cost to cut down a tree ?
 

Anyone have a ballpark figure on what it costs to have a tree removed ? I have one tree near my three bay detached garage and its root system is causing a small crack in the foundation so I want it removed. It will be tricky as it is within 6 feet of the garage. The tree does not have a large canopy but will have to be cut down from the top working down to the trunk. I believe it is an oak and the trunk is aprox. 20-24 inches across not a huge tree. Before I call the pro's just want to know a ballpark figure.

$350-1500 . Most likely near the low end, depends on access and time to clean up the brush. And if grinding out the stump or not.

I just had one cut down about the same size. It cost me $900.00. I am in the Northeast. Philly area.

Cutting trees down by a pro is not cheap. Consider the alternatives as in doing by yourself(ask me how I know!*?) can be dangerous and destructive.

We have 3 willows left which are huge and 15 years ago I could cut them down myself as they were a lot smaller. In the last 3 years we have had large willows cut down or trimmed. Typically for us it is about $1000-$3000 a large tree.

Quotes may vary a lot. One tree cutter cut down a tree for us and he had to go to the neighbor's yard. He took a leak break on their property which was noticed haha

Get more than one quote. We have been quoted $700 to $3000 for one tree. The highest quote may not be the best. Can't guarantee they won't pee on your or anybody else's property. SmileWavy:)

For 350.00 - 500.00 I'll hire it out, if it's more than that I'll take her down myself ! May have to go get a new chain for the chainsaw !!! How hard can it be......hahahahahahahaha

Keep in mind they charge extra to grind the stump out. Around here an extra $120.00

I'll take pleasure in burning the SOB :D

Reread my post. You got insurance? Mind you it is your property. Self insured!
You got a harness? Some things I have paid to have done and this is one of them.
Proceed with caution.....:eek:

Story time..

When I was about 17, we had a tree in the yard that was looking pretty bad, and starting to lean near the house. My dad had done a lot of chainsawing in his day, but this was too tricky for him to attempt- it really needed the top cut out of it before the trunk could come down, so as to not risk it falling towards the house. So he calls a local place and the owner says he send someone out the next day- well, my parents had to go to a wedding or a funeral or something that next day, so I stayed home to meet the guy who was coming to cut the tree down.

Truck shows up. Lots of ropes and equipment. Huge chainsaw. Two people get out of the truck- two chicks. About 26-28 years old or so. Sisters, both about 5'11" tall, skinny, athletic, sandy blonde hair, Swedish-looking girls, wearing white tank tops and aviator sunglasses. They say they are here to cut down the tree. I was floored.

Sure enough, the one is like a pro-climber. I watched this girl haul something like an 16" Stihl 30 feet straight up this tree, while the other one spotted her. They had this thing down in no time. I invited them for lemonade. It was 95 degrees outside, and they were hot. Those white tank tops were borderline transparent, and I was losing it.

Gave them some cash and they took off; I had no game there. Man I wish...


Anyways...
Relevant to OP- I think we paid $350. They just fell it, no cleanup.

"...and they were hot."
~~~~~~~~~

How hot were they? One should always take photos of felling trees...for liability concerns. :)

Up here a stump grinder is $65 a day for a rental.

Climbing harness: between $75 and $150

Climbing spikes: between $180 and $300

Ropes and pulleys to lower the cut pieces $100

Or buy a "kit" for between $660 and $860 Need to add pulleys and some rope to it, but it's all new equipment.

So your looking at $350 to $800 for equipment to do it yourself if you have to climb the tree. Or you can do it off a ladder without any fall protection for a lot less. I'm sure everyone will send cards while your in the hospital. :)

For what it will cost you in equipment you probably could hire someone to do it while you sip a cold one watching. :)

Right now in Toronto...

Probably $3K + as all the vultures will be out to rip people off.

It happen every ice storm.

Climbing spikes......ropes/pulleys.........harness..........you guys are killing me ! Climb up the darn thing and start cutting ! The top of the tree is mostly limbs that are 3-4 inches thick and quite vertical. I'm thinking climb aprox. half way up and start ' topping ". Work my way down in maybe 5-6 ' sections and then the main trunk. I'm thinking 6-8 beers tops !

A few years back when we still lived in Jacksonville, AL... We had several (eight, I think) horrible pine trees in our yard which I wanted gone - these were fully grown and quite large. We contacted a couple of tree people and (then) the cost of cutting down only was about $500/each. We found someone in the pulp wood business and he and his crew cut all those trees down for a total cost of $0 (yes, they were bonded and insured). All we had to do was deal with the limbs. I do not suspect that one tree is attractive for a pulp wood organization but their rates should be the best.

For me it was easy peasy til I dropped a tree limb onto my neighbor's metal storage roof....however MY limbs are still intact.:)
G.

One of my close friends got killed last year cutting a tree in his yard. Another ( an experienced FDNY fireman) is paralyzed.

Plus I can give you a list of all the tree cutting fatalities and serious injuries I've been to over the years.. Not to mention the trees through houses after "it fell the wrong way"...

Not worth the risk.

Guy doun the road from me just had a big maple taken out & the stump ground last week. Looks like the contractor did a good job & cleanup. Told me he paid $ 1700.00 for the job.

This would be the fun way

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I'm generally a DIY home improvement guy but operating a chainsaw while in a swaying tree does not sound promising.

My Dad had a couple 50-60' pine trees professionally removed, hauled away, and stump ground. He paid $1200 per tree.

When I lived in PA, I hired the Amish to remove three trees (elm and two ash trees about 70' tall each) after getting a quote for $3500 from a local pro (all required climbing as no truck access). The first guy quoted me $2500, but I told the next guy that Stephan Stoltzfus would do it for $2000 and he agreed to do all three for $1500. His name was Zed Stoltzfus (no immediate relation).

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.