Page 1 of 1

Tree Felling

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 3:13 pm
by dalkill
I'm looking at paving my driveway and front area, so i thought i would get rig of this beast.

How much would it cost to remove this.
Just want to get and idea of cost before approaching companies for quotes so i know if they trying to pull a fast one.
tree2.PNG

Re: Tree Felling

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 6:02 pm
by Family_Dog
Going to be tricky with those power lines near it. Might be wise to speak to your local Electrical Dept about this.


-F_D

Re: Tree Felling

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:41 pm
by Mud Dog
Agree with Eric - approach your municipality electrical dept (or maybe even parks dept).

If memory serves correctly, in the eyes of the law it's your tree and you are responsible for it but since it overhangs your boundary the adjacent land owner (in this case the city) can cut away anything that overhangs the boundary without your consent (they can even toss the cuttings back over your wall and leave you with the removal costs). Still going on memory, if the overhang for whatever reason causes damage to the neighbouring property, you can be held responsible. However, in most cases like this municipalities would just go in there and cut and remove the cuttings at their cost if there is a perceived threat to their property (the power lines). They also don't want negative outcomes where lines are damaged by the tree fellers or worse yet that there are fatalities / injuries resulting from electrocution.

It's well worth a shot because if you have a contractor come in to do the job he is going to have to put up scaffolding or hire a cherry-picker to take down the "problematic" top sections of the tree in small manageable pieces. Time consuming and adds to the cost.

We used to do some tree felling 25 / 30 years ago and although we were not 'tree surgeons' we had to deal with some tricky situations involving cables / telephone lines.Maybe things have changed, but I would estimate that you would be looking at somewhere in the region of R5K to take it down to ground level and remove the waste. Bringing in a bole-cutter to go below ground level could push that estimate higher.

Hope that helps.

Re: Tree Felling

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 6:55 am
by Mikie
The estate next to us recently had some tree fellers cleaning up their boundary fence cutting down some big trees like that, they apparently charge R8k per tree.

I was thinking its time to get myself a chainsaw and make some pocket money

Re: Tree Felling

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 7:19 am
by dalkill
Thanks guys.

I got few quotes between R2500 and R5000 incl stump removal.

Will get in touch with my local Elect dept just in case.
Don't want to upset the neighbours if power goes down, even before we moved into the house :D:

Re: Tree Felling

Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2018 6:25 am
by AJTrees
dalkill wrote:Thanks guys.

I got few quotes between R2500 and R5000 incl stump removal.

Will get in touch with my local Elect dept just in case.
Don't want to upset the neighbours if power goes down, even before we moved into the house :D:


That’s extremely low for a tree of that difficulty, I’d make sure the guys are fully insured and qualified tree surgeons. Good Luck


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Tree Felling

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 2:17 pm
by dalkill
So I manage to get someone to remove the tree... It was touch and go , else Elec dept would have me locked up for killing their lines :slap:

I specifically asked the guy if he has done before, and he assured me he has done it many times... "don't worry" ...
Eish but what a stress full morning... got thru it without any major damage to wires or the house. :frustrated:

I asked him to leave the tree there.. just cut it up to pieces so i can use it for fire or braai wood..
This is the type of wood front tree was. Didn't take pics of back trees.

This wood any good?
I'm assuming any tree, once left out to dry can at least be good for making a fire outside?
Capture-min.PNG

Re: Tree Felling

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 5:22 pm
by Mud Dog
It's a silver oak. Not as hard as normal oak. It's safe to use on a braai but the coals won't last as long as decent braai wood. Perfect for burning in a fire place inside the house for heat.

Re: Tree Felling

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 5:47 pm
by Mud Dog
Just a bit of extra info now that you've asked. :D:

All wood smoke has toxins, some a bit more than others and some more harmful than others. To be on the safe side, all wood should be pretty well dried out before use because wet wood doesn't burn as hot or as easily and releases more smoke with more unburned hydro-carbons, stuff like benzine and other hazardous chemicals incl. carbon monoxide.

Inside fires should have a properly functioning flue or smoke stack.

A rule of thumb is that the harder woods produce less smoke provided there is enough heat and flame from your kindling to get them going. Also, the logs should not be too thick - somewhere around 80mm is ideal.

Always wait until all flames are gone from your coals before braaiing - if the coals are ready but there's still a burning or smouldering piece on the side, remove it.

One wood you must NEVER use for ANY fire is Oleander. The sap is highly toxic and even if dry the smoke is as well - there have been many fatalities associated with Oleander.

Have fun. :winkx:

Re: Tree Felling

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 7:30 am
by dalkill
Many Thanks for the info :thumbup:

here is the pic of the two trees at the back... does not look like the Oleander?
they the ones against the vibracrete. not palm tree one.

I'm planning to leave the wood in the backyard for a couple of years to dry completely. Not moving in the house till kids finish primary school. There was nigerians living in the house before we bought it. They really messed up the place. Bought house in May 2017 and only got keys Apr 2018 ... hellov court procedure to get them out. And when they out , there was not one room in the house that did not need attention. There was holes in the ceiling ... they even broke the pool ... I mean really :shock2:

Re: Tree Felling

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 8:19 am
by Mud Dog
Cannot identify from the pics but does not look like oleander at all.
Google oleander and look at the leaf shape and growth pattern in images. It's more like a flowering shrub but it's numerous stems can get quite thick. :winkx: