Don't top the trees. As I am sure many others will state, it will harm the
trees and make them look terrible.

Many people will limb fir trees as they get taller. On my woodlot tree farm
I do this because it tends to promote knot-free timber. However, on my
residence (where I have about 30-40 similarly sized trees that will never be
logged) I do this because (i) I would like a little more light to filter in
from the edges of the stand and (ii) I don't want to get injured by falling
dead branches - the lower branches will eventually die off anyway and become
so-called "widow makers" (you figure out the etymology of that term).

"Ray" wrote in message
om...
We have a stand of 6 - 8 100 foot DF tress about 20 feet from our
house.

We've thought about "topping" them but wonder if that is wise. Also a
friend recommended we take the limbs off to about 20 feet above ground
to give us the more of the afternoon sun. Our area is usually cloudly
and wet, seattle area.

At present, an arboist is too expensive.

Any ideas or books that might help

Thanks