Cost of having a tree service remove big oak?

We just had a bunch of trees removed by a service, and have one left to go. All the trees were along our driveway, and very close to the power line, they were black beech, chestnut oaks, and maples. There were 7-8 trees, its was $600, some of the trees were 20 inches across the cut trunk, and 40-70 feet tall. He was able to use a bucket, drove the truck right up into the driveway and went to work. We did the clean up. We have a large hemlock that needs to come down, it must be 80 feet tall, its where he can't reach it with the truck, so he said he'd have to climb it, that will cost $200. This is a legit tree guy, insured and well known in the area, watching him work is entertainment all on its own, he's very good at what he does. Now these are PA prices, if I was you I'd get estimates and go from there, considering its proximity to the workshop it may pay to have a professional do it.

Two people could easily do it with it hooked up to a winch and if you pull it towards the open space away from the shed. I wouldn't hesitate to tackle that with my better half! Good luck!

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......................Trees are like Drunks , they don't ALways fall , in the direction they're leaning...... , fordy

Most ropes worry me Anyone got a buddy with a wrecker

My husband is a licenced arborist. He and I do tree work together. As Fordy says, trees do not always fall in the direction that they are leaning. It freaks me out to hear about anyone using spikes and a saw to drop a dead tree. Any tree can be unpredictable, but a dead tree can be a complete mystery. A dead tree should never be climbed - it just isn't safe. I know that it is done in the industry, but it shouldn't be. I don't understand why people think so little of their lives. Sorry, end of rant...

Anyway Jill. First off, don't assume it will cost you $1000-1500 and make a decision based on that. Open up the phone book and call around for some estimates - lots of them if you have the time and they are free. It isn't what I like as a tree service, but it is the smart thing to do as a consumer. Business isn't good right now and people around here are getting get some fantastic deals. Maybe you will be surprised. MJust make sure that they have current liability insurance. Discuss the options with the people that come out. How much to just drop it? What about a complete job? If it is just dropped maybe your BF will be happy to get to clean it up for you. The wood would be hard to split, but is great for burning, so it shouldn't be hard to get rid of free if you don't want to use it.

After getting some estimates, maybe the price is more than you want to spend, or you decide that it is something that your BF can do. Please don't let him climb it.

Peace-Cathryn

May be area specific but here cash works wonders

There using cash in Tn. now ? I thought You guys bartered with moonshine .
Bob

I'm with Cathryn on this. You should never climb a dead tree. Falling branches can also kill. They are called widow makers for a reason.

Hire a professional with a boom/bucket and pay whatever it costs...and it will probably be expensive.

We had a $1,200 estimate two years ago to take down a live tree between our house and our neighbors that is smaller than yours but close to both houses.

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I just had TWO big oaks larger than the one in your pic removed. They dropped the trees ( one was so close to buildings that they had to go up in the bucket to cut off the limbs), cut it into fireplace lengths and chipped up the leaves and small branches. Grand total was $640 plus a pizza for lunch.
We split the wood and raked up the remaining mess.

I was only 24 when I was almost killed when a chainsaw kicked back at me. A heavy winter hat kept me from losing the top of my head. Now I only cut small trees or bushes.

If you can trim it back, piece-by-piece, to about here:





It should be very easy to make it fall away from the shed.

Datsa baby. Rent a boom lift for BF and let him cut from the top down. Couple hundred bucks rental for a nice safe stable platform. I'd buy a couple sheets of 3/4 plywood to stick on the roof of that shed so that the branches don't puncture the membrane.

qick update! we demo'd and re-trussed and sheathed one side of the shed roof yesterday, and just like the picture (thank you, Oggie!), BF stood on the shed roof and took down the tree canopy branches bit by bit that were overhanging the shed.

Going to do the other side of the roof next Sunday, and continue the systematic "branch reduction" until we have a bare trunk, lol, and then fell it.

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We spent more than $1,000 to have a crew come out and cut the oak branches of several threes that wove in and through each other over our ranch house. They carried liability insurance, in case they damaged the house, and were covered under workers comp insurance. I wouldn't hire a crew that wasn't covered.

They had one guy climb up the tree with a chainsaw, and plenty of rope. He tied an end of rope around a section of branch , with the other end of the rope going up over a higher branch, and going down to some guys on the ground. He sawed off a 12-18 inch slice of a branch and it was carefully lowered to the ground using the rope. None of the logs hit the house, and nobody was hurt.

Also, we had them remove some trees on the property. They were trees that were near things that we didn't want crushed. The did tie a rope to the tree and the other end to a large tractor, so they could pull in the direction they wanted the tree to fall. They also cut the notch in the direction they wanted the tree to fall. Then they used wedges in the slice on the back side of the tree to encourage the tree to start leaning in the right direction.

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Popeye

Exactly what I'd do. Climb up or loop a rope up about 2/3rd of the way, then pull a cable or chain through it all, and tie off. Hook the other end onto a tractor or truck (making sure the cable was way longer than the height of the tree). Cut the tree to fall in the direction your pulling, as you it starts to lean pull on the cable.

And I'd replace the clear roofing with real steel, and you won't have to worry about it again in this lifetime. But you probably already know that....

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Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming

DSW always, always insists that I wear a Hard Hat when I'm out cutting trees. I tell her my old head is hard enough, but, you know..........
We had an old Friend who nearly lost his life when a dead limb on the next tree over was connected by a vine. It fell when the tree he was cutting went down.
He had absent mindedly without thinking put on his Hard Hat when he went out the door.
The thing is....It saved his life, when that limb hit him.........It knocked him down.
But, the Hard Hat saved his old Melon.
So, yeah, I wear mine every time.

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Be Intense, always. But always take the time to
Smell the Roses, give a Hug, Really Listen, or
Jump to Defend your Friends & What you Believe in.
'Til later, Have Fun,
Old John

I was almost knocked down by a falling limb when I was in my early 20's. I was standing away from the tree as my friend cut it but a limb flew away from the tree and wacked me a good one. And the limb wasn't very big.

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