• Overview

  • In this video, This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook and certified arborist Matt Foti remove a dead tree.

    Steps:
    1. Use a chainsaw to cut off the smaller, lower branches.
    2. Feed the severed branches through a wood chipper.
    3. Tie a rope around larger branches, cut the branches free, then slowly lower them to the ground.
    4. Use a chainsaw to chop down the tree trunk, one section at a time.
    • 2 to 4 hours, depending on the size and location of the tree
    • $500 and up, depending on the size and location of the tree
    • Tools
    • Difficulty: Hard
      this is a job best left to a pro
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      Tools List

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      • hydraulic lift bucket
        Hydraulic lift bucket, used to safely reach high branches
      • chain saw
        Chainsaw, for cutting off branches and chopping up trunk
      • Wood chipper, used to chip up tree branches
      • rope
        Rope, used to lower severed branches to the ground