Deciding to cut down your own tree is a big step. It’s a job with a lot of work and a fair share of danger involved, and certainly not one to just start doing without proper planning beforehand.

You need to know what you’re doing, what you shouldn’t be doing, and everything to do when what you should be doing turns sour unexpectedly.

That’s why we’ve assembled this, our professional 12-step guide to tree removeal for taking care of your own tree problem quickly and efficiently.

Ready to get cutting? Good – because so are we!

1. Safety First

Getting the right safety gear in place before you start can save you time and potential injuries, down the line. These should include (but certainly won’t be limited to):

Logger’s helmets help to protect your head, specifically, from falling wood and debris.

Earmuffs and face screens to safeguard your ears and eyes.

Safety glasses to stop dust getting into your eyes.

Kevlar chaps to stop a chain if you happen to drop the bar against your leg.

2. Bring A Lookout

As with all things in life, tree-felling is better with friends. And much, much safer. Bring an assistant to watch out for falling branches or, in a worst-case scenario, unexpectedly falling trees while you’re busy with the chore of sawing. And listen when they give you the tap – if it’s early into the cut and your partner lets you know something is happening, drop your saw and leave.

3. Felling Wedges

A set of plastic felling wedges will prevent your saw from becoming pinched in the crease of a heavy tree trunk during a cut.

4. Felling Zones

Being able to accurately estimate a felling zone is crucial to the tree felling process. The ax trick is a method that is roughly adequate for this job. Hold an ax handle out from yourself at arm’s length and eye level. Close one eye and back away from the tree until the top of the ax handle is level with the tree top and the bottom is in line with the base. This should be roughly far enough away to have the tree land safely at your feet, though remember it is just an estimate, and it’s always good to give it just a little more room.

5. Clearing Cutting Zones

Cutting down a tree can teach you quickly how little you’re ever really sure of in life. Even with lots of time to prep, a felled tree could fall in a direction that takes you completely by surprise. Clear three different escape routes through the brush around the tree, in roughly 45 degrees from each other, so you can easily choose a new one if you have to in a pinch.

6. Figure Out Your Tree

Any tree removeal tutorial worth its salt will tell you to look out for treacherous trees before anything else. Check your tree for the following, and don’t cut it down if you see them:

dead branches, either kept up by other branches or by partial connections to the tree

it is clearly leaning heavily in a specific direction

important buildings or structures nearby that would be damaged in a fall

7. Knowing A Notch

Make sure your notch has a depth of one-fifth of the tree trunk’s diameter. You’ll want to create a wedge shape in the side of the tree, measuring around 30° down from and 60° up from that line. Then, from the other side of the tree, use a saw and wedge to create a cut into the tree that meets the tip of the notch you started with. As you push the wedge further into this cut, you’ll create a hinge, from where the tree will tip over.

You can plan where this notch will start by scoring the tree trunk with a piece of chalk, making sure it’s at a comfortable height.

8. A Note On Making The Notch

Use a chainsaw to cut into the tree from the top, then from the bottom, creating your triangular notch. If you do this perfectly, a wedge of wood will fall out. If (like most people) you don’t do this perfectly the first time, you’ll have to cut further into the wood either from above or below to have the two cuts meet and the notch of wood fall out.

9. Big Trees Need Wedges

The bigger the tree, the more chance you have of getting your chainsaw caught in the space you’ve cut when the trunk of the tree leans back on it. Stop cutting with the saw when you’ve penetrated far enough into the tree to pound a wedge in behind it. Keep the right there in the cut with the saw running and the chain brake locked, and tap in the wedge to loosen up the gap. Then simply finish the cut.

10. Fell That Tree!

Use your chalk to score a line from the opposite side of the tree to the apex of your notch, and cut into it with a saw along that line. This is the felling cut. Once the tree starts leaning, pull your saw out of the cut and walk away along one of your escape routes, depending on the way the tree is falling. And remember to keep your eye on the fall at all times. This is an especially important moment for your lookout to be prepared.

11. Cut Low, Progress High

One the tree is safely on the ground, begin sawing off branches starting at the bottom of the trunk and moving upwards towards the top.

12. Time To Make Firewood

Lastly, cut the log into 16″ lengths of firewood. Cut three-quarters of the way into the log, then roll it over and complete the cut from the other side.

Tree Worx Tree Removeal: Now You’re Ready

Ultimately, tree removeal is a long, tedious, and dangerous process. If you do decide to handle it yourself, however, at least now you’ll know the twelve most important steps to keep in mind as you work.

If you decide to let a professional handle it, however, get in touch with Tree Worx for tree removal service in Volusia County.

For those of you considering tree removeal in an area with houses, power lines, or other structures nearby, check out the following video for an alternative to the method described above: