Tree Removal Cost?

[irc]

There was a couple of guys clearing a garden along the street. So I asked them for a ballpark figure to take down and remove a birch tree in my garden. Around 30-35ft high. Trunk just over 1 ft diameter. First price was £1500. When I made it clear I thought that was excessive. £750.

I told them I would need to get other quotes. I'll probably take it down myself and take it to the dump in as many carloads as it takes. My estate takes loads up to 3m long inside.

I would have thought two guys, half a day, no more than £3-400 but as I have never used tree surgeons before I have no idea. Seems it's expensive enough it's worth the hassle of doing it myself.

[LooneyTunes]

irc said:

There was a couple of guys clearing a garden along the street. So I asked them for a ballpark figure to take down and remove a birch tree in my garden. Around 30-35ft high. Trunk just over 1 ft diameter. First price was £1500. When I made it clear I thought that was excessive. £750.

I told them I would need to get other quotes. I'll probably take it down myself and take it to the dump in as many carloads as it takes. My estate takes loads up to 3m long inside.

I would have thought two guys, half a day, no more than £3-400 but as I have never used tree surgeons before I have no idea. Seems it's expensive enough it's worth the hassle of doing it myself.

Tree surgeons are unlikely to do you a half day unless you use them regularly and are sufficiently flexible around timing that they can fill the other half.

A 30-35ft tree isn't the most straightforward to take down, even at a 30cm diameter. Doing it from the ground will almost certainly be a bit sketchy.

The pros would probably climb and take it down in sections (and deal with the brash for you).

Anyone who halves their price immediately loses all credibility, so worth shopping around but the £750 doesn't sound outrageous.

[irc]

I would also use ladders and cut it down bit by bit. I used to rock climb so I am happy at heights and can rig up a safety line if I think it warranted.

The tree is also far enough from the house that branches damaging anything as they fall is not an issue. A couple of years ago I lopped off a couple of the higher limbs but I think the tree is now past it's best.

I am also happy to leave the stump in the ground around 6 feet. I did this with a similar tree in the back garden years ago and it eventually rotted. I'll stick a bird table on top meantime.

[rossub]

Sounds like a piece of piss if you have the time and tools, but maybe wait until winter when all the leaves have gone.

Anyone nearby with a wood burner? Would save taking to the dump.

[robinh73]

Without seeing the tree I would say £400ish. Things beneath the tree, power/phone lines all, ease of access etc all need to be considered, but from the description it would be a morning for 3 guys and then another job in the afternoon.

[Baileykipper]

I’ve had a couple of quotes in the past few weeks to take down a similar sized birch, range was between £300 and £400 for complete removal and disposal of all waste.

[OutInTheShed]

I wouldn't use random garden blokes to take down trees.
Either DIY or get a proper tree surgeon.

What's a fair price can depend a lot on the complications, like is it near power lines, is access difficult, does he need to notify council because you're in a conservation area, how difficult will clean-up be, does it need to come down in little bits due to what's under it etc etc.

If you just want it felled that can be very cheap, then a firewood merchant can chop it up and take it away.
Dismantling it and cutting it up and clearing up without damaging whatever is underneath takes time.
It's work for two blokes, for half a day, anything under £500 is good, bearing in mind they have the overhead of turning up to quote for work that they don't get.

A 35ft tree can be easy to DIY.
Use a scaffold tower or platform and long reach tools to work from the top down.
Somebody will give you beer money for the logs.
Equally in an awkward location, getting a good tradesman is sensible and fair value.

[lizardbrain]

I got ripped off my door knockers, first time around. Unlikely to end well

I found a proper tree surgeon who charged 200 an hour and had 3 lads. Was happy to do just an hour

Sounds like a 3-4 hour job so 750 sounds reasonable, IF they are experienced pros

[AlexC1981]

I had quotes for a rotten maple taken down. Around 60cm trunk with big branches going over the fence line. I had quotes of £1500+VAT, £1000, and £750 (no VAT due). The £750 included reducing the canopy of a couple of other trees too, so I went with them. They took all the debris away, but didn't take out the stump.

[Road2Ruin]

I had 32 fir trees removed a few years ago, some 40ft high. £900, done in two days, by two guys. I kept the wood, though.

[BertyFish]

Managed to take this down myself at the start of the year, borrowed the kit of a friend.
The trunk was about 60cm, hard work it had some nasty roots.
Took around 2 weeks plodding at it, tried to burn the stump with no luck, it’s very heavy 100cm ball stuck up the top of the garden now.
Have another further up to do next year.

Edited by BertyFish on Saturday 5th July 12:59

[irc]

The tree concerned. No access issues or risk to house coming down.

[The Gauge]

I took this Scots pine tree down myself earlier this year, with help from a friend..






we built a scaffold tower around it to make access easy and started from the top, cutting it down in sections..

[trickywoo]

That’s not big enough to pay a premium to a proper tree guy to take it down.

Before the pic I was thinking £750 sounded ok.

In the south east you basically have to beg tree surgeons to do work for you. I had a guy in for a day in November last year. Just him £900.

I did ok too as the best alternative quote I had for the same work was £1,500 and a few outfits were over £2k.