Cutting Down a Small Tree

If you want to know how to chop down a small tree on your real estate, it’s important to note that this work can be done by a homeowner for the most part, but only with the suitable tools and safety methods in place. It’s also necessary to know when you should really leave this task to tree cutting pros!

Household owners may also consider when it’s time to extract any type of tree from their property, including indications that it’s diseased and decayed or simply won’t grow. You might also consider some tips on how to ensure your property looks its best after you’ve cut down that small tree as well as what to do with all that lumber too!

Safety First Before You Learn How to Cut Down a Small Tree!

Regardless if you’re considering chopping a small tree down with no a saw or you have a large axe in the basement available to go, it’s essential to remember safety first! Even compact chainsaws can cause serious damage if handled incorrectly, and splintered wood often flies in any and all directions, also presenting the chance for harm.

Before you begin, shelter children and pets far away from your worksite and look for unanticipated visitors frequently while doing the job. Know your surroundings; look for overhead wires and other obstructions as well as uneven ground. Take away stones, fallen limbs and twigs, and other dangers; cover holes and openings in the ground as needed.

Choose what’s called an escape route; this should be two different directions in which you can run if the tree shall start to drop or slide toward you. Rest often while working to double-check your surroundings and ensure you and any helpers are safe and avoiding distraction, and that your escape routes are always clear.

Next, note your clothes. Wear clothes made of thick, durable cotton, flannel, or wool so they repel small wood chips and splinters. Select a button-up shirt with long sleeves and keep everything buttoned all the way, to shield as much skin as possible!

Also, wear heavy, resilient cotton or denim pants and steel-toe work boots with ankle protection. Acquire thick cotton work gloves and heavy-duty eye protection, and a construction helmet! When using a chainsaw or any power tools, protect your hearing with proper inserts or coverings, and wear chainsaw chaps or leg protection. Long hair should be pulled back neatly and kept out of your face and eyes.

As even a small tree can cause major property harm, avoid parking your car or truck near that tree and get rid of items near your work spaces, like a lawnmower and other similar equipment. You might as well cover a nearby fence and landscape design features with a thick tarp, to help minimize damage from falling branches.

Before chopping a small tree down with a chainsaw, check the chain brake and throttle. If using an axe, ensure the axe head is secure and the handle in good condition, without splitting. Never use any tools that look aged, worn, in poor condition, or otherwise damaged. Check out your axe or saw on a small stump or log before taking care of a tree that needs cutting, so you know every little thing is in good condition and ready for use.

Planning for How to Cut Down a Small Tree

Your primary step in actually cutting down a small tree with an axe or chainsaw is to pick the target, or the chosen direction of the fall. Note if the tree has a side or back lean; typically a lean, as well as overhead hazards, determine the tree’s “bad side.” You’ll need to avoid this bad side at the time of the final or felling cut.

Start cutting the tree with a face cut, lined up with the target and perpendicular to the ground. This face cut decides how the tree will fall once cut entirely and should work about 1/3 of the way through the tree trunk. Subsequently, you’ll want to add in a hinge cut; this is a wedge cut, often at a 45-degree to 70-degree angle downward, toward the face cut.

These cuts should start little and get bigger as you progress through them, but don’t cut through that hinge! You’ll need to take away that wedge once it’s large enough to weaken the tree. As you create this wedge, you might need to make a small cut on the side of the tree opposite the face cut and insert a wedge or shim. This reduces the risk of the tree falling opposite the target.

Look around for dangers and make sure no one is in the way before you make the final release cut and take out the wedge you’ve created. If the tree doesn’t fall as expected, continue to make small cuts along that wedge so you keep weakening the trunk.

Tips for Cutting a Small Tree Down Without a Saw

You can chop down a small tree without having a chainsaw; it requires more physical labor but this is how trees were chopped down for centuries before chainsaws were invented! First, get felling wedges. These wedges are inserted into your cuts as you make them, preventing your axe blade from getting pinched in the process. They also put added pressure on the cut trunk, encouraging the tree to fall.

Before you start cutting a small tree down without a saw, inspect it meticulously. The vibrations created by cutting at a tree loosen dead and decaying limbs, which can easily fall on you or any helpers nearby! Start felling your tree by trimming any loosened or obviously damaged limbs. Use heavy-duty pruning shears for small branches if it’s unmanageable to operate an axe around the tree’s top.

