The correct way to cut down and remove a tree

Sometimes you need to remove a tree from the garden. Maybe you have an old tree that’s diseased, an apple tree that doesn’t produce apples, or a tree that’s dead or in an inconvenient spot. Although it’s tempting to give it a bit of chain saw action and fell it all in one go – resist! Take care and you’ll get the tree down safely and make like easy for yourself.

Now, before you start take note. Make sure that you’re allowed to take the tree down. If you’re not sure then you’re going to need to ring your local council. Also, if the tree is over 20 ft or 6 metres in height, don’t even think about it. Far too big and dangerous for an amateur. You’ll need a professional tree surgeon to deal with that. They’ll be able to talk to the council for you as well.

OK, so you’re determined to go ahead yourself. You’ll need some equipment. Thick gardening gloves – ideally leather, rope, a chain saw, a pruning saw, a good ladder and safety glasses. You should really have a helmet but you probably won’t bother. But for crying out loud wear your safety goggles. A wood chip in your eye is a real day spoiler.

1. Get your ladder and thread it between the branches to the top of the tree. Make sure that it’s secure and then get a friend to hold the bottom of it. If you don’t have any friends – well that’s the topic of another article. In that case, tie the ladder to the trunk of the tree so it won’t fall or move when you’re on it. I’d spend some time making sure it’s nice and tight if I were you. You’ll be untying and re-tying this ladder a lot during this exercise if you’re on your own.

2. Start cutting at the top of the tree. Use the pruning saw or the chain saw to cut branches into manageable lengths. Don’t cut pieces that are too large and heavy to lift comfortably. You don’t need me to tell you that you are at the top of a ladder!

3. Move the ladder around the tree as you work. This will mean getting down the ladder and tying and untying it if you’re on your lonesome. Don’t be tempted to stretch and reach for branches that are beyond your reach. Get down that ladder. People have very serious accidents with chainsaws. In fact, in August 2004 a man accidentally cut off his wife’s head with a chain saw. Don’t take chances.

4. Continue cutting back the branches, but remember to leave at least one main branch to support the ladder. Once you have removed most of the branches, use a shorter ladder or fold down the one you have so that it can stand on its own.

5. Move the stand alone ladder into position so that you can begin to cut down the trunk, piece by piece. Keep the pieces small to make disposal easier. Cut the tree to within 6” of the ground.

6. You’ll now be left with a stump. The easiest way to remove a tree stump is to pay someone else to do it! Failing that, hire a stump grinder from an equipment and garden rental shop like HSS. It will make short work of a stump but it can be a messy and sweaty business. If you don’t need to deal with the stump immediately, you can buy a root killing product from a garden centre. Once applied to the stump it will work its way to the roots to kill the plant. It may need a few applications. Eventually your stump will rot, making it easier to remove.

7. Finally, burn the branches and small logs or put them in the boot of the car and take them to the local recycling centre – where they’ll probably burn them somewhere else!

Back to DIY articles