tree removal

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pishta

pishta

I know I'm right....
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Tustin, CA
If you got a tree growing next to your shop, house or driveway, pay attention to it and its roots. My neighbor asked me to cut a tree down growing on my property adjacent to our common block wall (that has a crack) we had built and his property line. He said that it was raising his driveway slab and cracking his garage floor as well as the wall. I said Ok and he agreed to pay half, that was very nice of him. So he gets a few quotes from his contacts (he is Latino so I asked him to negotiate a price with his contacts) We agree on a $500 quote given by a guy who was sent a pic of it, and turned down a $650 and a $1500 quote. The $500 guy blew us off so we called the $650 guy and he got him down to $550. That was the good news: The bad news was he was strapped for cash after school supplies and could only give me $200 for the job. OK, so Im in for $350, still lower than my homeowners deductible. The crew shows up 3 hours late and starts digging and chopping this mass of trunks coming out of this root that was cut clean off 5 years ago. 4 hours later the 3 are still digging out this stump and they have not even gotten to the bottom yet. This stump is literally 3 feet wide, they are 3 feet deep and looks like a solid rock after they chopped and chainsawed many root offshoots. Now the guy is telling me that its going to cost more as they didnt expect this much root. Im OK paying them $100 more but now I'm out of cash. They are coming back monday to chop the rest down and grind the stump, but there is damage to my foundation as this monster was growing right next to my foundation wall. It has broken a 10 foot section and pushed one end in 4 inches! The wood frame doesnt look like it was moved, my neighbor thinks the lag bolts may have broke between the foundation and the wood frame, preventing the frame from buckling. Im afraid Ill have to get the insurance involved so they can underwrite the foundation damage and repair or tell me that it is not structural. Im thinking this "tree" has been cut down many times (once by me 5 years ago) but never killed as I cant believe the size of this root, no way this is a 5 year old root, Im thinking like 50....
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I took down a 40 footer in our back yard that was threatening water and sewer lines, then hammered 4 pennies into the stump about 3 inches deep and it killed it deader n hell.
Not that it's going to help your wall or foundation now, but maybe for future reference.
 
TrailBeast said:
I took down a 40 footer in our back yard that was threatening water and sewer lines, then hammered 4 pennies into the stump about 3 inches deep and it killed it deader n hell.
Not that it's going to help your wall or foundation now, but maybe for future reference.
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tree removers, used to cut an x in the remains of a tree that they had taken down to ground level, and put salt in the x and it killed the roots. too late now for much help unless you can keep salt on fresh cuts for a while. good luck. I think having trees (and I do) anywhere close to a building is bad, have had cracking in my asphault driveway from roots too.
 
Tree's are always a pain. Best rule of thumb to remember is however big the canopy is, the roots are the same. Hope ya get it figured without too much more trouble!
 
so this may be the root cause of my closet door sticking? Rooting my android phone was easier....
 
It was just a simple weed at one time that could have been pulled by hand that grew into a tree that cost $$$ to remove. I see this a lot here.
 
if you need to do repairs to the foundation, it's gotta come out of there. If not, I'd make sure its dead (feed it with Round-up)and let it rot.
 
Sedanman said:
It was just a simple weed at one time that could have been pulled by hand that grew into a tree that cost $$$ to remove. I see this a lot here.
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Sounds like an ex-wife! I bought the house 10 years ago, I think this bad boy was already well established by then but it wasnt 6 trunks wide. Live and learn, and treat 'em young.
 
pishta said:
Greg, What do the pennies do? That's about all I got left after paying these guys....
Click to expand...

My Dad showed me that trick a loooong time ago.
The copper inside the pulp of the tree kills it.
Salt and roundup both work also, but you have to keep on it with both and the copper is a one time thing.
 
TrailBeast said:
My Dad showed me that trick a loooong time ago.
The copper inside the pulp of the tree kills it.
Salt and roundup both work also, but you have to keep on it with both and the copper is a one time thing.
Click to expand...

Make sure you use old pennies (1962- 1981 - 95% actual copper) the current pennies (since 1982) are mostly zinc with a copper coating: The United States Mint · About The Mint
 
I have had good success with cutting them off and applying a herbicide containing tryclopr to the stump. I apply it with a paintbrush.
C
 
This piece of $hit is going to cost someone plenty in the long run. The bastard cracked and moved the foundation wall 6 inches in over a 10 foot section. I guess its time to turn in the marker on my homeowners insurance. $500 deductible will cover 10s of thousands in foundation and floor repair. I told my neighbor and he told me his $130,000 fire damage only upped his insurance $150 a year. I guess that's why we got it, eh? But working 8 hours on Labor day covered that and some to spare! :icon_fU:
 
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