We had our enormous tree cut down!
Hello everyone! I hope you are well, and warm, and dry… this is the only blog post this week, as we are in the midst of a long weekend. I hope you have a fabulous weekend :)
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When we moved into our house in October, it was Spring, and the back of the house is such a joy that we didn’t think a lot about the front- we knew it would be covered in building materials and landscaping debris for years. But it had this enormous tree- a pohutukawa- constantly dropping things onto us, and because it had been cut down and regrown multiple times over decades, it had an enormous trunk base which was tearing up the driveway.
Please ignore the artificial brightening from the real estate photos! Check out the big pohutukawa taking up the middle of the photo.
In Summer, it was great having the tree to shade us as we worked outside. But when it rains, it doesn’t get dry again for weeks, because it shades the driveway, and we had always planned to put a garage in, so it had to go.
I called the council and asked where the boundary was- is the pohutukawa on our land, or theirs?
The person from the tree team immediately knew where this tree was. It was that much of a pain in the ass. They told me to look up at the wires. This tree grew through our power wire to the top of our house, all of the cables leading to the neighbours, and the street power lines themselves as well. About 5 separate sets of wires ran through this tree at different angles between different branches. They pointed out the number of cuts they need to make on a regular basis in order to stop this tree from causing havoc. They said, definitively, I could take this as affirmation that the tree is on our land, and they put it in writing so we could have it cut down (as soon as possible, please).
I know I am not supposed to want to have a tree cut down. I do love trees, especially natives, especially enormous ones. But this one just has to go (and I have planted 5 trees on our land since arrival so hopefully I am allowed, morally!
Booking it in
Classic arborist, able to type out ‘Metrosideros’ on his ipad but typoes ‘Pohutukawa’
I called Steve from Armes Trees, who advised that his arborists are more than capable of cutting the tree down without dropping any lines (temporarily disconnecting the power/chorus lines). (Initially it sounded like a bit of a brag- as long as the lines are 15cm or more from the tree they can do it, he said, but spoiler alert: the lines did not slow them down in the slightest….)
I also made sure to say the magic words you should say to any tradesperson- I am flexible with dates and times- as long as the job is completed by late August. Last minute calls fine. I also checked in about the difference in costs between having the tree removed, or having the logs cut into firewood and smaller branches chipped into mulch, and being me I of course went for the cheaper option, asked for the logs to be cut into firewood, and for a big pile of mulch left for me.
So a $4,000 quote later, approved, ticked off, I sat and waited.
Getting ‘er done
It took a month before I got the call- can they come tomorrow, they’ve had a cancellation? Yes.
We moved everything out of the driveway, even the things that they weren’t worried about, to make life easier for them. We told them to put logs and mulch wherever was convenient. And it took them, I kid you not, 4hrs at the maximum to take down this entire tree. They absolutely smashed it out. But as you know by now, it isn’t the cutting down that takes a long time, it’s the processing and moving.
I left a wet, dark driveway at 8am and came home at 4:30pm to find my partner sitting on the doorstep just staring. The neighbours had all come over to stare as well. I couldn’t park in the driveway without honking at a passerby who was standing in it with her dog. The difference is astounding. I wish I could show you the difference properly with photos.
That big log looking thing on the left, taller than the white car? That’s the stump.
The fallout
We still have a huge stump, and a driveway which was excessively damp before a water-loving tree was removed. The water pools near the stump of the tree, and because we will be building here we will need to improve the drainage of the entire front of the house.
We have people walking past, licking their lips at the huge pile of ‘good wood’ waiting to be seasoned and burned. We’re giving it to friends, for the record, this tree is 5 uteloads worth. We have clients who are getting the mulch in their gardens- Steve warned me that it was a lot of mulch, but I’m eyeballing it at 2.5 cubic metres, we usually have it delivered by the 4 cube truckful, so this stuff will last the business less than a week.
I am going to turn the right hand garden into more of a boggy rain garden, where water can pool and slowly go into the water table. This is awkward because it is beside a driveway, so we need to avoid the driveway runoff as it will be full of all sorts of contaminants (petrol, oil etc). We will need to put in a soak pit, which is a boring building thing as opposed to an exciting gardening thing. And we will get that stump out!
For the stump, I am using Steve from Totally Stumped. All the business does is stump grinding, and Stephen has been in the business for 20 years. Want to guess how much it costs to grind out a stump which is about 1.5m tall, 1.5m long and 2m wide?
