Tree Removal in a Small Space
Joe works in the bucket lift.
We recently tackled a job on Madison’s Near East Side right behind the wonderful bookstore A Room of One’s Own off Atwood Avenue. Even though our tree service company is located in the Spring Harbor area, we love working on the East Side, whether it’s in the Elmside neighborhood, or Marquette, Williamson, Schenk-Atwood or Tenney-Lapham. So much to do and see in these beautiful neighborhoods, with Olbrich Gardens and the Lake Monona waterfront standing out as favorites!
The Job
Our challenge here was to remove two large Norway Maples and a Box Elder tree, and to clear out some dense overgrowth in a small backyard to make it a nicer place to spend time. We also pruned back some low limbs of a Norway Spruce over the home to eliminate branches rubbing on the roof and preventing racoons and squirrels from having an easy route to the home.
The Plan
With structures and telecommunications wires in all directions, Joe House generated a plan to use rigging ropes and “blocks” (very strong pulleys) to carefully control the removal of each branch as it was cut from the tree. Since we had approved access to the trees via an alleyway behind the bookstore, we opted to use our lift truck for this work.
Joe took the rigging ropes, blocks, and chainsaw up in the bucket lift and got started by installing the blocks in three locations within the Norway Maples and in a massive adjacent Hackberry tree. Joe ran the rigging rope through each block and kept one end of it while passing the other end down to Isabel and Tom on the ground, where they installed it into a device called a GRCS . By distributing the blocks in three locations Joe avoided overloading a given branch with the weight of each cut piece.
Careful rigging and years of experience allowed the team to take down these trees in a very small space on Madison’s East Side.
Safe, Professional Tree Removal
The team started out by removing the lower branches hanging above the back of the bookstore and an adjacent garage, with the principal challenge of avoiding damage to a telecom line directly below these limbs. Proper cutting techniques kept the limbs from swinging directly through the line. Good arborists never cut off a neighbor’s cable TV!
With Isabel on the GRCS, Joe in the tree, and Tom on the ground “retrieving” the cut limbs and pulling them into an open space, the team steadily worked down all of the upper limbs of each tree until left with just the spars (the trunks). At this point Joe tied the rigging rope to the top of one of the spars, Isabel tensioned the rope so that the spar was being pulled upward toward the blocks, and Tom used a chainsaw to make a cut as high as safely possible. Tom got a hold of the spar, now swinging from the rigging rope, while Isabel lowered it slowly to the ground. Ryan helpfully took a break from pruning and chipping to use our mini skid loader to haul the log out to the street. It was later loaded into our log trailer and hauled away for firewood processing.
Careful, thorough clean-up leaves the new, more spacious area looking great.
This steady, planned out, professional technical removal required nothing more than a rope, some blocks, a saw, and decades of experience and job-earned knowledge to carry out. Had we not had access to the site with our lift truck, we would have climbed into the tree with protective ropes and carried out the work in much the same way. But after winning the Wisconsin State Climbing Championships seven years in a row, Joe likes opportunities to put our lift truck through its paces.
Once the trees were down and stumps cut low to the ground, Sam brought out our Stump Grinder and grubbed out each stump, going down at least six inches below the surrounding grade, ensuring that nothing would sprout up in the future and providing a base for a new start, whether it’s a new tree, seeding the area with grass, or installing a new patio.
We wrapped up our work with over an hour of cleanup spread amongst our crew of five, carefully raking up twigs and leaves, hauling logs out to the street and securing them in our trailer and truck, finishing the chipping of all brush and branches, blowing sawdust, twigs and leaves off the roof, sweeping and blowing off the driveway, alleyway, sidewalks, streets and gutters, and packing up all of our gear.
This is how we spent a typical yet remarkable day carrying out the work of a tree service business we are so proud to be a part of.
We would love to help you with your tree needs, whether its removal, pruning, plant health care, or the installation of new trees. Contact us today using the form below or give us a call at (608) 234-5935
