I had a pretty rough week as a homeowner. As planned, a tree removal crew came to cut down a few trees to make way for the new shed. To make a long sob story short, they
also cut down a huge, beautiful tree that was not supposed to be on the chopping block -- my favorite tree, right in the middle of the yard, nowhere near the clump of trees we hired them to remove. It was the tree that made the yard look
magical. I cried like I'd lost a friend, and every time I pull in the driveway my heart sinks. I wish I'd worked from home that day so I could've run out there and stopped them. They are refunding part of our fee and will replace the tree at a discount, but it won't look the same for another, oh, 40 years. And I really hope I'm not still living here then.
In fact, that felt like the last straw. Though I have calmed down quite a bit since Monday, I've been making lists of all the things we'd have to do before we could put the house on the market... poking around Zillow for potential new home purchases... calculating the commuting distances of new neighborhoods... I don't know if/when we'll be in a position to sell, but entertaining the thought of moving -- even at some highly uncertain point in the future -- has been a good distraction.
As I have worked my way through the stages of grief this week, the house must have understood my sorrow and gave me a gift.
It grew me a flower -- of a variety we don't have anywhere else in our yard.
Sorry for ruining the last six years of your life. Here's a daisy.
Thanks?
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That's absolutely devastating. Don't be content with them refunding part of the fee though, in many states the value of a mature tree is in the many thousands of dollars - which they are completely liable for, call a property attorney and see what they say (your homeowners insurance may be helpful too).
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting and validating my sadness. We're looking into it further.
DeleteI agree- a good friend of ours here is a tree feller and said they should refund the entire cost of the job AND be liable for thousands for the value of the 40 year old tree. If the company had proper insurance, they should be able to file a claim for that as well on their end. I'm so so sorry!!
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting... thanks for the info!!!!
DeleteFunny thing about a tree, .................... just a plant growing out of the ground. How we value some of them greatly. Like the apple tree of my youth. It held my "fort" for some many years. I played in it, swung from it, slept in it and fell from it. Then cried for it when it went under the saw.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain.
Wait! Is that growing right out of your house?
ReplyDeleteYep. From right between the foundation and the bottom log -- about 6 feet off the ground. Very puzzling!
DeleteThat is truly heartbreaking. I would cry a lot too.
ReplyDeleteheartbreaking! tree trimmers are never reliable.......in my experience they get crazy with chainsaws.
ReplyDeleteWhen you have an old and healthy tree you never ........cut it down. I am so sorry for you.
Hi, I am sorry that you have this "accident" after you finally seem to have your house finished (or close to anyway). I am in awe of what you've accomplished without divorce or homicide. I know you are frustrated and sick of it... but I am not sure that selling the place is the right thing to do. When you buy your new place you'll still need to renovate, you'll be buying someone else's hidden problems and screw ups... After all this work that you put into your house, maybe you can wait a bit and see if the frustrations get forgotten. We just sold our gorgeous townhouse – soaked in our sweat, blood and tears (we gut renoed most of it) and we are looking for a house. Everything out there just doesn't have the value we are looking for and still has tons of work... and I just can't imagine starting over again... we had to sell b/c our place was too small for us, but your place is just gorgeous... maybe you should wait and see if your feelings change. Oh, and never ever have trades on your property unsupervised... Every single time we turn our head away they screwed up somehow. If you hire someone to do anything in your house you pretty much have to be there, that's the lesson I learned.
ReplyDeleteAnd another thing... you can buy pretty mature trees. They are very expensive and they need to be planted by pros, but it's possible to do and you should get and the tree cutting company to pay for it.
Cheers, Olga