Developing situation - I doubt this will end well...
 

My nutty across-the-street neighbor decided to cut down a tree on the edge of his yard. He gets a rope, ties one end to his jeep, the other to the tree, cuts a notch in the tree and puts it in 4WD.

The jeep is sliding all over the place - he can't get any traction in the mud. Part of his rope broke, and now the jeep is the only thing keeping the tree from falling the "wrong" way onto the neighbor's house. I'm afraid he's coming over here to ask me for rope (don't have any that big/long) or to schlep him to HD for some.

The neighbor is hopping mad, of course.

Any thoughts of what should be done here? Back in my USFS days, I would have put a little tension on the pull line, put a quick relief cut in the back side and let the chips fall where they may, but I am not dipping my toe in this pond.

Sorry for the crappy cellphone pix

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Click for bigger image

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Wise decision.

What a maroon. I wouldn't get involved either. Just be glad it's not coming your way!

Definitely not this guy.

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If it were me, I'd limb it on the way up, chunk it on the way back down. No way do I want the entire tree to fall in that close proximity to houses.

Time to take the family out for a nice relaxing dinner.

Does anyone on the block have an AK? Shoot the branches off one at a time?

What's that cable running to the corner of his roof, and is it as in the way as it looks in the pic?

From the looks of the initial cut, it's headed for the roof!

Looks like phone.

Neighbor needs more Unimog or a tank.

Relatively few people appreciate how strong or heavy trees are. I watched some neighbors try to tear a mature white oak out of their front yard with a rented pick up several years ago...no sawing. That tree is still there today. I'm sure the pick up is long gone and most of those neighbors have gone to jail.

WTF was he thinking with that initial cut? Drop it onto his house? Sure glad I don't have to deal with that mess

Whoa - is the notch a 1/4 way up the tree, where the ladder ends?

I would make an excuse why I can't help. "Oh, gotta go to the bank before they close". That is not going to end well - tree on fence, RV, Jeep, house neighbor's house - all very likely scenarios! I just hope they don't kill themselves in the process. I would not want any part of it, for liability reasons. What a maroon!

G

10-4, that's how it is done. On a pine tree, you can leave nice stumps of the limbs for climbing down too. Cut no longer than a couple feet chunks.

G

More rope, a come-along and a prayer.

Run Forest, Run

I sure hope that you get video of the ending. :D

holy crap.
You need a bucket truck stat.
How are you even going to position a second rope at his point? Crossbow? You think he can learn how to make a throw line this quick?
Who's gonna climb it notched like that?
Is the neighbor aware his house is about to get hit?
Get a video for insurance(ahem- pelican parts) viewing please.
wow!!!!

Seriously, if he approaches you, -infact, no approach him, now, for your neighbor's (the victims benefit) tell the guy (the one with the cap?) that he needs to call somebody who can drop it from a bucket NOW. He will hem and haw. Tell him the bucket truck will be cheaper than his insurance premium increase (if he has homeowners) or the lawsuit (if he doesn't). Better yet just tell him his insurance won't cover such knuckleheadedness and he needs to call now.

I have friends in the tree cutting business and I'm going to send them links of this thread for entertainment purposes.

Viral youtube in the making. Maybe time to call someone with real tools and talent.

I tried something like that yrs. ago. The tree was no were near that tall. The rope had little effect the weight of tree pulled it straight down and up right then it crushed on to the side of the roof and damaged the gutter.
Let us know how this all ends. With photos.

yup but now that it is notched he's kinda screwed.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Oci1CuCht7E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

That puppy won't go anywhere until he cuts behind the notch...but if he does its gonna go right on that house.

Take this wise man's advice. At least you won't end up crushing something/someone important.

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Dude. You are really, really missing an opportunity.

Walk over there, tell him he's doing fine, and give him a 12 pack.

Then get comfortable in the lawn chair and fire up the video camera.
Should be worth some bux.

Hope all is current and or insured. Call a professional tree service like NOW. Somebody is going to pay the price either way.

"when the bough breaks......."

Nothing yet - I haven't seen or heard anything since I last posted. I took this opportunity to clean out the gutters in the front of my house.

It's almost completely dark now.

Someone asked about the second line - that's tied off to his chimney.

Call the fire dept.

Tell the neighbor who's house is about to be hit to call his homeowners insurance company's emergency line immediately. They might pay for a bucket lift to avoid the serious damage that is inevitably waiting further work by the lumberjack neighbor. And please, for goodness sakes, tell the lumberjack neighbor to take a break for a bit and evaluate the situation carefully so that the insurance company has time to get there.

With the notch in the tree and the cuts the way they are, there's nothing that can be done without a bucket lift. It's like a dead man walking.

I wish my neighbors were less boring

Is that an electrical line he's trying to pull it into?

What an incredible fu*king idiot. I'm sure everything will turn out fine. Everyone knows wind has no effect on trees.




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I couple shots I took with the DSLR

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He's an artist with rope

I think he's doing fine :rolleyes:

Maybe get some beers.

Is he actually using the RV for pulling power, or didn't it occur to him to back the RV away from the situation ? Here is a prime case of an idiot with a chainsaw (probably borrowed) and a ladder (as well) that jumped into the deep end without a clue of preparation.

Hey ya'll...Watch this!