Whether you’re thinking about entirely bringing down a tree in your backyard or if you simply want to take care of and trim the overreaching and dead stems from it, you should know that there is a wide range of techniques and protection tips that you must keep in mind throughout the entire process.
If you were wondering how could you ensure that you and your surroundings remain safe while you’re taking care of the trunks in your backyard, you’re lucky, mostly because this is exactly what we’ll discuss in our article today. Here is our list of the top six techniques and safety tips for DIY tree cutting:
1. Before Anything Else, Determine if It’s Secure
Since you’re going through this article, you may be planning on bringing down a trunk that is quite large. If so, you must take some safety measures, especially since going through the entire process is a demanding DIY project. For starters, if the plant has a lot of lifeless, overreaching, and withered limbs, but a healthy trunk, you might not want to bring it down entirely, instead, you may only require trimming them as you operate on the plant.
In order to determine whether or not it’s secure for you to go through the process, you should first go around the plant, however, your property as well. While doing so, determine if there are obstacles around it such as electricity lines, other trees, buildings, houses, as well as electrical boxes. You should also evaluate the fall radius and learn where it’ll be landing. If there are any obstructions, you may have professional assistance.
2. Gather And/or Purchase The Equipment & Tools Required
Once you’re finished with the aforementioned step, you’ll have to gather or purchase the supplies and tools required. This is, perhaps, one of the first and most essential things that you must do. Hence, ensure that you have a hard hat, goggles, protection for your ears, gloves, old clothing & shoes, as well as wedges, a chainsaw, an ordinary saw, and of course, shears for removing dead branches.
3. You Must Know The Fall Radius
Now, you should know, learning what the fall radius is could be extremely daunting and complex, especially since it could be quite hard for you to calculate the size of the plant so that you can learn where it’ll drop. Because of this, you may prefer choosing to work with an expert removal company such as treeremovalny.com that’ll assist you. However, if you don’t want to hire someone for the job, you’ll have to consider the condition of the plant, including whether it’s diseased, overcrowded, or withering.
For instance, if it’s leaning on one side, it’ll definitely drop in that direction, no matter what you do to try and redirect it. You can try a DIY technique that a lot of people use. For starters, you should carry an ax at arm’s height and while keeping an eye closed, step away from it until the top part and the bottom one align with the tool. The place where you end up standing in the location of where the trunk will end up.
4. Empty The Surroundings + Think About The Gap & Begin Cutting it
You should ensure that you clear the area so that you could head to a secure place when the trunk starts dropping. It’s always more suitable to come with several ways for escaping so that you could stay safe if anything goes amiss. The gap needs to be planned out so that it could drop correctly, hence, the drop-side must be the heftier part of the plant. When it comes to creating the gap, you must start at the top and drive it at around a 40-degree. You must trim approximately a third of the way into the base.
Relying on the plant you’re working on, you’ll probably require wedges. Hence, if the scope of the plant is more than 17 inches, you must place wedges, mostly because it’ll stop your chainsaw from becoming squeezed throughout the process. When you create the gap you could simply start cutting. Keep in mind, if you’ve trimmed adequately so that you could place the wedges, pause, hit them in place, and then finish the gap you’ve created.
5. You Must Complete The Cut Correctly
This particular task is what will cause the plant to go down. During the procedure, you should go to the opposing side of the plant, meaning that you must be on the other side of the gap you made. Approximately a cm above the gap, start forming a precise cut. You must create a hinge so that you ensure that it doesn’t go through entirely. Also, as it starts shifting and moving, stop what you’re doing, and move to a secure location, far away from the plant.
6. Clear Out The Area
Once you’re done with everything, you’ll have to clear out the area. The first step is to remove all the branches from the trunk and from there, you should start working on the trunk. Keep in mind, the chainsaw shouldn’t touch the ground, mostly because it could extremely damage it, hence, you shouldn’t cut all the way across. Once you complete the initial cut, you must turn it around with the help of your family or friends, and complete the cuts.
What you’ll do with the logs and branches is up to you. Most homeowners choose to store them in a dry area so that they can use them as firewood in the future, but, you could also sell them or transport them to another location. Remember, if you’re left with a lot of wood, there are laws for transporting long and large trunks, thus, you should first check and see what you’ll need to do to properly and safely transport it.
Conclusion
Cutting down a tree can be dangerous, extremely daunting, as well as complex. Nevertheless, if you use some techniques and follow the tips we’ve mentioned above, you might make the entire process easier, but keep in mind, if you aren’t sure about your skills and knowledge it’s always better to hire a professional.
So, since you’re now well aware of what you’ll need to do to bring a tree down, you shouldn’t waste any more time. Instead, you should start thinking about whether or not you should hire a professional removal company that’ll help or if you should opt for going through the entire process by yourself.