You also need to note if the tree is bending heavily is loaded down with large limbs along one side. No matter your efforts, that tree is quite likely to fall in the direction of its lean. Plan accordingly and begin by removing the treetop rather than felling it at the trunk, to avoid property harm.

Once you’ve shortened the tree and stripped it off as many branches as needed, you can make the same face and hinge cuts you would with a chainsaw. Add your felling wedges to the face cut as you go, driving them in with the back end of the axe head. Just like using a chainsaw, don’t cut through that hinge but enable the weight of the tree do the work in felling it for you!

When Is It Time to Cut Down a Small Tree?

Both fully grown and small-sized landscaping trees add lots of aesthetic interest to any property; occasionally, they may even boost your property’s overall value. Trees also offer shade to the ground, keeping it from getting scorched in the summer, along with a nesting place for birds that might eat typically bothersome insect pests all over your yard.

While trees offer lots of perks for your residential or commercial property, there are times when it’s better to dispose of them! An arborist can advise you if a tree is blighted beyond healing and repair; in some cases, however, a tree may be so rotted within that its bark begins to peel and branches dry out, both of which are signs that it’s time to cut it down. Trees plagued with termites and other harmful insects might also need eliminating, to protect the rest of your property.

If you have a tree on your residential or commercial property that just refuses to develop no matter how often you have it trimmed or otherwise supported, it may not be native to your area! Like florals and other plant life, trees often grow best in their native habitat; trees that thrive in cold weather might wilt under the hot, tropical sun, as one good example. If your property’s tree is struggling and not native, it’s not likely to ever do well and should be taken away.

There is also nothing wrong with getting rid of a tree merely because you do not like its aesthetics or placement on your real estate. A tree in the way of your building plans, view of the horizon, or an exterior window should be taken away, so you appreciate your property and your view from both indoors and out!

How to Enhance Your Property After Removing a Tree

Your might find your outside area looks a bit exposed and far less lush once you chopped down a small tree, and especially if you remove any large, mature trees or other landscaping features! One way to add lots of aesthetic attraction without shutting out the view is by flowering shrubs; try lilac bushes or honeysuckle for both color and a lovely aroma in your backyard.

If your home’s outside walls now seem to be a bit barren and lackluster once you remove trees near the house, add flower boxes under the windows and paint the home’s trim a crisp white. Decorative shutters also add a wonderful touch and help break up long, boring outside walls.

For more visual interest along your real estate, consider some hardscape elements. Landscaping refers to items that grow such as flowers and shrubs, whereas hardscaping includes items that don’t grow, like brick, concrete, and stone. Retaining walls protect real estate from excess moisture or erosion, but can also be attractive, providing a bit of height and depth to your space. Stacked brick perimeters and outlining also add lots of visual interest as well as some separation between your landscaping and lawn.

What to Do With That Wood After Cutting Down a Small Tree

After you’ve chopped down that tree, what to do with all that wood? One particular significant pointer is to ensure the tree was healthy and free of health conditions and bugs before you burn that wood or place it in your household rubbish. Transporting infested wood can mean transferring those harmful unwanted pests with it so they just move on to another tree!

Your location may also have building regulations or other regulations that dictate what you can do with timber cut from your real estate, to contain unhealthy smoke and fumes. Some softwoods also don’t burn effectively; you might notice that your planned bonfire creates more smoke than flames, or that you battle for several hours to keep the flames going.

If you’re unsure the condition of the tree you just felled or have no other way of getting rid of that wood, call a tree trimming expert or tree removal service. They will quite easily identify the wood types, health condition of the tree, and if the lumber is salvageable. They will also be familiar with local codes and policies that have a bearing on how to dispose of that wood!

If the wood is safe for disposal, you might look at renting a wood chipper. This makes easy work of breaking down that wood so you can bag it up and put it in the trash or take it to a local disposal site. Use extreme caution when working with a wood chipper and make sure you break down that tree into workable pieces before feeding it into the chipper.

When You Don’t Know How to Cut Down a Small Tree

If you’re not exactly sure how to cut down a small tree, turn to the services of a tree removal company near you! Keep in mind that tree trimmers specialize in removing trees of all sizes and varieties, not just mature trees. They can make quick work of trimming and digging up landscaping trees and know how to contain termites and pests when taking out infested trees, ensuring your property is protected.

A tree removal company can also recommend a native tree that might thrive on your property or a more desirable tree species. Their advice ensures your property looks its best and you’re happy with the end result for years to come, so give them a telephone call if you’re uncertain how to cut down a small tree in your lawn.