A storm job in Charlotte made me look up how much weight a mature pine can hold

We were clearing a huge broken limb and I guessed it was maybe 800 pounds. The crew boss said to check the wood density charts, and a green pine limb that size can actually be over 1,200 pounds. Ever since, I double-check my weight estimates before rigging anything that big.

4 comments

4 Comments

cole_lee95d ago

Honestly, it's not just tree work. You see this everywhere, people just eyeballing stuff that has real weight to it. Like loading a moving truck or even stacking firewood. We're all way too comfortable with a guess when a quick look at the actual numbers would save so much trouble. Makes you wonder what else we're all getting wrong by just assuming.

the_max5d ago

Guess your crew boss saved you from a real bad day. That's a whole extra person's worth of weight you didn't plan for. Makes you wonder how many close calls happen just from guessing. What's the wildest underestimate you've ever caught yourself making?

thomas1055d ago

Yeah, that "whole extra person" idea really makes you rethink every guess.

jackson.jenny5d ago

Wait, a whole extra person's worth of weight? That's insane to think about. It's not like a few extra pounds, that's a full grown adult just hanging off the branch. Tbh it makes my stomach drop a little, picturing it. How do you even come back from realizing your guess was that far off?