An oak limb over a roof in October
It is October in a Hot Springs yard. A large oak tree grows near the house. One thick limb stretches out horizontally. The branch hangs right over the roof shingles. The tree itself looks completely healthy. The trunk stands straight. The bark looks firm. You want to keep the tree right where it is. You just want that single heavy branch gone before January.
This is a common call for our crew at Clower Tree Service. When winter weather hits Garland County, horizontal branches take the brunt of the weight. Ice gathers on the flat wood. A single-limb job requires careful planning. The house is directly underneath the work zone. We cannot simply drop the wood onto your roof. We have to reach the branch. We have to lower the wood to the ground safely.
We plan these cuts for the fall. You do not have to worry when the winter storms arrive. Getting a heavy branch off your roof protects the house. We provide professional tree trimming and pruning to handle exactly this kind of situation. Taking down one limb over a roof is a specific task. The job requires precise cuts. The work demands heavy rigging equipment. We want to remove the threat before the first freeze.
What ice does to a tree branch
Winter storms test the wood in every tree on your property. Freezing rain accumulates on horizontal branches fast. The flat surface area of a sprawling oak limb collects a thick layer of ice. The ice builds up hour by hour during a January freeze. The water freezes tight against the bark.
According to Jaret Rushing, extension forestry instructor with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, “As ice builds up, the added weight places extreme stress on branches and trunks, often exceeding the strength capabilities of the wood itself.”
A limb that looks strong in October can snap under that winter weight. The wood simply cannot handle the extreme pressure. A healthy branch might bend down to touch your roof shingles. A weaker branch will simply break under the tension. Rushing adds, “It only takes about one-tenth of an inch of ice accumulation for damage to occur on weaker limbs or on trees that are small or previously damaged.”
When a heavy branch breaks over your house, it damages the roof. The falling wood crushes gutters. The heavy impact tears off shingles. Rushing notes that, “Ice damage commonly appears as broken or split treetops, stripped or torn bark and loss of large limbs that expose inner wood.” The weight of the ice turns a stable branch over your bedroom into a falling hazard. We want to get that weight out of the tree before January.
The branches we cut before winter
We look for specific types of limbs that pose a direct threat to your property during an ice storm. We cut dead limbs first. A dead branch has no flexibility to handle ice weight. The dead wood breaks easily under pressure. The Arbor Day Foundation states, “Dead branches in a tree’s crown are commonly referred to as ‘widow makers’ because they pose a great threat to those below.” We take these hazardous branches down immediately.
We also look for cracked limbs and branches with structural flaws. Gerald Klingaman, a retired Arkansas Extension horticulturist, points out a common weak point in tree structure. Klingaman says, “Narrow crotch angles (those less than 45 degrees) often form when oaks grow crowded together, making them more susceptible to breakage.” These narrow forks trap bark inside the joint. The joint is weak and prone to splitting when ice piles on the wood. We remove these flawed branches to protect the rest of the tree.
Then we address branches that physically rest on your roof. Even light winds will scrape the bark against your shingles. The friction ruins your roof over time. Ice pushes these resting limbs down harder against the house.
Finally, we inspect branches growing into the utility drop. Our crew must stay clear of the actual electrical lines. OSHA regulations say that unqualified workers must “maintain the minimum approach distances of at least 10 feet from overhead power lines”. If a branch is within that limit, you will need the utility company to clear it. If the branch is safely outside that distance but could fall onto the line during a storm, we can cut the wood. Finding and fixing these hazards is most of the tree limb removal Hot Springs homeowners ask for in the fall.
The branches that can wait for February
Some branches do not need to come down right now. If a limb is alive and hangs over open grass, it can wait. A sound branch in the open yard does not threaten your house. We prefer to do general shaping and structural pruning during the dormant window in late winter. Bare crowns in late winter also show green clumps, and our guide to mistletoe in trees around Hot Springs shows how we prune them out.
When you prune a live tree while it is still actively growing in the late summer or early fall, you can trigger a flush of new growth. The tree spends energy pushing out new leaves. A University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension September garden guide tells homeowners to, “Avoid fertilizing/heavily pruning shrubs at this time as this will encourage regrowth that will not have time to harden off before winter.” The same principle applies to trees. New growth gets killed by the first freeze. The frozen tissue damages the tree.
