the Price of Tree Removal

We had a number of trees removed on approximately 2.5 heavily wooded acres. The underlying reason was for fuel reduction (forest fire protection) but this work was also contracted for aesthetic reasons. Two double loads of logs were removed at the end of the project. Smaller trees and branches were shredded and spread over the landscape as mulch.

Trees ( mostly fir and larch with some pine)were thinned to an average of 25 feet apart leaving mostly larger, healthy trees. All dead, diseased, or poorly formed trees were removed.

Nearly two-thirds of the total cost, about $2,000 was for operation of heavy equipment. An excavator was used for the bulk of tree removal and shredding of branches. The cost was $105/hr for 13 hours. A bulldozer for clean-up cost $500 for 5 hours. An additional $300 was charged for heavy equipment transportation. In this case the equipment was transported less than ten miles.

At the end of the clearing operation 9 trees (average height 50 to 60 feet) were cleared of dead, broken or unsightly (mistletoe) branches. This required climbing the individual trees at a cost of $25 per tree. Miscellaneous clean up work including rental of a small Bobcat totaled $500.

It was agreed at the start of the project that the cost of log removal would be offset by donation of the logs to the contractor. About one-half or one double truck load of the logs were large enough to be processed by a lumber mill while the smaller logs were accepted by a local sawmill.

The contractor was local and known by us which may have contributed to what we regarded as a very fair price. The final bill was less than ten percent over the original estimate. This cost overrun was primarily due to the tree pruning which we requested after the bulk of the work was done.

Prior to the start of the project we walked through the property with the contractor and the details of what we wanted done were understood and followed. It is very important to reach an agreement and understanding before work is started.

The service was really exceptional.. We had an on-going dialog with the contractor during the course of the work beng done, and were kept informed as to how the project was progressing in terms of cost. This gave us an option to decide what should or should not be done.

The contractor did an excellent job of clean-up. A number of large stumps, too green to be burned, were hauled away along with a number of large boulders. The result was a clean, park-like setting.

Prior to the start of the project we walked through the property with the contractor and the details of what we wanted done were understood and followed. It is very important to reach an agreement and understanding before work is started.

You may save by selecting a contractor who owns his own heavy equipment rather than renting it. We found this to be the case on a previous project. Also if the equipment is contractor owned there is less chance of delay due to unavailability of the equipment.

It seems a good idea to choose a local contractor, a near neighbor if possible. You really are apt to get more personalized service and neighbors can attest to the ability and integrety of the contractor as was the case here.