What to expect when removing a tree in tight quarters

If you’ve got a big tree in a small yard or crowded space, there’s a few extra things to consider when having it removed. ​

If you’ve got a big tree in a small yard or crowded space, there’s a few extra things to consider when having it removed. Yes, the removal is more dangerous and risky. Yes, there is more work involved. Yes, the removal will cost more than a similar tree in a more open area.

        Danger
We wouldn’t do this job if we didn’t like the thrill of big heights and the crash of big trees dropping. But when it comes to life, limb, livelihood, and your property, there’s no room for playing around. There’s always a way to get a tree on the ground safely. When we take a job, we’re guaranteeing it---with our lives, and with our business.
Sure, if we were to drop a tree on somebody’s house, insurance would cover it. But they wouldn’t cover us ever again, and we can’t operate without insurance. The fact that we’re in business at all tells you our record is clean.

         Work
With everything on the line, you can bet we take all the precautions we can. Tight quarter drops are rarely straightforward. They require extra climbing, extra cutting, and extra equipment. Additionally, the extra work is more dangerous than usual.

        Cost 
The risk and the work both add to the cost of a removal job. If it costs the same price to remove a risky tree vs a relatively safe, there’s no incentive for us to touch the risky job. That’s part of why it costs more. To deal with the risk, we’re doing extra work, too. Here are a few factors that will affect the cost of tree removal:
--height of the tree
---width of the tree
---lean of the tree
---number and size of branches
---number of cuts required to safely remove the tree
---size of the drop zone
---access to the tree
Let’s put all that in perspective. The ideal job is an easy, safe removal --- one we can walk right up to with a saw, do a single basic cut, and let it fall where it naturally wants to fall, without the risk of it crushing something.

This is rarely the case, though. A typical job is somewhere between there and the worst case scenario, which is an extra tall and extra thick tree, in a crowded space, that has to be dropped in a specific direction, into a tight drop zone. To make it even harder, lets say this monster of a tree is leaning directly towards the house we’re trying to avoid, which makes it want to fall that way. While we’re a tit, let’s also imagine the tree is covered in ivy or branches, which have to be removed for climbing
On a job like this, we’d have to ask our cutters to strap on the climbing gear and haul a saw up the tree. On the way up, they’ve got to de-limb. We might have to tie off the logs as we cut them down, to control the fall. We might even have to set up a block-and-tackle system to lower them down, which adds time to every single cut.
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 Tight quarter drops are everything we love about tree work --- challenging, fun, and with an element of danger. To ensure we can do this tree service right, and continue to do it, we charge enough to cover all of the cost factors above. So expect it to cost more than a wide open, low risk removal. But always expect to get through a removal with Snohomish Tree with you and your property in one piece.
To get an estimate on a tree removal, click here to fill out an estimate form.