Spent 5 hours on a single oak removal that should have taken 2

I got called out to take down a big red oak in a backyard last Thursday. Looked simple from the ground, nice lean, clear drop zone. But when I got up there, the whole crown was tied together with old ivy vines that had basically fused into cables. Every branch I cut pulled on three others. I had to stop and rig everything piece by piece with my friction saver and a lot of extra rope work. By the time I got the trunk down, I was three hours over my quote and the customer was watching from the window looking annoyed. Anyone else run into vines that turn a straightforward job into a whole day project?

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1 Comment

angela_grant1mo ago

Are you really telling me ivy vines cost you 3 extra hours? I've been doing tree work for 8 years and ivy is annoying but it's not that big of a deal. You just cut the vines at the base first before climbing, that's like day one stuff. Sounds like you made it way harder than it had to be by not planning ahead. The customer was probably annoyed because they watched you make a simple job complicated. Maybe next time spend 10 minutes looking at the tree before you start instead of just jumping up there.