We had a line of about 7 trees removed from in front of our home.
We hired an excavator with a hydraulic shear to do most of the job.
This is the view from our kitchen before the trees met their end.
I think the trees are Leyland Cypress – let me know if I’m wrong.
The trees blocked the sun from our front lawn in the winter, which is the main reason for removing them, but they also blocked our view of the lake.
We didn’t realize how much our view would open up, but it was a very nice surprise.
This is the shear the excavator used to pinch the branches from the line of trees. It’s a heavy-duty piece of equipment.
Not only does this thing weigh a ton, it costs a fortune.
If I remember what the company told us correctly, this unit was custom-made for this crew.
The excavator was able to quickly remove all the branches.
Trimming excess branches before felling a tree significantly reduces potential damage to the surrounding area by ensuring a cleaner fall, simplifies cleanup and processing by minimizing debris and obstacles, and prevents hang-ups with adjacent trees.
Using excavator shears for merely pruning large trees, rather than removing them, is not recommended due to their tendency to leave jagged, torn cuts.
These harm the tree by impeding proper healing, increasing the risk of infection and decay, and potentially causing structural damage. These tools lack the precision necessary for strategic pruning, leading to excessive damage and stress to the tree.
Proper tree pruning requires clean, precise cuts to promote healthy regrowth, minimize disease, and maintain structural integrity, best achieved with specialized pruning tools or by hiring professional arborists equipped with the right expertise and equipment.
After removing all the branches, the tree trunks were felled (with a STIHL 500i).
The excavator pushed the trees over while they were being cut, and it was over very quickly.
Removing the Leyland Cypress trees completely opened up the view.
There wasn’t much left of the trees.
We don’t have any plans to remove the stumps, particularly as these trees are not even on our property, but on the road line – yet we still had to pay for and organize removal.
Removing these trees transformed our view.
Our neighbors in front have since cut down a lot of the smaller scrappy trees as well, giving us a decent lake view now.
The next day, we had a large black walnut tree removed and a few small macrocarpa trees removed as well.
The walnut was a nice tree, but it was overhanging the house, blocking light and a potential danger during storms.
The excavator shears were even more impressive at this task because the tree was much thicker and denser than the cypress.
This walnut was split from the base with 3 trunks.
This picture gives a better impression of the thickness of the trunks.
Nevertheless, the shear crunched through it without any trouble.
The lower limbs of these large gum trees were also removed to open things up a bit.
We had all of the cypress pushed down into the gully since it’s not the best for burning and we have plenty of better firewood options. Also, that was the fastest way to deal with the mess.
And that’s it!
More than anything, I wanted to share about the excavator shear, just because it’s an awesome piece of machinery.
Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!
