If you have the means, have a pro drop the tree and grind the stump but not cut it up and haul it away. It will take you longer to cut it up and haul it but save a fair amount of money. Can you split wood?
BTW: "pro" means licensed and insured so if he falls or the tree hits your house you are covered by his insurance and not yours. Last year, a neighbor had a local with a pickemup truck and a chain saw drop a tree on himself. "Killed him dead". His homeowners will cover it but the rates just went into orbit.
Also: even pros give a better deal for cash payment upon completion.

I had a pro remove two oaks for $750 this fall. He also ground the stumps for an extra $100. It was a super deal, probably should have cost more than that that for just one tree...In Westford, MA.

Alright, I'll say it. An oak that big is a GREAT tree. If it is really an oak, please make sure you consider all the angles and options before deciding to drop it.

Disclaimer: I want a swamp or bur oak planted on top of me when I take the big dirt nap.

Tree cutting is not cheap - it is not the labor cost, it is the insurance!

I would let the experts do it - too much risk for me.

try this guy.. 678.887.3714 cheapest i've found around here. and most 'normal' trees are @ $700-1000 to take out.

Dont try it yourself. I took out one last year that was only about "20 around at the trunk and was about 25 feet high and it nearly took the side of my house off and then 2 full days and cutting and clearing. I couldn't believe how heavy it was. unreal...

I agree it's a great tree and there is nothing wrong with it EXCEPT the roots are cracking the foundation of my ultimate man cave and that is NOT acceptable ! She's coming down. Plus at some point down the road it will not be a healthy tree and could come down on my man cave.........also not acceptable.

Thanks for the tip.

Is it possible to dig out around the offending roots, and use your chainsaw to cut them near the foundation ? I think if you painted the ends of the freshly cut roots, like you would on a freshly cut limb, there would be no further damage to the tree.

The good thing about trying this, is that it would take a couple of hours to complete the whole process, and virtually no money. An Oak that age has quite an extensive root base, and I don't believe it would cause the tree any long term damage.

If, for some reason, the tree starts to die from this, you could then have a Pro come in and do the deed.

The tree is down ! :D My wife today hands me a business card that was placed in our mailbox, yep you guessed it a tree service !!! I figured this must be a sign so I sent an email. One hour later the guy responds says he needs to come out to give a quote. He said he could come over today. So I called, gave my name and address and one hour later a crew of three was at my door. The lead guy was in his 60's ( my guess ) stated he's been doing this for 42 years. Seemed like a nice, honest gentleman. The other two guys were younger/larger I assumed they were the muscle. Anyway old codger goes back to the tree next to my man cave, looks it over and then asks me do I just want it cut down or cut and hauled away ? I say cut it down, cut it into 5 ' sections and I'll take it from there. He says he can do the job NOW and it will cost $360.00 !!! Here I was expecting 750.00 - 1000.00 and he hits me with that price. I confirm he has insurance and I say take her down. Old codger straps on some tree climbing spikes, a safety harness and starts climbing the tree like a ninja while the other two are setting up the ropes and saws. I watch them cut it down one limb at a time, tying ropes and leveraging the cuts to make everything fall into place. Final cut was to drop the main trunk with surgeon like precision ! None of the limbs even brushed my garage I was blown away. Two hours and they were gone, 30 minutes of that was farting around with a saw that kept breaking the starter rope. I have no doubt this guy has been doing this for 42 years he was a master at his craft. So she's down, cut into chunks and over the next few days I'll cut her up into burning length pieces. Oh I paid them $400.00 in cash and wished them a happy new year :D

Darn, just when I was going to suggest inviting over some buddies and shooting it down. :)

Soldiers Chop Tree Down with Machine gun - YouTube

I've got a .357 and a .40 but it would have taken too long :D But would have been more fun.......neighbors might not agree :rolleyes:

Spent three hours out in a mild to medium constant rain cutting up wood this morning :mad: Man I was soaked to the bone but she's about two thirds cut up now. All the big stuff is cut just have the smaller limbs to cut up. Tomorrow it will be in the 20"s with a wind chill near zero but at least it won't be raining :D My 16 " Poulan did a fine job and saved a bunch of time. I want to be done this weekend so I can get back to some quality Porsche time :D

the ultimate 2x4 match!

Wow! $360 ($400)...great price, I would guess.
Methinks you're gonna have a good 2014 the way it's started.