How to cut down a tree near your home

Felling on municipal territory

Removal of trees growing on public property is done only in exceptional cases. It is forbidden to do this procedure for firewood or landscaping.

The cutting down of trees on public property is carried out by the public authorities

It is possible to remove a tree on municipal land when the plant:

• Shading the apartments. The application alone is not enough: you need an opinion and recommendations from the competent authorities. First of all, it is a sanitary station. If the certificate of inspection of the premises will indicate that fungus and mold is formed because of the shade, it will be the basis for the cutting of trees on the site near the house.
• Creates a danger to the structure. This applies to old trees that could damage or destroy the building if fallen. Quite often a tree is cut down when its severely overgrown branches pose a threat to the integrity of windows and balconies.
• Prevents the passage of utilities. Replacing sewer and water mains in homes built more than half a century ago is a common practice today. In order to obtain a permit to cut down trees, you will need technical documentation of the house, an opinion on the degree of deterioration of the utilities and a project to replace them.

As a rule, a logging ticket is issued when the customer undertakes to implement his proposed landscaping plan, clean it from stumps and plant fresh greenery.

How to properly and legally cut down a tree on a personal property?

The opinion that you can do anything you want with the vegetation on your personal land plot cannot be called legally competent. Only old fruit trees and shrubs can be cut without permission from the local authorities. over, this provision applies only to gardening and dacha cooperatives.

It is illegal in cities to cut down trees without permission. Therefore it is better not to “partisan” in this question. If your neighbors are civically conscious and report vandalism, the environmental inspectorate can respond and impose penalties.

Let us also note, that the Civil Code allows free disposal of natural resources (including personal plots) on condition that such activities, firstly, do not cause damage to the environment, and secondly, do not violate the rights and lawful interests of other persons (clause 3, article 209 of the Civil Code).

Therefore, the question of whether you can cut down a tree on your property, located in the city, there is an unambiguous answer: the owner must apply to the local executive authority (administration or municipality).

After that, two options are possible:

• Permission will be given after specialists from the Environmental Inspectorate have inspected the tree or trees that you intend to remove. On the basis of their conclusion (Act) they will determine the amount of compensation payments to the local budget (for restorative landscaping).
• A permit will not be required if the “Rules of Maintenance and Protection of Green Space” issued by the local government contain a clause that allows the owners to dispose of the vegetation within the boundaries of their land independently.

Note in passing that legally uninformed citizens often confuse a tree survey act with a permit to remove a tree. These are two different documents and one has no legal effect without the other. The exception to this rule are emergency trees deemed as such by an official commission. Once you have received the appropriate report, you can proceed with the cutting, without permission to remove.

How to correctly cut a tree in pieces?

Lumberjacks ” How to correctly cut a tree piece by piece?

Before we talk about how to cut a tree in parts correctly, let us define in which cases it is dangerous to cut a tree completely, under the root. According to the “labor safety guidelines for foresters and lumberjacks,” a radius of 50 meters from the tree is a danger zone. That’s because even an experienced feller can make a felled tree fall to either side as he fells it from the root. For example, because of a sudden blast of wind or, even if only slightly, rot inside the tree.

Fibers weakened by decay in the “half-timber”. the part of the cut left untouched by the chainsaw. break earlier than the healthy ones and change the trajectory of the tree’s fall, regardless of the woodsman’s calculation. It can happen that when a tree falls as a single piece, another one falls with it, and the radius of the impact zone is greater than the height of the felled tree. Felling a tree in pieces reduces the probable risks to a minimum.

The careful removal of trees in parts can be done in different ways. The more options the arborist knows, the easier it is for him to adjust the technology to the specific situation. Nevertheless, the simplest and most common is the following method.

the arborist climbs up the trunk with special equipment (safety harness, steel leg spurs (gaffes in professional jargon), rope grip, carbines, release device and rope). As he lifts, he saws off limbs and branches. Depending on the situation, the sawed off branches either fall freely down (if there is nothing under them) or are gently lowered on a rope. In the second case, the arborist is assisted under the tree by his partner. And in general it’s safer to work in pairs.

