How to hire a tree service
Tree work is risk management before it is anything else. The price you pay reflects what is overhead, what is dead, how far the chips have to travel — and whether the climber on your property has the training and gear to come down safely.
Removals price by size tier: under 30 ft run $300–800, 30–60 ft run $800–2,500, 60–100+ ft run $2,500–6,000+. Stump grinding is separate at $150–500 per stump. Crane-assisted removals on tight lots start around $3,500 and climb fast.
Height and DBH (diameter at breast height) set the base, but lean, target proximity, dead wood, crane access, and chip-truck reach are what actually move a quote from the bottom of a tier to the top.
See what drives priceHow we price it
These are the factors that move a quote up or down. Knowing them helps you share the right context upfront so we can quote your specific situation accurately — and so you can compare bids on apples-to-apples scope.
Size drives everything: how long the climber is in the tree, how many cuts, how much wood and brush, and whether a bucket truck or crane is needed. A 25 ft maple in an open yard is a half-day job for two people; a 90 ft white pine over a roofline is a full day for a four-person crew with a crane.
A tree leaning over a house, garage, pool, or power drop is a completely different job from a tree in a back corner of the yard. Crews have to rig each piece down on a controlled descent (lowering line, port-a-wrap, sometimes a speedline) instead of cutting and dropping. That can double or triple the labor hours on what looks like the same tree.
Dead wood is brittle and unpredictable — climbers cannot trust limbs to hold a fall, and pieces can shatter on the cut. Most reputable companies will not climb a fully dead tree and will price in crane or bucket access. Storm-damaged trees with hangers, split trunks, or partial uproot are an emergency-priced job and should be tarped, roped off, and reported to your insurer if a structure was hit.
The chipper, log truck, and rigging gear ideally park within 50–100 ft of the tree. If the crew has to walk brush 200+ ft through a side yard, lower it over a fence, or work from a neighbor's driveway, hours add up fast. Backyard trees with only a 4 ft gate access can add $500–1,500 to a removal versus a curbside tree of the same size.
Stump grinding is almost always quoted separately — pros need a different machine (Vermeer SC30, SC60, or a tracked SC852 for big stumps) and an extra mobilization. Hauling logs and brush off-site adds cost; leaving rounds stacked for firewood or chip the brush onto a back lot saves it. Talk through what you want left behind before the quote.
For very large trees, dead trees, or trees with no rigging path to the drop zone, a crane is the safest and fastest option. Crews pre-cut sections, the crane lifts them out whole to a drop pad, climbers stay out of the high-risk position. Crane day rates and operator add a meaningful fixed cost — but they often turn a 2-day removal into a 1-day removal, which partially offsets.
For valuable trees with a co-dominant leader or a split crotch (common in mature oaks and maples), installing a static cable system or threaded steel rod brace can extend the tree's life by decades and prevent a catastrophic failure over a house. Done correctly per ANSI A300 Part 3, with annual visual inspection.
What else might come up
Most projects touch more than one trade. Here's where this one usually overlaps with others — so you can plan ahead instead of scrambling.
Branch impacts dislodge shingle granules and can puncture the deck. Have a roofer inspect within 30 days of any significant impact, especially before the next storm cycle.
Pruning and removals shed enormous amounts of debris into gutters. Schedule a gutter cleaning the week after the tree crew leaves to prevent the next rain from backing up into your soffits.
Stump grindings make poor topsoil and lock up nitrogen as they decompose. Plan to scoop the grindings, backfill with screened loam, and either reseed or sod within a week. Compacted lawn from equipment needs core aeration before reseeding.
Removing the host tree does not kill the colony — it can drive carpenter ants into your house. Coordinate a pest treatment around the removal date, and have any infested wood chipped or hauled off, not left on-site.
Work within 10 ft of energized lines requires a line-clearance qualified arborist (ANSI Z133.1 §4) — most residential tree companies are NOT line-clearance qualified. For trees touching a primary line, you call the utility (they do it free). For trees near your service drop to the house, the utility will temporarily disconnect for the work.
- Number of trees and the work for each (removal, pruning, cabling, stump grinding)
- Photos of each tree from multiple angles — especially showing the trunk, the crown, and what is underneath (house, fence, driveway, garden)
- Approximate height and trunk diameter at chest height (DBH) for each tree, even a rough estimate
- Access path for equipment — can a chip truck reach the tree, or does brush have to be carried out? Gate widths if backyard access
- What you want done with the wood and brush (haul all, chip onto property, leave logs stacked for firewood)
- Species if you know it (or a leaf/bark photo) — pricing and risk differ meaningfully by species
- Recent storm damage or visible defects (cracks, mushrooms at the base, dead limbs, lean change)
- Proximity to overhead wires — utility service drop, primary lines, cable/phone
- Any neighbor coordination needed (drop zone in their yard, access through their driveway)
- Whether the tree is in a wetland buffer, conservation zone, or has any town tree-protection rules
- Tree is leaning more than it was last year, or a crack has appeared at the base
- Mushrooms or conks growing from the trunk, root flare, or major branches (sign of internal decay)
- Large dead limbs in the upper canopy (widow-makers) over a structure or walkway
- Ash tree with woodpecker damage, D-shaped exit holes, or blonding on the bark (emerald ash borer)
- Oak with sudden full-canopy browning during summer (possible oak wilt — do not prune until confirmed)
- Any tree touching or threatening to touch a power line
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