The Tree Pros LLC

07/06/2012

Costs of Tree Removal

Our cost estimates take into consideration:
•Size of tree
•Location of tree
•Accessibility
•Equipment required

One of our certified arborists will come to your yard to evaluate all of the factors that affect the cost of tree removal. Once you’ve been provided with a price estimate, we will explain to you how your tree will be removed so that you don’t have any unexpected surprises along the way.


For a free homeowner on-site estimate contact us.

07/06/2012

Tree Cabling

The Use of Supports To Reduce Risk Of Tree Failure

Tree cabling involves the installation of hardware that is intended to reduce the risk of catastrophic failure. Support cables are used to reduce tree damage by limiting the lateral movement of branches and increasing the weight that a supported branch joint can sustain.

Cables are installed in trees to provide support to weak or potentially dangerous limbs by connecting two or more limbs together. Mechanical support may be needed due to split, decayed or poorly structured limb junctions or the inherent dangers of weak-wooded trees. Poorly structured, multi-stemmed trees are more susceptible to breaking under the stress of wind or the weight of accumulated ice or snow. It is important to keep in mind that support cables have limitations.

Mechanical devices cannot be relied upon to make a potentially hazardous tree safe; once a defect is present there is always a risk of tree failure.

Before installing cables in a tree, the tree should be properly pruned and its structure evaluated. Hazardous and dead limbs need to be removed. The wood must be solid and large enough to support the cables. Trees that are too severely damaged should not be cabled, as a false sense of security may be created.

Multiple cables are often recommended to maximize strength; ideally, triangles or boxes should be formed between cabled leads.

The installation of cables in a tree represents an ongoing responsibility. All hardware in trees should be inspected annually to ensure proper placement and manage adjustments. All cabling systems should be updated or replaced after 7-10 years.

Dynamic and Static Cabling Systems

Arborists have two options for cabling trees, dynamic or static support systems.


Dynamic systems allow a tree to continue moving unrestricted unless the tree encounters high winds. The benefits are; the tree continues to strengthen around the weak location, creating “reaction wood”, and no damaging drilling is required.

Guardian™ dynamic cable system. The cable is made up of synthetic fibers with high UV resistance. Each section of cable is installed by splicing either end. The cable runs through a section of friction hose (a nylon tube that allows the cable to move without causing damage to the tree bark) at either end to avoid restricting circulation within the stems.


Guardian splicing wand


Static cable systems are best utilized with trees that are cracked, are in imminent danger of failure or too heavy to be supported by dynamic cables. Static systems use a steel cable which is stronger than a synthetic fiber cable and will constantly give support to the weak point. The problems encountered with the static system are invasive drilling, permanent rods or bolts and lack of strengthening wood tissue formation.

07/02/2012

The Tree Pros of Lynchburg, VA are often called upon to inspect trees to make recommendations on the type of tree care services that would benefit the trees. Having one of our arborist inspect your trees is also the best way to protect your trees from storm damage. The Tree Pros can often find tree defects, especially in mature trees, which most homeowners would overlook. Addressing these tree defects before a storm might prevent costly damage to the tree and possibly save a valued, mature tree from destruction.

A well-maintained landscape adds value to a property, so investing in proper tree care is a wise investment. As trees grow their value to the property increases. Real estate valuations confirm that a landscaped property with mature trees will sell quicker, and for more, than a similar property without trees.

The most damaging weather events that damage trees are lightning damage to trees, wind damage to trees, snow damage to trees, and ice damage to trees. We can offer advice on how to minimize storm damage to your mature trees.

Lightning damage can happen to a mature tree in a fraction of a second. What’s worse is that tall, mature trees are common targets of lightning. Unfortunately, lightning damage to mature trees is often something that cannot be repaired. What the we can do to reduce lightning damage to a mature tree is to install a lightning protection system a tree. Although putting a lightning protection in a mature tree is a costly service that we offer it is usually going to be less than the cost to remove the tree if the tree was struck by lightning.

Wind damage to trees can be minimized by having an arborist perform routine tree pruning. By removing excess tree branches the wind is able to blow through the tree canopy rather than against it. Routine tree pruning also removes excess weight from parent branches, which further reduces wind damage to trees.

Snow damage to trees and ice damage to trees can also be reduced with routine tree pruning. By removing excess tree branches on the parent limb the extra weight of the snow or ice doesn’t overload the tree limb to the breaking point.

We offer tree inspections at no charge. A tree inspection by an arborist can not only lead to a safer tree, but might also prevent you from losing a mature tree in your landscape to storm damage.

07/02/2012

07/02/2012