Tree chopped up, giving us access to the damaged deck and to the front door. They will come again tomorrow to remove the cut up tree.
A tradesman has been and lifted carpets upstairs and air driers are now doing their work.
An insurance Aborist and a second Aborist engaged by us have inspected a 2nd tree I noticed this morning now leaning 15 deg off vertical over our neighbour's house. Both agree the tree needs to come down. The insurance company won't have a bar of it until it falls (as in onto our neighbour's house)! Apparently when it falls our insurance covers removal of the tree and the neighbour's insurer had to pay for their repairs! Bizarre!
I should add that the neighbour's house is a rebuild almost nearing completion and that a 6m basement excavation has likely influenced the stability of the tree now leaning.
I am going to offer to go halves with the neighbour in getting the tree removed before it falls. That's about as neighbourly as I am feeling.