You can always review our pruning calendar for Hot Springs to see when we schedule routine cuts. If a tree just needs some cosmetic shaping, we will plan that work for February. The dormant season is the safest time to adjust the canopy. Trees are tough. They adapt well to harsh conditions. As Klingaman explains, “Unless a tree is toppled over by the weight of the ice or snow, it will almost always survive.” We leave the sound branches alone. We focus all our attention on the immediate hazards over your roof.
Reaching and rigging one limb over a house
Taking down a heavy branch over a house is a technical job. We have to control the descent of the wood. We plan every step of the rigging process before anyone starts a chainsaw. We plan for your gutters and your siding before the first cut.
First, we figure out how to reach the cut. If we can back our bucket truck into your driveway, we will work from the basket. You can read about whether a bucket truck fits through the gate to see how we approach backyard jobs. The truck provides a stable platform for the worker making the cut. If the truck cannot reach the tree, one of our crew members will climb the tree using a harness and ropes. Our five-person crew has the experience to reach difficult spots safely.
Once we are in position, we rig the branch. We tie a rope to the limb. We run the rope through a block positioned higher up in the tree. The rope goes down to a crew member on the ground. The climber makes the cut. The ground worker slowly lowers the branch. We use specific rigging and drop zones beside a house to guide the wood away from your gutters. The rope prevents the limb from swinging backward into the siding.
When we make the actual cut, we protect the main trunk. We use a three-step technique to prevent damage. Penn State Extension advises, “To promote quick closing of a pruning wound by callus, always use the precut method when removing a branch over 1 inch. This pruning method protects the branch collar and prevents tearing the bark.” The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension gives similar instructions. Their tree pruning page tells homeowners, “Make sure you remove the limbs at the branch collar and make a nice clean cut.” We follow these exact methods on every cut to keep your tree healthy.
Limiting the cut to one third of the tree
When we come out for a single limb, you might point out another branch you want gone. We have to look at the total volume of leaves we are removing. A tree needs its leaves to produce food. If we take too much wood at once, the tree goes into shock. The tree starves.
We follow a strict limit on how much wood comes off in a single visit. We protect the long-term health of the tree. The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension provides a clear rule for pruning volume. They instruct, “Just make sure you don’t remove more than one third of the growth of the tree.”
A single massive oak limb might represent a quarter of the total canopy. If we cut that large branch, we have to leave the rest of the tree alone. We can take one large limb this year. We can return next year for the other ones. If a tree needs extensive pruning, we will spread the work over multiple seasons. We will cut the dangerous branch this October. We will return next year to shape the rest of the canopy. If a tree has weak limbs but you want to preserve its shape, we sometimes use tree bracing and cabling to provide mechanical support. The cables help support the heavy branches during an ice storm.
When one limb turns into a removal conversation
Sometimes you call us to take off a heavy branch. We arrive at your house and find a much bigger problem. Paul Clower inspects every tree before a cut. He looks at the trunk. He examines the major forks.
If the trunk has a massive cavity right below the branch, cutting the limb might not save the tree. If we see extensive fungal growth at the base, the entire tree could fail during the next storm. We will tell you exactly what we see. We give you the facts so you can make a decision on the property. We do not want to charge you for a pruning job on a dying tree.
If the tree is hollow or dead, we will shift the conversation from pruning to a full tree removal project. We own our equipment. We bring a skid steer and a mini skid steer to the site. We also pull a chipper. We have a five-person crew ready to handle large removals safely. We take down the tree section by section to protect your house. We control every piece of wood as it comes down. If the job requires an outside specialist, we bring one in. We handle the hard jobs safely.
Free estimates in Hot Springs and Garland County
Clower Tree Service operates in Hot Springs, Hot Springs Village, Malvern and all of Garland County. We are bonded and insured. We have worked in the trees of Garland County for ten years. Every estimate we give is free. We own an equipment trailer to move our gear efficiently.
When you need a heavy branch removed from your property, we come out and look at the job. We agree on the drop zone and the access route with you directly. You can request a free estimate by visiting our contact page. You can also email us at info@clowertrees.com or call 501.538.1606. Our physical address is 363 Kaufman Rd, Hot Springs, AR 71913.
Before we arrive to look at the tree, just move your cars out of the driveway. We will figure out the rest from there.