Ponderosa Tree Service

Case Study: Thinning and shaping San Francisco Ficus trees

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Arndt) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:41:00 +0000

If you visit or work in downtown San Francisco you probably see these trees everyday. They required some thinning and pruning away from building structures. The trees are located on the corner of Spear St. and Mission St. in downtown San Francisco near the Embarcadero BART station. As you can see from the picture they're near the Walgreens building on the corner.

BEFORE/AFTER (Mission St. side)

BEFORE/AFTER (Spear St. side)

Case Study: Shaping and thinning a Coast Live Oak

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Arndt) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:10:00 +0000

Large trees can often add a lot to the ambiance and atmosphere of ones yard. However, left unattended the foliage will become dense blocking out light. This will have a negative effect on the undergrowth as plants and grass will become stressed from the lack of sunlight. The dual impact of less light and wilting plants can often make a backyard feel dreary.

With careful shaping and thinning we can restore the life to your yard. This process entails reducing the overall size of the tree while maintaining it's shape. Your tree is pruned throughout as foliage and some branches are removed allowing more filtered light into your backyard. This helps improve the atmosphere in your yard and improve the beauty to your trees.

Shaping is a careful process which requires an experienced tree care company. Following is a shot-by-shot process showing Ponderosa Tree Service as we help shape and thin one of our clients trees.

Here's some shots of the underside of the tree before we went to work. The foliage is dense blocking out sunlight. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

The following shots give you an idea of the size of the tree before we went to work.

Our crew begins work.

It may be hard to see through the foliage but the following picture shows 2 of our climbers in this tree. We always run a large crew and finish most jobs in a single day.

He may be hard to see in the following picture but one of our climbers is right in the middle.

Meanwhile our ground crew collects brush and debris as it's removed by the climbers. The debris is stacked streetside and run through a chipping machine after the tree has been completed.

Key branches from the trees skirt have been removed. You can already see an improvement.

Our ground crew assists one of our climbers. Using a pole saw debris caught up in branches is removed.

You'll notice in the following picture that the left half of the tree has a noticeable reduced size with thinner foliage. Our climber balances on a branch as he prunes away outer branches.

With the majority of the work complete our crew uses a pole saw to do some final touch-ups.

With the Coast Live Oak done one of our crew members does some minor pruning on a neighboring tree in the same backyard.

Clean-up.

The debris from the shaping is lined up along the curb streetside. With all the pruning done we begin running the debris though our chipper where it's turned into mulch. If you're interested in getting some mulch click here for more information.

With the debris chipped up our crew sweeps up.

Every job we do includes full clean-up of all brush, wood and debris. When we leave it's like we were never there. Here's some shots of the street and our clients yard. Everything is swept up and all debris has been removed.

Completed Work

Here's some completed shots of the tree. The foliage has been reduced significantly allowing more filtered light to shine through. Whereas before even the branches couldn't be seen they are now clearly visible.

Here's a final shot of the clients yard.

Before/After

Below is a before and after shot of the tree in question. It's often hard to capture the difference in photos but you can see that the size of the tree has been reduced. You'll notice that the branches can be seen through the foliage now. Click on the picture to enlarge them and you'll see a distinict difference between the before and after.

It's most noticeable being that you can see so much more of the Pine tree in the background. Also, notice that you can now see branches through the foliage and the skirt has been raised.

Here's another comparison. Although the shots are similar to the ones above the below photos better illustrate the reduced size of the tree.

Mulch and wood chips

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Arndt) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 01:30:00 +0000

Mulch and wood chips are a byproduct of the tree service industry and are very popular with gardeners, landscapers and weekend warriors who like to use it around their property. It has multiple purposes but is often used for landscaping decoration, fertilizing, to suppress weed growth and as general ground and path cover.

Instead of paying to dispose of the wood chips we donate them to local residents, schools and businesses. This helps us reduce costs while offering a valuable service to the community.

When trimming trees, branches and brush are run through a grinding machine and chipped into small wood chips. The resulting mulch is a combination of leaf matter and wood chips. In most cases the mulch will have a notable amount of green leaf matter in it but you'll find after a few weeks the leafs will breakdown and you'll be left with mainly wood chips.

If you'd be interested in getting some mulch keep the following in mind.

We only deliver a full dump truck load which is a minimum of 20 cubic yards. This can cover up to about 2,500 square feet which is a pretty huge load of mulch. Please be prepared to accept such a large load. Unfortunately we can't deliver loads any smaller than this.
Our truck requires a drop location with at least 20 feet of overhead clearance. When the bed of our truck is at full tilt it can be as high as 20 feet (see pictures below) so please take a moment to look and see if there's any low hanging wires, tree branches or any building structures which may get in the way. 20 feet is about 2 stories tall. The biggest problem we encounter are telephone drop wires which usually stretch across your driveway.
The drop location must be flat, level and must have adequate space to fit our truck. Our truck is about 9 feet wide so any gates it travels through should be about 10 to 12 feet wide. The second most common problem we encounter are drop location which are on steep/twisty roads or in driveways which are too narrow.
If you think this may be too much mulch for you to use we often suggest that you share it with your neighbors. Even if you have some left over you can usually put an ad on Craigslist.org and people will come by and pick-up whatever excess is still available. Most people can get rid of any left over mulch in just a few days this way.

Here's some pictures of our truck dropping a load of mulch. Notice that the drop location has no clearance issues. There's no overhead wires, tree branches or anything that may get in the way. The ground is flat, level and there's plenty of space to maneuver our truck.

The mulch immediately starts to flow out as the truck bed lifts up.

