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Thank you all for the offers. The house is sort of OK. No big holes apparent. No need to move into a hotel.
One tree was off the property, and when it came down, it took another 12 to 15 inch hemlock right on the property line, snapping the trunk in two. The upper portion of the 1st tree hit the house with enough force to crack the stem of the trunk, about 10 inches in diameter, virtually snapping in two. Both the upper roof and the lower roof were hit. I'm suspecting cracked framing in the family room (lower roof), without dislocation, as the windows seem to work. The hemlock is resting right against the outside wall of the house. Gutter damage for sure on the upper roof.
A few years ago my daughter lost a huge tree in her back corner, mostly falling on the neighbor's house. They had to get a crane to remove it, lifting it over the two houses.
Saw 2 more houses with trees through them on my way to Norwalk yesterday. It was amazing how light the snow was when I plowed my driveway in Millerton as opposed to how heavy and ice laden the snow was further south. I could have driven my snowmobile the last 15 miles to work with solid ice on the secondary roads.
Jeff - any update on the house? Hoping it's not too bad and insurance is helping out.
House seems pretty much unscathed from a surface examination. Some siding and roof scuffing and gutter bent down. But I'm still worried about the roof joists and maybe the side wall.
Looked like about 25 feet at the top of the larger tree hit the house, with the top branches breaking off on contact with the upper roof and two main stems coming to rest on the lower flat roof (as they left an imprint in the snow). Then it looks like the smaller stem broke completely off at the edge of the roof and the main trunk supporting that stem slid straight down the side of the house, cracking some siding near the ground and coming to rest against the house. The larger stem must have been carrying the weight of the tree and cracked about 15 feet off of the back of the house, dropping the main trunk of the tree to the ground and pointing the large stem upward, with the fulcrum at the edge of the roof. I went home from work early and cleared branches and debris and shoveled off most of the snow in impact area. Then cut the stem back to the edge of the roof. Then I cut a lot of the branches from the hemlock tree that was also down. My plan was to try to throw the remaining portion of the larger stem to the ground, but I didn't want all of the branches from the hemlock to throw that stem back into the house, and perhaps through a window. Then on the ground where that stem was cracked, I carefully cut to separate the stem from the rest of the tree and to make it fall outward away from the house. Then I leaned two 2x8s against the house at an angle to direct the stem away from the house when I tossed it off of the roof. Back to the roof and it took all my strength to lift and toss the stem. I think I achieved a distance of about 6 or 8 inches, but no damage caused in my efforts. I was exhausted, went in, ate dinner and went to bed.
House seems pretty much unscathed from a surface examination. Some siding and roof scuffing and gutter bent down. But I'm still worried about the roof joists and maybe the side wall.
Looked like about 25 feet at the top of the larger tree hit the house, with the top branches breaking off on contact with the upper roof and two main stems coming to rest on the lower flat roof (as they left an imprint in the snow). Then it looks like the smaller stem broke completely off at the edge of the roof and the main trunk supporting that stem slid straight down the side of the house, cracking some siding near the ground and coming to rest against the house. The larger stem must have been carrying the weight of the tree and cracked about 15 feet off of the back of the house, dropping the main trunk of the tree to the ground and pointing the large stem upward, with the fulcrum at the edge of the roof. I went home from work early and cleared branches and debris and shoveled off most of the snow in impact area. Then cut the stem back to the edge of the roof. Then I cut a lot of the branches from the hemlock tree that was also down. My plan was to try to throw the remaining portion of the larger stem to the ground, but I didn't want all of the branches from the hemlock to throw that stem back into the house, and perhaps through a window. Then on the ground where that stem was cracked, I carefully cut to separate the stem from the rest of the tree and to make it fall outward away from the house. Then I leaned two 2x8s against the house at an angle to direct the stem away from the house when I tossed it off of the roof. Back to the roof and it took all my strength to lift and toss the stem. I think I achieved a distance of about 6 or 8 inches, but no damage caused in my efforts. I was exhausted, went in, ate dinner and went to bed.
