COMPLEX LARGE TREE REMOVAL & MAKE SAFE, KATOOMBA
Objectives
Remove one fallen large trunk of a 20m + three large trunk (leader) eucalyptus tree in the rear yard of a residential property in the Blue Mountains city of Katoomba, NSW.
Removal of the remaining two major standing trunks.
Challenges
The major challenge with this contract:
The tree consisted of three major trunks, one of which had already collapsed, crushing rhododendrons, fences and partially landing in the flooded waterway at the rear of the property.
The remaining standing tree was approaching 25 metres in height and was unstable, threatening both the insured property and a very lateral section completely overhanging neighbouring properties.
The trunks converged to a very large 2.5m diameter lower trunk.
Restricted access. The properties in this location are built on long and narrow blocks of land. There was no access for any equipment to the rear of the property where the tree was located. Behind the property was a protected council wetland area.
Solutions
Enviro arranged comparative quotations from three Tree Partners to separately assess and quote this job, including two-hour responses to our request. Our proprietary system, Tree Manager™, holds all compliance information on tree partners which enabled us to swiftly identify those who were fully compliant, closest to the job and who were competent for a job of this complexity.
We liaised directly with the insured property owner as well as neighbours to arrange access for inspection and discuss potential access for work crews.
Under normal circumstances a crane would have been used to remove this tree, however very restricted access prevented crane use.
Access to remove timber and tree waste was extremely difficult as there was no direct path to the tree, tight spaces between neighbouring houses, steep slope, and natural waterway at rear. The best route to remove wood was 40 metres across steep ground and then 2.5 metres over a retaining wall using the chipper winch.
It was decided that dismantling was necessary as to not create more damage to numerous properties and to reduce the amount of timber falling in the watercourse. However, any lowering was avoided as any shock loading may have had catastrophic consequences on the already unstable standing part of the tree.
Remaining stumps were cut and ground to below-ground height.
The job in total took seven days to complete.
“A job I’m proud to have completed which was highly physically demanding, required numerous techniques and tactics which changed along the way, problem solving and determination. Looking forward to the next one...”
