Hurricane strikes backyard!

Xringer · 08-28-11, 01:54 PM

Well, the wind was blowing like crazy, when I heard the loud cracking
and ripping sound coming from the backyard..

As I turned to look, I just knew those solar panels were doomed..

But, the tree limbs (on this side) missed the tracking array by about 30 feet!
It was a very old tree (~20" diameter trunk), just over the line in my east side neighbor's yard.
It was NW corner of his land, and it fell SSE, right on top of his new hain-link fence!
The tips of a few limbs hit his house, but I can't see any damage from here.

The ground is soaked, and I'm a little worried about some of our trees
being blown down on top of our deck or the PV arrays.
Our garage is in danger from two very large trees on the east side. (next door).
(So I moved our new bicycles to the west side of the garage).

The tree that fell is north of those two trees, just north of the big dark shadow.

This is an old pic that shows the tracker in it's old location,
before I moved it 20' north.

Anyways, I hear the 'Eye' of Irene is still down in Connecticut.
But the rain should stop soon and all we will have to deal with
is flooding basements, high winds, falling trees and grid failures..

We seemed to have lucked out on the rain so far.
Maybe we will dodge the bullet again.?. I hope!

And tomorrow? If the sun comes out and the wind slows down?
I'm going bike riding on my new bike!!

Cheers,
Rich

PS:
I'll try to get a pic of the crashed tree tomorrow..

Xringer · 08-29-11, 03:38 PM

Daox · 08-30-11, 08:56 AM

I feared for the worst when I saw the title. I'm glad to see no real damage was done. Hopefully things stay that way!

benpope · 08-30-11, 09:41 AM

Glad things aren't too bad, Xringer. Looks like a lot of saw work ahead though. A few years ago I used a downed tree as an opportunity to buy a wood stove

.

Xringer · 08-30-11, 10:02 AM

I think my neighbor is going to hire someone to come in and clean up the mess.
Otherwise, his dog will escape over the flattened fence, if he can squeeze past
all the branches etc.

My guess is, they will drive a truck down there, crushing the edge of my driveway,
and drive over the PVC drain pipe I have buried down there.
The branches cover the PVC water outlet box down there..

That will likely be crushed too.

The reason I'm visualizing the worse-case-scenario, is because
I've seen so many totally useless tree companies.
I guess all you need is a pickup and a power saw to get into the trade.

benpope · 08-30-11, 10:57 AM

See if you can get the tree guys to put down a couple 5/8 sheets of plywood over your drain - that may save it from being crushed by the truck. I had a 50 ton crane on my driveway and it came out pretty good with the plywood. The only trouble is getting the guys to actually drive over it :-/.

That's been my experience with most tree companies too. Even the best ones I've found only do about 3/4 of what they say they are going to do. The worst are, like you say, any idiot off the street with a $200 power saw and a truck.

Xringer · 09-01-11, 11:39 PM

My neighbor told one of his buddies, that a "branch" needed to be cleaned up in his backyard..
I see this old guy (in his late 70s) with tiny chainsaw over there, and he tells me
about the little branch story.. LOL!
The chain came off his saw, but instead of taking my offer of some tools to put it back on,
he said "I'll fix it at home" and jumped in his pickup, to never be seen again..

Xringer · 09-02-11, 10:47 PM

DSCN1042.MOV - YouTube

Video removed..

08-28-11, 01:54 PM	#1
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Hurricane strikes backyard! Well, the wind was blowing like crazy, when I heard the loud cracking and ripping sound coming from the backyard.. As I turned to look, I just knew those solar panels were doomed.. But, the tree limbs (on this side) missed the tracking array by about 30 feet! It was a very old tree (~20" diameter trunk), just over the line in my east side neighbor's yard. It was NW corner of his land, and it fell SSE, right on top of his new hain-link fence! The tips of a few limbs hit his house, but I can't see any damage from here. The ground is soaked, and I'm a little worried about some of our trees being blown down on top of our deck or the PV arrays. Our garage is in danger from two very large trees on the east side. (next door). (So I moved our new bicycles to the west side of the garage). The tree that fell is north of those two trees, just north of the big dark shadow. This is an old pic that shows the tracker in it's old location, before I moved it 20' north. Anyways, I hear the 'Eye' of Irene is still down in Connecticut. But the rain should stop soon and all we will have to deal with is flooding basements, high winds, falling trees and grid failures.. We seemed to have lucked out on the rain so far. Maybe we will dodge the bullet again.?. I hope! And tomorrow? If the sun comes out and the wind slows down? I'm going bike riding on my new bike!! Cheers, Rich PS: I'll try to get a pic of the crashed tree tomorrow..

08-29-11, 03:38 PM	#2
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	pics

08-30-11, 08:56 AM	#3
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	I feared for the worst when I saw the title. I'm glad to see no real damage was done. Hopefully things stay that way! __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

08-30-11, 10:02 AM	#5
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	After-hurricane damage? I think my neighbor is going to hire someone to come in and clean up the mess. Otherwise, his dog will escape over the flattened fence, if he can squeeze past all the branches etc. My guess is, they will drive a truck down there, crushing the edge of my driveway, and drive over the PVC drain pipe I have buried down there. The branches cover the PVC water outlet box down there.. That will likely be crushed too. The reason I'm visualizing the worse-case-scenario, is because I've seen so many totally useless tree companies. I guess all you need is a pickup and a power saw to get into the trade.

09-02-11, 10:47 PM	#8
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	DSCN1042.MOV - YouTube Video removed.. Last edited by Xringer; 02-18-19 at 06:45 PM..

08-30-11, 09:41 AM	#4
benpope Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Little Rock, AR Posts: 95 Thanks: 16 Thanked 13 Times in 12 Posts	Glad things aren't too bad, Xringer. Looks like a lot of saw work ahead though. A few years ago I used a downed tree as an opportunity to buy a wood stove .

08-30-11, 10:57 AM	#6
benpope Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Little Rock, AR Posts: 95 Thanks: 16 Thanked 13 Times in 12 Posts	See if you can get the tree guys to put down a couple 5/8 sheets of plywood over your drain - that may save it from being crushed by the truck. I had a 50 ton crane on my driveway and it came out pretty good with the plywood. The only trouble is getting the guys to actually drive over it :-/. That's been my experience with most tree companies too. Even the best ones I've found only do about 3/4 of what they say they are going to do. The worst are, like you say, any idiot off the street with a $200 power saw and a truck.

09-01-11, 11:39 PM	#7
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	My neighbor told one of his buddies, that a "branch" needed to be cleaned up in his backyard.. I see this old guy (in his late 70s) with tiny chainsaw over there, and he tells me about the little branch story.. LOL! The chain came off his saw, but instead of taking my offer of some tools to put it back on, he said "I'll fix it at home" and jumped in his pickup, to never be seen again..