Taking down a tree or “felling a tree” using ropes is a highly risky task. May it be a small or large tree, it can easily end up falling on and damaging the nearby properties and surroundings. Therefore, tree cutting services use several different types of tree removal techniques that make the process easier. However, if you intend to use ropes, let us discuss how you can bring down a tree by employing the most effective technique and skills to ensure safety & security as well.

How To Prepare?

Before you can bring down the tree, you need to prepare it for the tree felling process. You are going to need a helping hand in this case who will help lower down a rope depending on the direction in which the tree is leaning. Using this strategy, you can also prevent a tree that is about to fall from targeting people and properties in its surroundings. However, the upside to this is that the process can be carried out carrying only a few household items.

Safety Equipment

In addition to that, make sure you wear proper safety equipment to avoid injuries and scratches while climbing the tree. Unfortunately, there have been several cases in the past where individuals have fallen to their death having ignored the basic security protocols.

How To Fell A Tree?

The first step of felling a tree is determining the tree you wish to bring down. After this, measure the diameter of the tree’s trunk for getting the correct size of rope.

Next, you need to identify and determine the location at which the tree is leaning. It’s a leaning tree, you should probably prune it before taking it down. You definitely do not want the tree to fall on someone or someone’s property, which can lead to legal troubles.

Then again, inspect the tree for limbs and cut them using a chainsaw. Then, place a ladder against the tree to ensure a secure posture. At the same time, choose a location that gives you better safety and makes the task easier to finish.

You should also keep a pruning saw with you as it is lighter and keeps you more stable at heights. Prune the branches and work your way until the tree is free of potentially heavy and dangerous branches and limbs.

Next, you need to climb the tree and cut its main branch. Remember, always keep the safety rope with you so that you can quickly and easily come down if in case anything goes wrong. Perhaps the best way to ensure that is by securing a ladder against the tree’s trunk.

From the ground, a large tree’s limb might look small and lightweight but you should not underestimate it. You are going to make a big mistake if you base your decisions on assumptions. The purpose of pruning and removing the limbs and branches of the tree is to reduce its overall mass and make it lightweight.

Plus, if the branch in question is big, you should use a chainsaw but if it is small, you can use a handsaw. Begin cutting the limb from the underside and gradually make your way up. Remember, the branch should be cut slowly so that it does not fall off suddenly leading to injuries.

Once the branch has been removed, it is time to bring down the tree. But first, secure a rope around the tree trunk. Make sure that the rope is secure by tightening and does not become loose as the tree is being brought down. At the same time, ask your helping hand to hold onto the other end of the rope in case the tree falls prematurely.

The next step is cutting the tree in the direction it is leaning. It will be fairly simple in that case but if the tree is leaning in the opposite direction of where you plan on falling it, you will have to make extra preparations beforehand.

Then, using a chainsaw, begin to cut the tree from its base. You will have to be extremely careful here as you would want the tree to fall in the direction it is leaning. Once the tree is cut, use the rope to bring it down and ask your helping hand to pull the tree down in the desired direction. Keep communicating with the individual on the ground so that you are aware of when to stop pulling the rope.

And finally, once the tree is down, cut the remaining branches and clear any mess made during the process.

Final Word

Tree felling might seem a simple process but carries a huge risk. Make sure that you ask for a helping hand and plan the task thoroughly. Always make sure that the tree is brought down in the direction it is leaning. Otherwise, you can easily put several lives and properties at risk, and hiring emergency tree services Potomac would be better.