Best way to remove a palm tree?

We're going to be installing a solar PV system, and the palm planted right by the front door by some previous owners is going to shade the best array location for several months a year.



Any tips or advice on the best way to move/remove it? DIY would be best if possible.

Cheers.

Get up on the roof and tie a rope around the trunk as high up as possible. Cut a wedge into the trunk on the side you want it to fall, about halfway into the trunk. Put pressure on the trunk with the rope pulling it the way you want it to fall. Cut towards your wedge from the back of the trunk and over it goes. Make sure you allow enough room for it to fall and be safe, get kids etc well clear. Cut it into 1m long sections to handle and cart to the tip. Cut fronds off. Cut the stump down with chainsaw or get a stump grinder to grid the stump down to ground level. If you are going to dig out the stump leave a bit of trunk (say 1.5m) so that you have some leaverage to pull it once you have excavated around it.
Make sure when you fell it it is a calm day or it will be dangerous.

Thanks fulltilt and keen - sorry for the delay in getting back to the thread.

Looks like we may choose to go for professional removal if we can't find someone who wants to relocate it for their own use - we don't have anywhere on the roof to tie off from, nor the experience with something this tall.

keen, those step-by-step instructions were great - thanks for taking the time to pass that information on

There is no way you can relocate that, the logistics are too big. You would need a huge crane and truck and the root ball excavation would destroy that path and compromise that building.
Whatever you do don't tie it to your roof! Fulltilt was correct, I mentioned the roof as a way to getting a rope up high. Forget I said that, use a ladder.
Yes the rope is used to pull the tree the way you want it to fall.
To measure it's height, measure the length of the shadow of a staff/pole of known height, then measure the shadow of the tree, then solve for x.
(You need to know its height to work out where it can fall).
Definately a DIY, nothing like the thrill of felling a big tree close to buildings. Make sure the video camera is running, if it goes pear shaped you are a chance on "Funniest Home Videos".

Ok, thanks for the further explanations.

One aspect of this that's making us a bit wary is that the trunk is really fibrous. My understanding is that chainsaws just get clogged up when chopping palm trunks. Is this right?

No, you will be alright. Remember you are cutting a wedge in one side and then a cut from the other side with the trunk flexing away from you from the rope pressure (towards the wedge). You do not have to cut all the way through the trunk in one go.
Yes they are fiborous but that will mainly be a pita when chopping it up on the ground.

Yeah you do it like this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQFetadBQgM

Hopefully we can do it like that last link, and not the other two

The palm was taken down today - 3 guys with ropes and 90 mins later we had this instead:



Actually, they couldn't chip the palm, but we had another tree removed at the same time, and scored the contents of the chipper including the mulch from someone else's job

You bloody lucky doer! Have a read of the other thread around just now on mulch. I have some pointers for loading it up on your garden

Found the thread - thanks, Fu.