it fell down

[sketch]

the tree on the edge of my front lawn. it must be 400-500 years old. it is large. and mostly dead. we spoke to the town about it a couple of weeks ago to get it removed, as it is technically on town property. they agreed to take it down on their dime.

so last night, i'm sitting on the computer, must have been somewhere between 930 and 10. all of a sudden, there's a low pitched....rumbling is the best way I can describe it. i started to think to myself, "holy shit that's some strong chain lightning right out front! i wonder if it hit the tree..." then my computer monitors (which are bolted to my desk) started shaking somewhat violently & a few things fell off of my bookshelf. it felt like an earthquake, as best i can describe it. the gears kept turning upstairs, "holy shit the tree."

MFW http://i.imgur.com/sGcnlmz.gif

it decided that it didn't want to wait any longer to come down.

opened up the front door to see this
http://i.imgur.com/njwtM6f.jpg

then the police and fire department were over
http://i.imgur.com/0iW4YAG.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xxe936E.jpg





i got some better photos from this morning.

to give some scale, my house is 66' from end to end:
http://i.imgur.com/wTMZLPU.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/SbSpi9S.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/dvElOP2.jpg

dad for scale of the root end (the cross section is probably 4'x7'):
http://i.imgur.com/u5bAsuW.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/QkeywQC.jpg

this branch in the front garden is probably close to 2' thick
http://i.imgur.com/iCzywW5.jpg

about the same size:
http://i.imgur.com/KzFfU91.jpg

[sketch]

where it broke/fell/tore shit up:
http://i.imgur.com/xT2N3Cc.jpg

the holes underneath are probably 3-6' deep, depending on which side you look
http://i.imgur.com/eYURMHG.jpg

this one goes ways down:
http://i.imgur.com/Qy9wMK0.jpg

porch on the back side of the house:
http://i.imgur.com/UNDVD5Z.jpg

with bonus impaled chair:
http://i.imgur.com/cOUWXFP.jpg

and yes, some branches made it into (and further than) the pool. this one is probably 40-50' behind the back edge of the house:
http://i.imgur.com/CJSzzAl.jpg

back deck
http://i.imgur.com/PZoxCAF.jpg

view of the roof from the back deck:
http://i.imgur.com/IWz7X9z.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Nnfi7EF.jpg

chimney is a bit fucked up
http://i.imgur.com/6ehXnd0.jpg

you're gonna need a bigger boat:
http://i.imgur.com/bbTDnxC.jpg

[sketch]

everyone is okay, no injuries. the roof has two confirmed holes in it and there are some cracks in the walls and in the edges of the ceiling by the chimney inside the addition. insurance people will be out soon to take a look at all of the damage and assess, etc.
some time last night was spent removing irreplaceables out of the affected rooms (family photo albums, old VHS home movies, etc.).

i'm exhausted.

[green-lantern]

Damn! that's a BIG ASS tree! So glad you guys are OK, that could easily killed someone.

Could you imagine sitting in that chair when that thing fell?

http://i.imgur.com/cOUWXFP.jpg

[FeaRpb]

That looks like some good wood to burn.

[sketch]

the pictures don't even really properly convey the scale or size of the fucking thing. i feel like it's the biggest tree i've ever seen on someone's property.

some of the wood might be keepable/burnable, but there's a lot rotted. will have to see what's leftover or if they'll cut any up and leave some for us.

[Uniuno]

That's insanely huge!

Of course it couldn't have fallen over into the street and away from houses, that would be too convenient.

[VR4Rob]

Sir, do you have a minute to talk about our lord and savior Treesus Christ?

http://i.imgur.com/njwtM6f.jpg

[green-lantern]

Sir, do you have a minute to talk about our lord and savior Treesus Christ?



LOL I was just going to comment on that

Land Shark

[Echo419]

hey McFly! make like a tree and fall on this house! :lol:

[j2k4]

Glad everyone is okay, Jeff.












And for God's sake, put some sealant on that deck, eh? :p

[sketch]

the deck was the next project my dad was going to tackle after finishing repainting the fence; going to completely redo it. i think that it's going to have to wait a bit, eh?

[sketch]

before
http://i.imgur.com/MdqLIXN.jpg

after
http://i.imgur.com/YGWt0b3.jpg



the removal process
http://i.imgur.com/wdTDtLg.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/k2gxd82.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/M8nzMbM.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ERHTxtf.jpg

big hole O_O
http://i.imgur.com/W9ZMkkp.jpg



the crane, from the back side of the house:
http://i.imgur.com/sD7Is96.jpg

from the front:
http://i.imgur.com/HnwMAwu.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/G3Ynue7.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/EYQRqv4.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/MUH3ug6.jpg


the addition has sunk an inch. this used to be even:
http://i.imgur.com/CsDyqS1.jpg

[green-lantern]

Is the City going to pay for the damages or will this be on home insurance? Looks like the could be some bad structural damage going on. Not just roof and cosmetic stuff. I mean it might not be safe to be in parts of the house.

