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Yossarian
Citizen
Username: Yossarian
Post Number: 135
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 10:28 am: |     |
We have a 100-plus-year-old tree in the front yard that is partially split down the middle. If it goes down (and it surely could), it could cause some big time damage to two houses.
So for the past week we've been interviewing tree people and asking a lot of questions about how they would take down this huge tree. We don't want damage to the lawn from dropped branches, so we're interested in their specific technique (seems there are several ways to skin a cat).
I've read the archives here and seen the recommendations. Save-a-Tree is a finalist for our job, and Franks seems good also (they'd use a boom crane from the street). We also waiting on Barlett for an estimate.
Can anyone report their recent experiences with any of these three comapnies. I'm especially curoius about Franks, since I haven't seen them mentioned anywhere on here, and they were very impressive at our meeting.
BTW, Save-a-Tree is the most expensive so far, but he would include work on the beautiful 200-year-old Tulip tree in our back yard (minor trimming, replacing an old wire, fertilizer). |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 1875
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 10:42 am: | |
Yoss-
We've removed several old, dangerous trees & work regularly with Sav-a Tree. Our basic rule of thumb is that if it's coming down, make sure they are insured & have references. Then, go with the cheapest. We save the expensive work for trees we are trying to save.
Sav-a-Tree is quite expensive, and we never thought it was worth it. We used Boescher (?) in Millburn. They were half the price & we had no problems. |
Yossarian
Citizen
Username: Yossarian
Post Number: 136
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 10:53 am: | |
green --
Thanks.
That's what I was thinking. I'd like save-a-tree to care for out tulip, but not sure it's worth the additional $1500 for them to take down the dangerous tree in the front yard.
BTW - did save-a-tree drop the limbs or lower them? |
barbara wilhelm
Citizen
Username: Bartist
Post Number: 75
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 10:57 am: | |
give tree king a call. i had 2 huge trees removed in my back yard and 2 trees in the front yard trimmed. there prices are unbeatable. maplewood estimates $5500, tree king $1800. when they left i could not even tell that they were here. my neighbors had a tree removed from their front yard. only a two man crew did the job. i thought that the removal was dangerous and careless. cracked sidewalk and a sloppy cleanup. |
barbara wilhelm
Citizen
Username: Bartist
Post Number: 76
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 11:00 am: | |
give tree king a call. i had 2 huge trees removed in my back yard and 2 trees in the front yard trimmed. there prices are unbeatable. maplewood estimates $5500, tree king $1800. when they left i could not even tell that they were here. my neighbors had a tree removed from their front yard. only a two man crew did the job. i thought that the removal was dangerous and careless. cracked sidewalk and a sloppy cleanup. |
xavier67
Citizen
Username: Xavier67
Post Number: 321
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 11:26 am: | |
"Save-a-Tree is the most expensive so far..."
I'm pretty sure that will change once you get Bartlett's estimate. However, Bartlett is really a professional outfit who does an excellent job. They removed several trees from our backyard w/o a single mark on the grass, driveway, sidewalk, etc. They can't say the same for a couple of other tree removal jobs that my neighbors have done.
On the hand, I agree with Greentree ("...make sure they are insured & have references. Then, go with the cheapest. We save the expensive work for trees we are trying to save.") |
gretchen
Citizen
Username: Gretchen
Post Number: 84
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 12:44 pm: | |
I had Sav-a-Tree take out a tree that was split down the middle a couple of years ago. They did a great job and were only slightly more expensive than the other estimates we got--I think because a bucket truck was needed for the job, which made it more expensive even for the smaller companies. Recently we had a tree taken out and a few trees pruned by Tree Tech. They were great, and much cheaper than Sav-a-Tree's estimate. My philosophy is, if the tree's going to be GONE at the end of the job, it doesn't really matter how they get it out! I don't think anyone just drops enormous limbs from great heights--they all seem to use the same dangling rope technique.
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ffof
Citizen
Username: Ffof
Post Number: 1727
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 1:06 pm: | |
Carlo from Maplewood Tree is always the lowest price - he's good and he's nice and he returns phone calls. |
parkbench87
Citizen
Username: Parkbench87
Post Number: 344
Registered: 7-2001
| | Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 1:14 pm: | |
I had a bad experience with Maplewood Tree. Their customer service and timeliness in finishing the job left a hell of a lot to be desired. I would never use them again |
ffof
Citizen
Username: Ffof
Post Number: 1728
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 1:20 pm: | |
ouch. that's too bad. |
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 799
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 2:24 pm: | |
Maplewood Tree just removed a tree from my house a few weeks ago. They had a whole crew and it took them a full day, but when they left everything was perfect. |
jrbell
Citizen
Username: Jrbell
Post Number: 22
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 3:26 pm: | |
How long should it take between agreeing to have work done and actually getting the trees removed? I got an estimate from Tree King on 11/5 and I selected them, but the 4 trees I want removed are still standing... do they take longer to respond when it is not a critical issue? |
Yossarian
Citizen
Username: Yossarian
Post Number: 138
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 3:37 pm: | |
jrbell --
I think it depends on the company. Our tree is in a precarious state, yet save-a-tree won't be able to remove it until January. Maybe if the tree was not a danger it would take them until February or March. Still, I'm very worried about letting it go another month or so.
But another company we're considering, Franks, said our job would take precedent over the others on their list becuase the tree is so close to coming down on its own. They'll do the job next week if we select them.
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greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 1878
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 4:42 pm: | |
I agree with those who said that everyone seems to lower the larger branches. It's also a matter of timing- if it needs to come down & they can't do it, get someone who can.
Sav-a-Tree does our lawn chemicals (yes, I know what it does to the environment & I made an educated, concious, if perhaps selfish decision, so don't even go there...) but not our tree removal. When they told us that the estimate for removing the tree that died from Dutch Elm would include hand-peeling the bark from the stump (couldn't be ground down due to driveway proximity) and that we could not decline the peeling portion, we went with Boescher. |
marken
Citizen
Username: Marken
Post Number: 82
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 10:07 pm: | |
Bartlett trimmed our large (130 ft tall) poplar in our backyard, plus other assorted trees on our property. They even came back 1x for a some add'l trimming at no charge. They were much cheaper than Tree King, and they were quite careful around the house. If you tell 'em what your concerns are when you get the estimate AND on the day of the job, I'll bet you'll be happy. |
Richard O'Connor
Citizen
Username: Roconn
Post Number: 34
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 9:02 am: | |
Can report on both Sav-A-Tree and Franks.
Sav-A-Tree did a GREAT job in the spring of 2002 on a 200+ Black Oak in my back yard. Left the property neat and clean...cost exactly what they said ... very friendly
In SEPT that tree fell on my house (ugh) and I called Sav-A-Tree again. They said they couldn't do the job (size of tree beyond their means) but recommended Frank's.
FRANKS was also EXCELLENT and due to the emergency situation began work without payment up front -- They got the tree out in 2 days (it had a 6' diametre trunk) and again, property neat clean and orderly when done.
I'd recommend either without hesitation, but sadly (happily) will probably never need either again.
Richard (ROC)
--Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic.--
--AIM: ROConn |
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