Rant: That tree I cabled last spring finally snapped in the wind yesterday

I was up on a job in Maplewood last May and cabled a big split crotch on a silver maple. Looked solid at the time, but yesterday's storm took it down. The cable held but the wood above it just gave out. Had to go back and clean up the mess for the homeowner. She was nice about it but asked why I didn't just take it down then. I told her trees are unpredictable. Anyone else have a cable job come back to haunt you?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_elizabeth20d ago

Yeah, the "does it come with a warranty" question is the worst. I had a similar thing with a big red oak I cabled over in Kirkwood. The cable held perfectly, but the whole union just rotted from the inside out and the tree decided it was done about eighteen months later. The homeowner was super nice about it too, said she knew it was just a gamble, but I still felt like an idiot standing there with the cable in my hand and the big limb on the ground.

milesbailey20d ago

Did you charge her extra for the repeat visit or just eat the cost? I had one a few years back where I cabled a maple that looked fine, but a year later the whole crown just twisted off in a storm like a bottle cap. The cable was still tight but the tree basically said "nah, I'm done." I felt like a fool standing there with the homeowner asking if my work came with a warranty. Made me swear to never promise a cable job will last longer than a season without a big disclaimer.