Cabling & Bracing

Some trees are worth keeping even when they have a structural weakness. Cabling and bracing adds hardware support to reduce the chance of a failure, which can buy a valuable mature tree years or decades of additional safe life instead of removing it.

When does a tree need cabling or bracing?

• Codominant stems with included bark — two main leaders meeting in a tight V with bark pinched between them instead of a solid wood union. This is the single most common reason for cabling, and it is what splits large maples in ice storms.
• Long, heavy horizontal limbs that extend well past the canopy, particularly over a driveway, roof, or patio.
• An existing crack or split that has not yet failed completely.
• A high-value tree — a large specimen shade tree, something historically significant, or the one tree providing shade to the house.

Cabling versus bracing

Cabling installs flexible steel cable high in the canopy between limbs or leaders, limiting how far they can move apart in wind while still allowing normal sway. Bracing installs rigid threaded rods through a union or crack to hold it together directly. They are frequently used together, with rods addressing an existing split and cable reducing the load on it.

Does it guarantee the tree will not fail?

No, and be skeptical of anyone who tells you otherwise. Cabling and bracing reduces risk, it does not eliminate it. A tree with extensive internal decay cannot be saved with hardware, because the hardware still has to anchor into sound wood. Part of our assessment is telling you honestly when a tree is too far gone to support and removal is the right answer.

Does the hardware need maintenance?

Yes. Support systems should be inspected periodically, generally every few years, because trees grow and hardware can loosen, become engulfed, or corrode. A cable installed and then ignored for twenty years is not doing what the owner thinks it is doing. We will tell you what an inspection interval looks like for your specific installation.

Is it cheaper than removal?

Usually, yes, often considerably, and you keep the tree, the shade, and the property value that a mature tree represents. It is not always the right answer, but it is worth asking about before agreeing to take down a large healthy tree that happens to have one structural defect.

Get an assessment

Call (413) 522-2117 or request a visit. Start with a tree health and hazard assessment if you are not sure what you are dealing with.