cut sections from the top and work your way down”. They are light thin trunks and won’t cause any problems just chopping down.

My advice is go big and cut them right back to 4ft or so. This is safer, easier, quicker, and will allow a new type of fresh growth that you can more easily control. You should be able to do this yourself, use a sharp saw and get a mate to help. Hire a 3″ chipper for a day once it’s all cut. Cut the remaining trunks into rough logs and put a “free logs” ad on gumtree. They’ll be gone in a day.

footflaps – is that a normal carpentry saw? Also, is there a limb hung in mid air??

Get a cheap Silky copy. It’s quicker, easier and designed to cut green wood. (watch your hands though, they are blinkin sharp)

😆

footflaps – is that a normal carpentry saw? Also, is there a limb hung in mid air??

Yep, worked really well. I started top down initially which didn’t really work as the branches just got stuck, had about 6 piled up at one point and just took a nick with the saw to make the one holding them all up go.

Gave up at this point as had loads to chip. Plus my arms were knackered!

Canopy gone by brf, on Flickr

I assume from the naked appearance of the trunk that it’s all coming down?

I assume from the naked appearance of the trunk that it’s all coming down?

Yep, but not this weekend.

:O)
You doing that with a carpentry saw as well? You’ll look like Popeye afterwards if so.

You doing that with a carpentry saw as well? You’ll look like Popeye afterwards if so.

That’s the plan! Largest I’ve cut through so far is about 16″ (another Sycamore I felled in the garden) and yes, it’s flippin hard work. Have a chainsaw for cutting it up once it’s on the ground, but not happy to use that up a ladder nor above head height.

NB How long to season Sycamore before I can burn it in a wood stove?

I doff my cap to you sir. Far too much like hard work but at least you’ll be safer!

Split it and stack it in a windy/dry area and wood looses 1% of it’s water content a day according to my log man. Saying that I still try to hold all my wood stove wood for a year if possible. Buy a cheap moisture meter off eBay.

Main problem I have is a very narrow garden (5m at the far end), so I have to fell in 1m chunks so it always falls inside the fence. Would be much easier to just cut the whole thing down in one go, but that would take out the fences of about 4 gardens!

They going to look truly awful at 12 ft, leave em or take them out.

Scary h&s going on above, how you going to get down out that tree if you’re bleeding like crazy? You need a rope to the floor and hopefully a rescue rope too with another qualified climber on the ground.

Don’t care if you’re attached to the tree.

Yes I’m qualified.

flip – look at the saw he’s using. Too bleed like crazy using that you’d have to be properly special.

Yes, it’s not ticking H&S boxes but it’s hardly taking many risks for someone with half a brain.

timbur – Member
flip – look at the saw he’s using. Too bleed like crazy using that you’d have to be properly special.

Yes, it’s not ticking H&S boxes but it’s hardly taking many risks for someone with half a brain.

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Last person thought like that had an accident, tree work is always an accident waiting to happen, seen it too many times.

Be safe.

Odd thing to say. I’m the only person to have had that though since someone else did who got it wrong? REALLY?

Be safe, yes, 100%.

I trained with some people (who also qualified) who I refused to work alongside when felling as they didn’t have the common sense to be safe with a saw.

Know your limits and work within them IMHO.

Just to clarify, I’m not arsed what they look like as such, just want the light back as I have lost about 4 hours of sunlight in the summer. I have a field behind me so it’s not a problem getting them to fall that way.

If you don’t care what they look like then it would probably be better to get rid of them than do a half arsed job of reducing them. At least that way they are dealt with for good rather than having on going pruning in the future.

if you’re bleeding like crazy?

With a carpenter’s saw? That would be some achievement……

If you don’t care what they look like then it would probably be better to get rid of them than do a half arsed job of reducing them. At least that way they are dealt with for good rather than having on going pruning in the future.

No, I like the cover they offer with the leaves out. I wouldn’t give that up. I just don’t need any cover over about 12ft.

Footflaps – sycamore is great stuff for burning as it is a fast growing hardwood and grows like a weed. It seasons far quicker than other hard woods in my experience. If it can be stacked split with good air flow around it it should be good to go in a year.

OP – Pole saw is the tool for the job, one with a pruning saw is just as easy as a powered one. Upside is you can work from the floor and it’s really hard to cut yourself when the sharp bit is 12′ away.
They will look rubbish cut like that though, so may as well coppice them and manage the regrowth by laying, training or nipping out the leader.

Sycamore is great firewood, will dry in a year and is easily split green or seasoned, but if you split it green it will have a better chance of drying quicker.

Sycamore is great firewood, will dry in a year and is easily split green or seasoned, but if you split it green it will have a better chance of drying quicker.

So, novice questions. Not actually having a wood stove yet, how bit / small do I split it into?

With the smaller branches, say 3″ diameter, do I just cut those to say 6″ lengths or split in two as well?

Depends on the stove size really.
Customer with smallest stove we sell to takes 8 inch logs max., largest will take 30 inch logs.
Splitting will improve the drying process, increased surface area and all that.

Sycamore is awesome, my fave wood for the stove. Easy to split, seasons quite quickly and burns great. And as said above, there’s loads of it about.

Right I’m gonna have a crack at this myself. Ladder, bow saw, what else do I need?

Just finished mine off today:

Sycamore Tree kit by brf, on Flickr

loddrik – Member

Right I’m gonna have a crack at this myself. Ladder, bow saw, what else do I need?
You wife to check your not dangling from a branch every 15 minutes 😉

BTW I know a very good tree surgeon on the Wirral if that’s any help. He’s a bit booked up ATM though following this wild weather spell.

You wife to check your not dangling from a branch every 15 minutes

Have to confess I came in to the wife covered in blood, having felled a bird feeder onto my head……

You wife to check your not dangling from a branch every 15 minutes
Have to confess I came in to the wife covered in blood, having felled a bird feeder onto my head……

Man in Liverpool cuts down tree wearing MTB gear…

The end result.

Cut them down to the same height as the trampoline net, then it won’t look as bad as it does.

Cut them down and coppice them would be my call. 😀