Cutting Down Rotten Trees To Make Room For A New House

These trees could’ve killed me… but they’re in the way and needed to be cut. We’re starting a brand-new house, and these trees are too close and a hazard. They’re diseased, rotten, and half-dead, which makes them extremely dangerous to cut. First, I notch the tree about a third of the way in, aiming it where I want it to fall. Check it out- it’s completely hollow inside. Then I cut the tree from the other side, but not all the way- I leave a hinge. Finally, I use wedges. By pounding these wedges in it leans the tree in the direction I want it to fall. Sometimes, I have to cut a little bit more- you can see here I got my saw pinched. Luckily just a few more taps with the sledge, then the tree fell. After that, I limb it up and cut logs into 8 foot sections. We’ve had a lot of rain, and the ground is extremely soft. I don’t want to tear up the yard; so, I use a Ventrac to clean up the trees. It has a light footprint and doesn’t damage the ground like a skid steer. This thing is an absolute tank! Look how it pushed up this pile of logs. I couldn’t believe it. We’re going to show this entire home build from start to finish—so follow along if you want to see how it turns out.@hausplans #build #howto #construction #diy #contractor