How to Safely Carry Out Tree Felling in Canberra

Tree felling can be a dangerous job that requires professional help. The right arborist should be able to assess the health of your tree and know how to remove or prune it safely to avoid harming others, property or the environment.

They can also perform a variety of tree services, such as pruning and dead wooding, as well as clearing power lines. It’s important to choose a Canberra tree felling business that is experienced, accredited and certified by the ACT government.

The ACT government has a number of rules and regulations to protect trees from being damaged or removed. For example, anyone removing or damaging a tree that is a protected or regulated tree may face heavy fines.

If you’re not sure whether a tree is a significant one, or require a permit to fell it, you can check online at the ACT government website. This will tell you the specific criteria a tree must meet to be classified as a significant one.

In most cases, significant trees are a canopy of 12 metres or more in diameter; or a trunk circumference of 1.5 metres or more at one metre above the ground level. The ACT government has a detailed Tree Preservation Order that defines these criteria, and any work done on these trees without approval could attract fines up to tens of thousands of dollars.

It’s vital to get a quote before you hire an arborist for the tree felling job, as this will determine how much it will cost. They will have to assess the size and location of your tree, as well as the complexity of the job. They will also have to consider the amount of time it will take them to carry out their work.

You should ensure that the tree you want to fell is not too tall for you to reach easily and has no branches that might fall on people or properties. It’s also a good idea to locate escape paths around the base of your tree that will give you a safe way to get out from under it and away from potential hazards such as briars, underbrush or other obstacles.

Using a hinge to control the fall of the tree is an important part of the felling process. The hinge should be at least 80 percent of the tree’s diameter at breast height (DBH) and should be positioned perpendicular to the direction the tree will fall. The deeper the hinge, the more control it will have over the falling process.

The length of the hinge will depend on the angle you’re falling the tree from and how deep you go in with your undercut. You should aim for a hinge that will allow you to get safely away from the tree before it starts to fall, and then set the hinge properly before completing the back cut.

This can be difficult if you’re not a tree expert, as you’ll need to measure the height of the tree and your own height from a safe distance. To do this, stand in a spot where you can see the top of the tree and use a tape measure or yardstick to measure both of your heights.

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