"How much to take a tree down?" is the question we get most, and the honest answer is: it depends on the tree. A small tree in an open yard and a big oak hanging over a roof are completely different jobs, even if they're the same height.
Here's what we're looking at when we walk your yard, and a few ways to keep the cost down.
1. How big the tree is
Height and trunk thickness decide how many cuts it takes, how much wood there is to move, and how long the job runs. Bigger trees also need bigger equipment. A tall pine may need the bucket truck to reach the top safely, where a small ornamental can be handled from the ground.
2. What's around it
This is the one that surprises people. A tree standing alone in a field can often be dropped in one piece, which is quick. The same tree beside a house, over a fence, near a pool or with a power line running through it has to come down in sections, with each piece lowered to a safe spot. That's more careful, slower work.
3. Getting to it
If the bucket truck and loader can drive up to the tree, the job moves fast. If it's in a fenced back yard with no gate wide enough, or down a slope, more of the work has to be done by hand and the wood carried out.
4. The tree's condition
Dead, hollow and storm-damaged trees are less predictable. The wood can break unexpectedly, so they take more planning and care to bring down safely, which usually means more time.
5. Stump and cleanup
Ask exactly what's included. Our removal prices normally include chipping the brush, hauling the wood away and raking up, and we'll quote stump grinding at the same time. A cheaper quote that leaves you with a pile of logs and a stump isn't a cheaper job.
How to keep the cost down
Do several trees at once. The truck and crew are already there, so each extra tree costs less.
Keep the wood. If you burn firewood, having us cut it to length and leave it saves hauling.
Don't wait for the storm. A leaning or dead tree taken down on a calm day costs far less than one lifted off your roof after a hurricane, and insurance often won't pay for a tree that fell without hitting anything.
Get a proper estimate. We price every job on site, for free, so you know the real number before anything happens.