I need a geometry buffs help:


popgun

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I have a Maple tree too close to my house and also too close to my workshop. I can't and won't climb it.

It needs to be cut down by a professional.

Using my range finder, and converting the yards to feet, I made the following sketch.

maple.jpg

When I call the Pro's to come and cut this down, how tall should I tell them that this tree is?

Thanks. ....popgun

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Re: I need a geometry buffs help:

Sweet Jesus, I think I have it... shouldn't have been that tough (lol). The wife just called me, and asked what I was doing? I told her I was figuring the perimeter of a triangle.... she said, what for, one of your deer stands, I laughed, "no, for one of the guys on realtee".

She then says, "asking your hunting buddies for how high a tree is... so it doesn't fall on your house??? I think not"!

Anyways, the triangle is a right triangle, therefore your sides must have a ratio of 3:4:5, yours should be 48:54:60, leaving your unknown side to be 48+5' standing height. 53' Hope that's right! I'd hate to wreck your house!

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Re: I need a geometry buffs help:

OK..........here's my solution.

Put on your safety harness.......... and go cut 20 ft. off the top of the tree. Then cut down the rest. That's how the "professional " tree trimmers do it. Unless they're in Canada......then it's a metric tree and I'd hire someone.

have a good day

JJL

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Re: I need a geometry buffs help:

I knew you guys would come through for me, however.....

The triangle calculator don't seem to be as right as billygoat's answer.

If I back up across the street and look at this tree it is almost three times the height of my tallest point on the roof of my house.

I guess if I over estimate the height of this tree the tree cutters will at least have a better idea of the job it will entail. I think they will have to take it down from the top anyway because I can't afford to loose my workshop or my house.

I will see if I can get a photo if I can figure out how to make this Leaf River take a picture manually.

I'll keep you posted.

....popgun

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Re: I need a geometry buffs help:

DSC_0003.JPG

The fine white lines are the height at the top of the gable on the shop and the right one is from the house. The tree is about parallel with the front of the shop.

I think everyone's calculations are on the money. Problem is that the range finder picks up the reflection of the outermost branches and cant reach the top of the trunk portion.

So if we added about 15' to that 60' measurement, making it 75', it would make a lot of difference in the calculation.

Using the calculator if that were 75' instead of 60' it would make it 52'+ the 5' off the ground making a total of 57' ???

....popgun

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Re: I need a geometry buffs help:

What you need is something called a hypsometer Jeff. Our FFA classes at school measure heights of trees as part of their class.

You can use a yard stick as a makeshift hypsometer.

Here's what you do. Stand exactly 25' from the base of your tree. Hold the yardstick, with the zero end downward, 25 inches from your eye. Line up the bottom of the yardstick with the base of the tree. Without moving your head, look to the top of the tree. Where it crosses the yardstick, read off the measurement in inches. Each inch will equal one foot in the tree's height.

If the tree is taller than your hyupsometer will measure, stand 50 feet away, again hold at 25 inches but multiply your results by 2.

Hope that helps.

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Re: I need a geometry buffs help:

Looks at least 40+ ft to me grin.gif

[ QUOTE ]

Red neck way. take a yard stick, hold it up and back up until the yard stick and the tree are the same length. then lay the yard stick sideways and thats were the tree will reach. squared pied cubed or whatever.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeppers...works for me grin.gif

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Re: I need a geometry buffs help:

You could try to use A sq + B sq = C sq. Which by the measurements you give would make the tree

A sq= 2916

b sq= 684

c sq= 3600

Which gives you an approximately 31 foot tall tree, looks taller than that to me.

Similar to the method Chris gives, you could ue the principle of a right triangle and look from a 45 degree angle and walk out far enough from the tree to be where at 45 degrees you would be looking at just about however tall your eye level is above the top of the tree, then measure the distance from the base of the tree to where you were standing. The height of the tree would be about the same as the distance from where you were standing.

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