How Tree Service Works: The Process, Step by Step

What separates a solid crew from a problem crew

Ask before you sign anything. A good crew will tell you what they are cutting, which way it is coming down, and what happens to the trunks and limbs afterward. If they can't, keep looking.

Ask about gear. Climbing lines, cutting tools and lift equipment should be inspected before each job, and anything worn or damaged gets pulled from service. Our arborist climbing line gets looked over before it goes up a tree. A crew that can't say when they last checked theirs is guessing.

Ask about tie-in. A climber stays tied in with approved fall protection the whole time. Anyone in an aerial lift ties off at the lift's designated anchor point.

Ask about the ground. The drop zone gets marked, bystanders and non-essential workers stay out of it, and the people overhead and the people on the ground talk to each other. If you see a homeowner, a kid or a neighbor standing under a cut, the crew is not running the job properly.

Can you take a tree down for free

Rarely, and you should be cautious of anyone who promises it over the phone. Removal here runs from $200 for a small, easy tree to $5,000 for a big one in a tight spot. Trimming and pruning runs from $75 to $1,500. The spread comes from the same few things: how big the tree is, whether we can climb it or need a lift, and what sits in the drop zone, such as a house, a fence or power lines.

If someone does offer to take a tree for nothing, or for the wood, ask what they get out of it and what you are still paying for. Haul-off, cleanup and the stump are the usual places a free offer turns into a bill. A stump is a separate job with its own price.

What to get in writing for a free or cheap cutting offer

Put the terms on paper before anyone starts a saw: which trees, what gets cut, who hauls the debris, whether the stump stays, and what happens if the tree turns out to be in worse shape than it looked. A tree can look straightforward from the street and be a different job once someone is up in it.

Then apply the same questions as for any crew: is the gear inspected, is the climber tied in, and is the drop zone controlled? A low price does not excuse skipping any of that. If a crew gets vague when you ask, that tells you what the job will be like.

What we look at on your property

We don't quote blind. We look at the tree itself, then at what surrounds it, because that is where most of the price and most of the risk come from.

Structures matter most. Humidity here is hard on building envelopes, and the local soils formed in saprolite weathered from granite and gneiss, which is the ground moving under area foundations. So a large tree close to a house is not just a limb problem. We want to see where it stands relative to the foundation and the walls before we decide how to take it down.

We also look at access. A tree in an open yard with a clear path for the chipper is a different job from the same tree wedged between a shed and a fence. Tight access changes how we rig, how long it takes and what it costs.

Talk to us about your situation

Call us or send a description and a few photos. We'll tell you what we think the job involves and give you a number for your yard, not a flat rate that doesn't fit it.

Tree work is a real expense for most households, and we don't pretend otherwise. If you own a place you don't live in, send us the address and what you can see from the street. We'll work from there and tell you plainly what the job needs.