Tree lopping costs

[ella]

Hi there

I've got to get a large pine tree removed from the garden of my IP. The property manager got a quote from a tree lopper for $500 which included poisoning, 'bringing down to ground level' and removal of all rubbish.

I have no idea about the cost of this sort of thing - does that sound reasonable to anyone? This is in a small country town so there's probably not much competition. I have no reason to think it's not OK - just wondered if anyone had any experience here!

tks
ella

 

[bundy1964]

Hi Ella

We had a gum tree removed years ago for a similar price, with the option of $50 extra to make sure nothing fell on the fence or clothsline. We went standard and he did manage to miss both

From memory stump removal was $500 as well, we left it at table top hieght which the local white ants fell in love with

bundy

 

[Bill.L]

Hi all,

Ella, I have worked with a friend who is a fully qualified tree surgeon. When you say "a large pine tree", this could be any of a number of things.

To make an accurate assesment, things like the height,girth and amount of branches are relevant. So to is access, what the tree is hanging over, distance to nearest infrastructure(buildings) etc etc.

Apart from all this though $500 does seem very reasonable given that my friend has had some jobs for single trees that cost $5000 That is because they were large eucalypts with 8 foot diameters, on steep slopes, overhanging expensive houses. They needed cranes and travel towers for the job!
If you have any further questions don't hesitate to ask.


bye

 

[geoffw]

I have recently had a tree lopping.

It did involve a council approval- so please make sure thta if you are in any council approval area, you get approval.

The initial problem for my tree was a large overhanging branck (overhanging to street).

I hired a chainsaw. and cut off the offending limb.

But the chainsaw stuffed up as soon as the branch was down. So I had a frntic time trying to cut branches from the branch which had fallen over the street.

In the end, I needed tree surgeons anyway.

The cost was about $330, for removing the less important limbs.

The branch I cut down did have a reasonable amount of firewoodfor a friend. Bur the tree surgeons did take away their own wood. I suspect they may have their own small income from selling wood- best of luck to them.

 

[Sunstone]

Dear Ella,

Agree with the other guys that $500 is not unreasonable. My last one cost $418.

Something worth checking is whether they can also grind the stump for you.

Cheers,

Sunstone.

 

[Michael Yardney]

We've had a few trees loppd this week and as the others have told you this fee sounds fair

 

[ella]

Thanks for the responses everyone. And thanks for the suggestion about 'grinding' the tree-stump. Not quite clear what this does - does it remove the tree-stump? I am a little worried about white-ants so would like to do anything to reduce the risk ...

thanks again ...

 

[Sunstone]

Dear Ella,

And thanks for the suggestion about 'grinding' the tree-stump. Not quite clear what this does - does it remove the tree-stump?

STUMP GRINDING

Stump Grinding is the best choice for removing stumps. When compared to stump removal using earth moving equipment it is:

Generally more economical.
More precise, hence less chance of damage to surrounding property, fences, walls etc.
More versatile - being able to reach corners and back yards that can't be accessed by the larger earth-moving equipment. Large and small machines available.

http://www.aussietrees.com.au/products.php

Some pictures:

http://home.iprimus.com.au/treelopping/stumpgrinding.htm


Some possible reasons for stump grinding/removal:

-Removal of potential host site for termites.
-Better cosmetically.
-Allows something else to be done with the section of land.
-Removal of a "tripping hazard" or something that could potentially damage lawnmower blades.

Again it is not critical, just something that could be worthwhile for you to consider and would be more cost effective if done at the same time.

Cheers,

Sunstone.

 

[dadevelopments]

These do sound a bit expensive to me - I have had a gum tree with 1m wide trunk and about as big as they get for $1500.

 

[theperthurbanist]

Dear Ella,

STUMP GRINDING

Stump Grinding is the best choice for removing stumps. When compared to stump removal using earth moving equipment it is:

Generally more economical.
More precise, hence less chance of damage to surrounding property, fences, walls etc.
More versatile - being able to reach corners and back yards that can't be accessed by the larger earth-moving equipment. Large and small machines available.

http://www.aussietrees.com.au/products.php

Some pictures:

http://home.iprimus.com.au/treelopping/stumpgrinding.htm


Some possible reasons for stump grinding/removal:

-Removal of potential host site for termites.
-Better cosmetically.
-Allows something else to be done with the section of land.
-Removal of a "tripping hazard" or something that could potentially damage lawnmower blades.

Again it is not critical, just something that could be worthwhile for you to consider and would be more cost effective if done at the same time.

Cheers,

Sunstone.

Sunstone, I'm tossing up between tree removal (bobcat) and stump grinding as part of site clearing for a development, but was under the impression that stump grinding would be unsuitable for areas within the new building footprint as some roots etc would remain and decompose over time causing subsidence? Thoughts?

p.s. sorry for taking the tread a bit off-topic!

 

[Scott No Mates]

Grub it out with a bobcat/excavator - why bother getting it ground down?

 

[skippyz]

We got our massive tree in a back yard with agressive roots removed last year and it costed around $700. I got a few quotes from different tree service and they were all different. One wanted to use a cherry picking vehicle to avoid power line running near that tree, they quoted like a few thousand dollars - of course we didn't hire that service.

We got council approval which cost around $50 from my memory...(City of Sydney)

 

[BeYourOwnAgent]

It sounds about right - I'm basing this on costs in Canberra - but state shouldn't change the costings too much.

 

[arriety]

I've had to pay for an arborist to checkout a 'significant' tree and certify that it was not only well and truly dead but was not a home for native animals. Even though this huge gum was leaning dangeroursly over the corner of the house where my tenants children's bedrooms are situated!

Council didn't care that a storm could topple the tree, they only cared that it might have some active nests in it. I love native animals myself but please..... I think all up it cost us $2500 to cut down this gum. Normally I pay about $1000 for the larger trees.