Notice how tall the bed of the truck is here. That's about 20 feet tall. Click on the picture to enlarge it and you can see our crew member standing near the rear of the pile. This gives you a pretty good idea of both how tall the truck is and how much mulch you'll receive.

All done. That's quite a lot of mulch. The person who was using it was going to share it with his neighbors and use most of it to cover his backyard.

If you'd like to get some mulch please call us at 510-845-3644.

What a view! Thanks for the pictures.

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Arndt) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:15:00 +0000

Berkeley is a wonderful place to live. Where else can you live amongst so many wonderful trees and still have a view like this? We frequently perform view restoration work for clients up in the Berkeley and Oakland hills. In this case we trimmed back some trees to improve the view to the Berkeley campus and to SF. Click on each picture to enlarge it and you'll be able to see our climbers at the tops of these trees.

View restoration work is a delicate process requiring removal of specific branches and trimming back of other limbs to create a view window. Usually someone will monitor the view and communicate with the crew to ensuring the correct branches are removed. Adjustments are made throughout the process ensuring that the client gets the desire view.

Special thanks to Nila for providing such wonderful pictures. Keep them coming!

Customers Bill of Rights

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Arndt) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:01:00 +0000

We understand hiring a tree care company can be challenging. In order to set your mind at ease Ponderosa Tree Service has written up a Customers Bill of Rights. These simple statements are a promise we make to every customer ensuring you get quality service every time you use Ponderosa Tree Service.

CUSTOMER BILL OF RIGHTS
Ponderosa Tree Service will only give advice which is truthful and in the best interest of you and your trees.

Ponderosa Tree Service will stand behind their work and will work closely with you to ensure your complete satisfaction.

Ponderosa Tree Service will be available to answer any questions you may have before, during and after completion of your work.

Ponderosa Tree Service will provide a written proposal with upfront pricing and no hidden fees.

Ponderosa Tree Service will only use experienced tree climbers with advanced knowledge in safety and tree care techniques.

If you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment with one of our certified arborists call us today at 510-845-3644.

Meeting Michael Veneziano

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Arndt) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 00:45:00 +0000

MICHAEL VENEZIANO IS THE OWNER AND OPERATOR OF PONDEROSA TREE SERVICE. If you've lived in the East Bay Area there's a good chance that he's had a hand in the care and maintenance of someone-you-knows trees. His knowledge of trees has helped local residents and businesses get the most from their trees ensuring their lasting beauty, health and safety. With over 25 years experience caring for local trees he's succeed in becoming one of the most trusted tree care professionals in the Bay Area.

HISTORY
Michael began his training in the early eighties and soon became a master climber and tree sculpture. He received his education at Merritt College in Oakland, California and was certified through the International Society of Aboriculture. An innovator in the tree care industry, Michael conducted research in arboriculture, in collaboration with faculty from the University of California, Davis. He developed new methods for improving industry techniques in tree growth, and holds a patent for a device which encourages strength in newly planted trees. This device, called the "Bio-Tie," is now in use in many communities throughout the country

As the Mayor's appointee to the Berkeley Parks and Recreation Commission, Michael served six years on that board and was elected chair in 1998. He also chaired the Commission's Tree Policy Subcommittee which was instrumental in refining pruning and tree planting standards for city trees. Michael's record of community service extends to his participation in the Berkeley Community Partnership, a youth drug prevention program, where he served as chair and helped develop comprehensive drug prevention policies.

PHILOSOPHY
Michael brings a special philosophy to Ponderosa Tree Service which focuses on value, knowledge and hard work. His comprehensive knowledge on tree care and experience allows him to answer any questions you may have. Michael is available by appointment and provides estimates free of charge. Contact us today by calling 510-845-3644 to arrange a meeting.

Case Study: Removal of twelve Redwood trees impacting driveway

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Arndt) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:05:00 +0000

The following case required removal of twelve large Redwood trees which were impacting neighbors foundations and causing damage to the neighbors driveway.When the trees were originally planted they weren't spaced far enough apart causing the roots to push up against the cement. Given the spacing, size and age of the trees the only reasonable solution required removal. As lovely as the trees were it was necessary to prevent further damage to the surrounding properties.

Here are pictures of the cracking in the driveway caused by the roots.

Here's a shot of our crane as it prepares to remove the trees. This picture was taken after we'd already removed several of the trees from the rear or the house but the ones remaining were impacting the neighbors driveway the most.

The following pictures show our crane lifting sections of the tree from our clients yard onto the street below. This proved the most efficient way to remove these trees.

With the tree on the ground our crew begins removing branches.

With the limbs safely removed the remaining trunk is loaded into our trucks to be hauled away.

Smaller branches and brush are ground up into mulch and donated to local residents. This helps us reduce the cost to our clients while offering a valuable service to the community. If you're interested in getting some mulch please contact us.

Our machine makes short work of the remaining brush.

One of our climbers ascends one of the remaining trees. He'll secure the crane hoist mid-trunk and make a cut to the trunk below allowing the crane to lift a large portion of the trunk.

With the trees gone our workers cut the remaining stumps down to near ground level. Some clients prefer to have the stump ground below grade level which requires the use of a separate stump grinding machine. Grinding is always optional.

With all the trees removed the final clean-up begins. Ponderosa Tree Service believe in a zero-impact policy. Every job includes hauling away of wood, brush and debris. Here's some shots of the final clean-up.

Here's some before and after pictures and other final shots.

I hope you enjoyed our first post! If you have any questions or would like to receive a free estimate call us today at 510-845-3644 or email info@ponderosatreeservice.com.