Just saved a 60 year old oak that was scheduled to come down next week

Client called me in for a second opinion on a massive red oak in their front yard that another company said was 80% decayed... turns out it was just a deep scar from an old lightning strike that healed over, and the core sample came back solid. Any of you guys ever get called in on jobs where someone else totally misdiagnosed a tree?

2 comments

2 Comments

aarons361mo ago

The "core sample is the only real way to know for sure" line is spot on. Ran into a similar thing last year where a competitor told a lady her maple was dying from the inside out. Poked around and it was just a huge knot from an old branch that had bark inclusion. Drilled a core, clean as a whistle. Some guys just see a weird looking trunk and jump to conclusions instead of actually checking the wood.

leo2381mo ago

That thing about the lightning scar is a really common mistake. A lot of guys see a big old wound on a tree and automatically assume rot, but they forget that trees can seal over damage just like our skin heals. You have to look at the actual wood, not just the scar tissue. Running a core sample is the only real way to know for sure. Sounds like that first company was just guessing and being lazy. Good call on saving that oak, those old trees are worth the extra time it takes to check them right.