It’s going to cost us $2500. This is $1,000 cheaper than the other quotes I had. Stump grinding is spendy. This stump will take him all day.
I can’t wait to show you the final outcome, but this week has been a whirlwind. I am so glad that we used Armes Trees, we recommend Armes for all larger jobs. I met Steve on a training session for managers and he told us that he only tests his apprentices on a Friday when they are already tired, because they need to do the right thing at all times, not just at their best. Both a brutal and admirable tactic!
Professionally, our business tends to manage the tree removal, the stump grinding is either organised by the same business or the clients have done it themselves. So a few clients have used Totally Stumped but this is my first time, and I am excited!
Some advice for engaging garden-related trades
When we first hired builders, I learned a lot about how to interact with them and make sure they are able to do the best job. I didn’t realise how different it feels to have people inside of your house. It was quite alarming to see them come and go, not really sure what they were doing that day and how long they would be onsite for. Honestly it has impacted my own practice, in making sure clients feel more confident in knowing what is going on! Some advice for gardening companies, though…
Most of us prefer not to have house access. Most of us don’t want to go inside, ever. We are dirty, we don’t want the responsibility, using the loo is 50/50, most of us would prefer to drive down the road to a public toilet because your towels are white and your floor is clean. So offer if it is possible, but don’t expect to be taken up on the offer.
I would strongly recommend confirming the tasks multiple times- once at the quote, and again on the day, and if you see something which doesn’t seem quite right, or you think they are doing the wrong thing speak up immediately!
If there is a precious plant or item which may be damaged, absolutely proactively tell them. Nobody wants to damage property or plants, but it happens, and knowing how important something is will definitely help.
If there is a health and safety issue, like a loose paver, particularly slippery area, particularly low clothesline, sudden drop or hidden retaining wall… tell everyone and try to minimise it before they arrive. Similarly tidying up around the area they will be working and making sure they have easy access to their vehicle will save them time (and you money). There are things on your property that you are used to dealing with, that others aren’t!
Ask what they would do. Ask what they would recommend. Ask what the price difference would be. Take this into consideration and remember that you are the person who will be staring at the outcome, so trust your gut feeling.
Ask if/how time delays will impact the job and the cost- for instance, if you spread out the job over a series of visits, will there be any relevant plant growth? We have had people ask us to stagger landscaping into 4 large visits over a year or two- in so doing we will have four separate chunks of time tidying and re-prepping the site for the next task, instead of one.
Get two quotes. But if you can avoid wasting someone’s time, please do. Quotes are generally free for you, but a big chunk of time for the person providing the quote. If you are unsure whether you can afford the work at all, you can usually manage a chat on the phone to see if they can give you an idea of the cost. For arborists, I ask their 'day rate,' which is how much it would cost for one truck load of arborists for one day (they will tell you if it is for 1, 2 or 3 people). I regularly call around gardening companies and ask their hourly rate. They hate it. But it’s nice to know what our competitors are up to. As a customer, I would ask them “about how much does it cost for monthly visits for an average sized garden in our area” and go from there. Price is no indication of quality, so find someone other people have recommended!
I hope this is helpful! I can’t express how nice it is to go out the front door and not feel like their is a dark cloud over my eyebrows. That tree blocked out a lot. I will say 5 Hail Mary’s and plant 10 more trees, promise.
Some gardening tasks
It is time to plant your strawberries! If you have friends who have strawberries from last year, they will probably give you piles of runners that their plants have sent out. Plant your strawberries in full sun and think about how you can reduce the slugs and snails, because there’s nothing worse than having your strawbs pre-emptively consumed.
It’s also time to put in your garlic! Put it in with lots of organic matter and make sure that you are happy for that part of the garden to remain other-plant-free until mid January. You can also put your garlic around your roses- they won’t get as big, but will help to repel aphids, and still grow pretty well if you fertilise well.
Snails have all bred and their babies are on the loose, in rainy times it is good to go and look for them as they love the water. I squish them on the concrete or throw them at the chickens. If you are trying to keep snails off your plants, and you don’t have the time to seek them out, try spraying some water with a drop of dishwashing liquid on them semi regularly. Depending on the plant and its proximity to the kitchen, dumping some (cooled) dishwater on them after doing the dishes is a pretty good tactic.
Ngā mihi o Matariki everybody! See you next week :)