The main elements of an arborist’s outfit are a harness, gaffes (on the legs), a girth (around the trunk), a rope and a petrol-powered saw.

The arborist can climb quite high up the trunk: it depends on the strength of the tree. It’s better to let the sawn-off top down on a rope. Otherwise, the slightest breeze will take it to the wrong place in the fall.

The remaining stake is sawn in pieces measuring 30 to 40 centimeters up to several meters long. Size depends:

• From the area of free space under the tree.
• The higher the wood’s specific weight, the shorter the billets need to be. This makes it easier to throw them accurately.

From a height of 18-20 meters an experienced arborist safely gets to the place under the tree, which is only one meter by one meter. But your partner should move the fallen billets aside. Then the next ones won’t ricochet off the previous ones. If the logs are thrown on a cushion of sawn-off branches, not a single dent will be left on the ground, paving stones or the lawn!

The shallower the logs the arborist has to saw at the top, the slower the speed of the work. It often happens that if you saw off a very thick or heavy tree in parts you have to cut off thin “pancakes” or cut wood chunks lengthwise right on the trunk.

Nothing heavy can be thrown on a paving stone under an oak tree. The arborist had to saw along the grain almost “by weight”.

The only way to safely cut down this poplar was to “pancake” it.

Before you begin, however, you need to assess the following factors.

• The condition of the tree. Dry or alive? The trunk diameter is not too big, so the arborist had to check the trunk for signs of damage, like bending or rotting.д.? On the one hand, dry wood is easier. On the other hand, the wood must be strong enough. It must withstand not only the weight of the arborist. an error compared to the weight of the tree. but also the dynamic loads resulting from lifting and sawing off at least the top.
• trunk diameter. The thicker it is, the shorter the billets will be.
• Tree species. For example, the dense wood of oak or birch is much heavier than the same volume of pine or linden. And a dry birch is more dangerous than a dry pine. Birch birch is impermeable to water. The tree stands as if wrapped in polyethylene, so a withered birch quickly becomes musty and brittle. By the way, for the same reason to save the birch for firewood, it is better to cut the “stump” at once, at least in half.
• The season. Live trees shed water in the winter, making the wood lighter. The ground beneath them freezes, and therefore can withstand a heavy load.

But it’s better to see once than hear a hundred times! For example, watching a two-minute video: “The profession of arborist”. made about our work for the television program “Good Morning” by Channel One.

Now you can imagine felling trees in parts. In no case do not try to saw a tree yourself, not having mastered in perfection the specialties of an industrial climber and woodcarver! It’s easier, safer, and ultimately cheaper to go to the professionals. You can find for such a service here.

How to cut a tree close to home

How to write an application to the administration in order to cut down a tree that is next to the house.

A neighbor planted a tall tree near our house, but under the standards of the joint-stock planting can plant tall trees at a distance of 5 meters from the foundation of the house. He doesn’t want to saw the tree. How to make him cut the tree down?к. SP norms are not complied with, if I sue him, what law should I refer to?

I applied to the housing and utilities department with a request to cut down a tree that bent the gas pipe next to my house, right next to the window that overlooks the street. The housing and utilities infrastructure manager failed to organize the work within three months. They were motivated by the fact that they do not have anything for this work. They don’t give me a written answer. The application was written in 2015. 22 December. Demanding money because they are not paid wages. What to do to cut down the tree, who is responsible for the safety of gas pipes. Gas service inspector in three years. Who passed the first time. How I pointed out the emergency section of the pipe. Said. That it doesn’t concern their contra and is the responsibility of the housing and utilities department. Who to go to with a complaint?

).We got three huge maples along with the house, two of which were in the yard, they were cut down by our forces. And the third maple was at the end of our fence. Cut it down on their own forces was not possible, as next is the power line. In 2010, my husband and I applied to the electric grid for help, but were denied. It was explained to us that they don’t do that. This year I learned from the newspaper that the district has allocated money to cut down emergency trees. I have personally written a statement that there is an emergency tree next to my fence (the tree is almost dry, the previous residents apparently somehow tried to fight with him. There were some iron objects hammered into the trunk. The branches were hanging down on the power lines.). I heard from our head that my application had been reviewed and approved. We waited all summer, and at the end of August my husband noticed that there were cracks in the ground from the trunk of the tree. I personally warned our head, although verbally, I did not write a statement that the tree will not last long. And on the night of October 29 to 30, there was a strong wind and the tree fell on the fence and power lines. The whole street was left without light, it is true it was quickly eliminated, but the tree as lay on our fence and remained lying and as it was explained to us that the rest we have to do ourselves. Please tell us what to do with the broken fence, with not sawn tree that prevents us from getting into the yard and where the money that was supposed to go to cut down emergency trees?