BTW thanks for sharing the pics.

[sketch]

Is the City going to pay for the damages or will this be on home insurance? Looks like the could be some bad structural damage going on. Not just roof and cosmetic stuff. I mean it might not be safe to be in parts of the house.

BTW thanks for sharing the pics.

unsure yet. this is all conjecture, but i think that the city should pay for it IMO all as they a) owned up to the fact that it was their dead tree and b) said that they'd remove it on their dime. i don't think it'll be difficult to get them to get everything taken care of and have the house repaired under their insurance. if there's any push back from them, one tweet to the local fox affiliate (which is on the other side of my town) and the other local news stations get generate sufficient buzz to get everything straightened out.

more to follow.

[Steve '92ES]

Wow, that's impressive. I'm glad you and yours are OK!

On a side note it looks like that tree had ant damage. Sometime when you're not so busy it might be a good idea to check around the house to make sure the little bastards haven't moved in. Look for little piles of sawdust like shavings, often caught in spiderwebs, around the foundation and sills.

Good luck!

[Boomer3000]

Holy tits batman!!!!

[DocWalt]

updates on this? and temp thread!

[green-lantern]

updates on this? and temp thread!

:stupid:

[sketch]

updates! reconstruction is still happening. as pictures are better than words, here's 183 photos:
house reconstruction p1 - Imgur (http://imgur.com/a/kGDt4) 1-150
home reconstruction p2 - Imgur (http://imgur.com/a/ODnbu) 151-183

some excerpts, for those of you who don't want to browse through imgur albums:

dumpster being dropped off
http://i.imgur.com/MqrqyF4.jpg

half of the house being prepped for storage pod:
http://i.imgur.com/zwu4pt4.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Hy01cLo.jpg

right before deconstruction:
http://i.imgur.com/TrrfRDD.jpg

after the beginning of decon:
http://i.imgur.com/hTQCAo1.jpg

the storage pod arrives!:
http://i.imgur.com/pGCHLM6.jpg

Dad & I inspecting a hole and split beam:
http://i.imgur.com/utyYEKy.jpg

not the best angle, but you can still see part of the tree in the roof through here, as well as the split beam on the RH side. there's a better angle somewhere...
http://i.imgur.com/co7DQu4.jpg

better angle:
http://i.imgur.com/VZKspGK.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/cmnEmQs.jpg

[j2k4]

Lots of lessons here; storms, trees, gravity, location, location, location... :p

Thanks for the update, Jeffro. :)

[sketch]

meant to have this reply up immediately afterwards, but got called off for work stuffs. pfffft

roof deconstruction/repair of damaged sections:

so it begins
http://i.imgur.com/s6zM6ce.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/1z1oYMs.jpg

damaged boards torn off:
http://i.imgur.com/nMGS1Y0.jpg

chillin' in the attic 'n stuffs:
http://i.imgur.com/MJqkjB7.jpg

roof section next to that in the addition torn out:
http://i.imgur.com/9V1V7PR.jpg

magic hole o_O
http://i.imgur.com/C3JQKpG.jpg

cut beams:
http://i.imgur.com/XI3mit2.jpg

another angle
http://i.imgur.com/R19cWjB.jpg

abunchada repairs done:
http://i.imgur.com/aOOGQZB.jpg

[sketch]

new section in:
http://i.imgur.com/fjgL60E.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/qBl3A4H.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ceVirhV.jpg

interior coming back together:
http://i.imgur.com/JOPsGaV.jpg


underneath the overhang, where the house sections no longer line up:
http://i.imgur.com/zMz8FyH.jpg

[sketch]

getting ready to redo ALL off the roofing material

http://i.imgur.com/AOxXxk4.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/V9NVaGj.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/gL9ybrV.jpg


aaand it's gone
http://i.imgur.com/goPqsQp.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/2ajQUT7.jpg

new roof stuffs starting to go on:
http://i.imgur.com/DyCoRpz.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ZsF3chp.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/sS5QSEu.jpg

they did all of that over the course of one single day
http://i.imgur.com/0fKSpZU.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/HyH2IVh.jpg

and with the siding done:
http://i.imgur.com/ImF9N1s.jpg
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------^3000GT inside garage there

[sketch]

Interior on the addition room on the left is still being redone. the drywall just got finished and they're letting it dry up before painting the wall and ceiling in there. The rest of the house in the main rooms are being painted as well right now. We're also waiting on a new liner for the pool to arrive - we found a bunch of glass from the porch table that exploded in it and it's been slowly leaking, so we're getting that replaced as well.

edit: I am an idiot and don't know what's happening at my house - apparently they've already painted the interior of that room. at least according to those photos. and my mom.

[CoopKill]

Good to see progress!

LOL, if they were working here I see over 100k in fines that would be handed out for safety violations. :lmao: