I think many of you are experienced about removing trees. I was curious how much people were charged to have a tree removed. My DH cut off all the branches, so all we have is the medium sized tree trunk to remove. It has to be cut into several smaller pieces but the roots are already out. Anyone ever have family that cut up a tree themselves? I was wondering if it was feasible for my DH to rent a chain saw to try and cut it up (or pay a couple of strong young guys to do it). He bought a saw, but it wasn't powerful enough for the tree trunk. We had one guy from a Tree Removal company come out to see the tree and give an estimate. The price was outrageous! Wanna guess what he will charge for removing tree?

"Medium sized" means....what?
If the tree is close to a house/structure, there can be liability issues, especially if you have removed all the side limbs of a large tree. Hard to section it and lower down the trunk in manageable pieces. Electric lines in the area?

Trees are often felled as one unit in open forest areas, very differently than in urban yards. Can a tree company/person get equipment into your yard to make the job easier...or will it be a climb with ropes operation.


Curious: How did you manage to get "the roots already out"?

As far as cost? We have two 65+ year old red oaks in our front yard that cost 700 dollars or so to just trim every 4-5 years.

We had an equally old/large locust in back yard, that fell due to carpenter ants this summer. Since two of the leaders were already on the ground (big crash, took out power, etc) we were THRILLED with the tree guys charge of 2,075! Another company wanted 5,000!

Get 2-3 estimates, area prices can vary.

It all depends on the size of the tree, if they are removing all the wood or leaving it there or stacking it for you. About 15 years ago, we paid $1,500 to remove a pin oak that was about 50 feet high. They had to bring in a crane and lower it by sections and then cut it into 3 foot lengths. We rented a splitting machine to cut it up for firewood. Last year we paid about $2,000 to remove all the lower branches from 6 pin oaks in the yard. The branches are weak and break and fall as well as block out too much sun so they trimmed and removed all the branches. Right now, every tree company is busy here around the clock since my area was hit by the wind storm before Sandy's remnants got here. There are trees down everywhere so I bet if I needed a tree company I couldn't even get one.

How experienced is your DH with a chainsaw? They can be dangerous in inexperienced hands. My DH cut down many trees around here but had lots of experience with chain saws. However one of my sons ended up in Emergency after cutting himself with a chain saw and I know someone who died as a result of a tree falling differently than he thought it would. It's not something to fool around with.

If you hire a couple of experienced guys I recommend obtaining insurance beforehand 'just in case'. You don't want to be sued if things go wrong.

I have no idea what a tree removal company would charge but I know it wouldn't be cheap.

I'm also curious how you got the roots out. I'm still chopping off suckers from a tree DH cut down over 2 years ago.

Are you in an area hard hit by Sandy? I suspect the storm will have set the market price for months to come. Unfortunately, it's unfeasible to try to compare what you'll have to pay to someone not in the storm path.

ETA... Now that I've read more threads, I see your tree was likely knocked over by the storm. When my parents lost a tree to a windstorm, their homeowners insurance not only paid for the removal, but also provided a sum to replace the tree. It would not be worth the danger of a novice trying to DIY it with an unfamiliar power tool if the insurance could provide that service. Seriously, it's worth the price to avoid the injury that it might cause.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: nettiejay,

This Pine tree was uprooted by Hurricane Sandy. We didn't want to cut it down, have no choice now. (I asked my DH if insurance covers the tree and he just laughed at me!) This tree missed my house by a few feet and fell over onto my other shrubs, over my grill first. No big machinery is required to remove this tree. We just need someone to cut up the tree into parts (don't think it has to be grinded down) and we just need it removed, along with the bottom of the tree trunk and roots (the roots are sticking out, it was uprooted). It's a medium-sized tree. We called one tree removal company first and he quoted a price of $600. It seems pretty high, although they all may be 'high' due to the storm.
You are right. My DH probably has zero experience with a chain saw. I was nervous with him using the regular saw he just bought. All the branches he already cut off the tree. It's not that complicated a tree removal job, I just feel we're being taking advantage of due to the storm. We are going to get a few more estimates. Poor tree.....

I paid $1,200.00 to have two ash trees with stump removed. $850.00 for 1 pepper tree with stump and $210.00 for an oleander tree and viburnum bush.

I used a tree and landscape company. The ash tree were taller than the high tension wires and the trunks were huge. The pepper tree wasn't as tall as the house and certainly wasn't a large tree.

If you plan on planting another tree in the same location pay to have someone use a stump grinder on the tree or you will have drainage problem. Not to mention the new tree will have trouble putting down roots. The base of one of the ash trees, beneath the soil was as large as big rectangular dinner table.

The reason they will charge you less if you save some of the tree for fire wood is because it's less wood for them to pay to dispose of. I don't know if pine trees make very good fire wood.

Because part of our tree took out the overhead electric (ripped the meter right off our house, and shut off power to 8 homes), our insurance did pay for the electrical work and tree removal, plus a whole line of new gutters (one dent in it), another 350 for a large crab tree it took out, a sprinkler head damaged, plus expenses for incidentals with burying the utility lines. Not for stump grinding however.

Normally insurance will cover tree or partial tree/limb removal if it also damages an insured structure. Our locust looked perfectly healthy, but rot and carpenter ants worked inside. Hot, dry summers they tend to be especially active. So do check your trees for any cracks, wounds, open scars...or anyplace moisture and ants could get in.

N

A storm took out a tree on our property last year. After cutting off the limbs, the huge trunk remained. After a year or so of it lying there, I got sick of seeing it and set it on fire. Took a month to burn as it burned very slowly which was a good thing since it turned into a drought and burning was prohibited. Of course we live in the country and the tree wasn't in the yard proper. Yeah, I admit it's a little hickish, but the job is done and we used what we would have spent on removal fees on something else.

Also, do check with your insurance company. It isn't necessarily out of the question that they will cover it once it has fallen as long as it was from natural causes.

quote:

This Pine tree was uprooted by Hurricane Sandy. We didn't want to cut it down, have no choice now. (I asked my DH if insurance covers the tree and he just laughed at me!)

Have you read the news release the State of New Jersy Department of Banking and Insurance issued? Here is a link to their site. -
http://www.state.nj.us/dobi/index.html

This is a link to the State of New Jersey, Govenor Chris Cristie's website with a copy of their release which is the same but quicker and easier to access, "
Home > Newsroom > Press Releases > 2012
Christie Administration Offers Guidance to Consumers on Filing Insurance Claims after Storm."

http://nj.gov/governor/news/ne...roved/20121031l.html

Their is a time requirement for filing a claim. They are also warning about fraudsters following a disaster. It also has good information about dealing with your insurance company. Don't be rushed in dealing with an insurance company. After we experienced a earthquake here the insurance companies did cursory inspections and said there was no damage to many properties. I know our insurance adjuster checked our house and said there was no damage. I didn't know until it was too late that our fireplace and chimney were damaged. I would have burned the house down if I had used the fireplace.

We had a 'what they said was a diseased spruce' that I wanted cut down from our front lawn--I believed it was sick, the whole right side was losing needles more and more. They charged me
$500.00 and they ground down the stump, took the wood away and overseeded the area with compost as well. The tree was approximately 40 ft.
I'm waiting for a return call for them to cut down a little leaf linden of 30 feet height. I intend to put a question to them; is it better to cut it down now or wait til spring.
Its a little late to think grass will grow in its place so maybe the spring is a better time.

Wavy, we have cut down & cut up many, many trees. We will also be cutting down many, many more.
DH & my son just cut down 15 oak trees last week. They were between 15-25' tall. They delimbed several of them but still have more to go. DH will cut the trunks into fireplace size logs.

Chain saws are not toys. I've used one, but a small one. I won't use one unless someone else is here with me on our property. I've seen too many experienced fellas get hurt, BAD! Do you have a neighbor with experience? I think I'd try that route before renting one & doing it myself in your situation. The roots can also be cut off/down with a chain saw, into manageable pieces. You might even find a neighbor who would like it for fireplace or fires???
I don't burn pine as it has too much tar in it...leaves sticky stuff in the chimney. But it works just fine for a weiner roast where it isn't in a stove/fireplace.

Since all the removal guys are going to be busy for awhile...can you wait? Later might be a LOT better.

What tree cutters charge depends on what kiknd of equipment thye have (equipemt depreciation is figured into their charge), what kknd and how good the insurance (liability, workers compensation, health, life) they carry is, the hourly labor rate of the employees, taxes and fees, as well as some profit for the business.
If you hire someone to do some work for you and they harm themselves while doing that work you may be liable for the costs of fixing that harm, unless they have insurance to protect you.
If one tree removal company gives you an estimate and another gives you one that is vastly different you need to ask questions, not just think company A charges outrageously. Insurance (liability, workers compensation, health, etc.) is very expensive for tree trimmeers.

For sure, insurance is a major issue. In my state, homeowners insurance does not cover any workers doing any work on your property. There are even dollar limits as to someone who cuts the lawn. So, even people who hire kids to cut their lawn on a weekly basis may not be insured if something happens. Better be safe than sorry.

Thank you all very much for your advice. Greatly appreciated as always! As luck would have it, while we were waiting for the 2nd guy to come & give us an estimate, we saw our neighbor having this handyman cut down her 2 dead trees. This guy I think is a painter and has been doing work around her house since I've been here. After he finished cutting her trees, he was talking to my DH & came over to see our tree. He offered to cut up the tree into pieces himself. He used an electric chain saw. OMG, ya'll were absolutely right! There is no way my DH would have been able to do it. This guy was having problems, it is tedious and not easy at all. It would have been very dangerous if we were to hire an inexperienced young guy to do it! It's a lot of work and this was an experienced guy. It's cut up and now we have to tackle the Roots. Lots of big roots down below. He's supposed to come back today to finish up. If he can't do it we were gonna hire a professional to tackle the roots. We paid him $150.
(P.S. I just heard on the TV this morning that a man was badly injured from using a chain saw and later died!!!) Thanks again for your expertise and support. You're the best!

Wavy, I'm glad it worked out for you. After a storm like this, costs for ordinary services skyrocket because of the demand. And, let's face it, there are folks out there who want to make a killin' on the misfortune of others. Now that the trunk is taken care of, you can wait on the roots. Sometimes patience is required, even though it's human nature to want things restored to their normal order. But as you know, normal is now different for all of you who went through Sandy.

When we had a huge pine break during Hurricane Dennis, we were fortunate to find a young man who took it down for us for a very reasonable sum. After Hurricane Ivan, it cost far more to have two trees taken down that had been blown over. Thankfully, none of them had landed on the house so our insurance would not pay.

I have not found that reputable businesses raise there rates when there is a disaster. There are, however, those that will take advantage of such a disaster and charge what ever and those usually are not covered by insurance, so of they damage any property the homeowner can be held liable.
Hiring Joe Handyman is not a good idea no matter how cheaply he will do the work.

We removed a corkscrew willow yrs. ago and I'm still putting dirt where it was. I think the roots must of been clear to China!!
Glad it all turned out good for you.