If the tree is too thick

If the diameter of the tree is larger than the length of the rail, you have to use a more complicated felling technique. With the guide bar ready, start the engine at full power and on the other side of the bar, insert the lower part of the bar tip into the trunk. When the tire has sunk a little into the tree, push it into the tree. Then saw inside the trunk all the way around, just short of the guide undercut. Once half of the tree has been sawn, insert a felling wedge and continue sawing until the tree has fallen.

Who to complain if a tree blocks or obstructs light

Regulations on the recognition of emergency and the cutting of trees are made and controlled, as a rule, by local authorities. Reviewing appeals and making decisions varies from city to city. If there is a problem, according to the general rules, you can apply to the local administration in any locality. You can also complain about the management company to the housing inspectorate. over, it is possible to write a statement to the prosecutor’s office.

After accepting the application, the administration is obliged to create a commission to study the situation and identify the fact of accidents. Guided by local regulations, the Commission after examination draws up an act recognizing the condition of the tree as an emergency. In this case, to cut down the tree and take it for disposal must be services for urban improvement. The event is usually financed by the city treasury. If commission members do not recognize the accident, the applicant, under Act 9-F3, is denied within a month. The same way the issue is solved about the trees, which are behind the fence of the private property, but the dangling branches which create inconvenience to passers-by.

According to the law, a person has no right to cut down trees. Such actions are illegal and dangerous. Illiterate removal of plantings often leads to accidents involving people, animals, cars. And such actions cause damage to power lines and other infrastructure.

Initially, in order to remove a green plantation man is required to obtain the consent of the competent authorities.

How to cut a Tree down close to a house

But sometimes the authorities have the right to remove a plantation on their own.

This is done if it is located:

• in an emergency condition. For example, the plantation is severely damaged by wind, insects, rodents;
• close to the house. Safety standards are widely spelled out in the SNiP;
• in a position in which it does not allow sunlight to enter the room. Because of this, the occupants of the house have to turn on the lights more often;
• in a location that will be used for future communications;
• in a location that interferes with the design layout of the pre-designed plan.

Remember: It is most common for utilities to remove greenery that is in an emergency condition. But if the plantation falls, and the management company fails to act, then apartment owners have the right to file a complaint with the Housing Inspectorate.

Difficulties and dangers

The dangers of removing tall trees are primarily related to their height. If you fall from them, people can be seriously injured or killed. Therefore, when working with large trees, a specialist first assesses their condition: healthy or emergency.

Threats (accidents) are often hidden from view. The tree may be diseased, but the disease is seemingly asymptomatic, as it is in humans. Only a specialist can accurately determine the condition of the plant and consider all the risks. The life and health of the arborist depends on the correct diagnosis.

Such a tree is also dangerous because the wind load on it is greater than on low. Even in good windless weather, the wind blows at high altitudes. It rocks the treetop like a pendulum, making the tree climber’s job more difficult.

When sawing down a tall tree, all the actions of an arborist, even the easiest to perform, are multiplied by the height. this is the main danger when working on such objects!

Finishing work

After felling is complete, the plant should be processed and taken to a separate, specially designated place. You can’t dispose of it in one piece. Saw branches must be sawn off, and the log must be cut into its individual parts.

It is better to perform these works with a chainsaw. it will be faster and more effective. Branches should be sawn from the lower part of the trunk upwards.

• Dividing the trunk into segments must also follow a certain technique, which will prevent the saw from clamping in the wood.
• The essence of the technique is to saw a log and use a wedge in the resulting cut, which relieves stress between the pieces of wood.
• This prevents the tool from jamming between log parts and lets it work effortlessly.