Dangerous tree removal, before the snow
Snow and ice load every branch over your roof, and the weak ones give way in the first heavy storm of the winter. We find the tree or limb that will fail, take it down on rope in sections, and leave the yard clean, so it comes down on our schedule and not onto the house.
What makes a tree dangerous in winter
A healthy limb bends under snow and springs back. A limb with a crack, a hollow, or dead wood in it just snaps, and wet snow or a coat of ice adds weight right where the branch is weakest. The trees that fail in January were usually showing it in October, which is why fall is the time to look.
The ones we are called out to most often:
- Dead and dying ash. Emerald ash borer killed most of the ash trees in central Ohio, and dead ash turns brittle fast. Big limbs drop with no wind at all.
- Split forks. Two trunks growing from one point with bark pinched between them. Once the seam opens, every storm pries it wider.
- Bradford pears and silver maples. Fast growers with weak wood and tight forks, and the first trees to break up in an ice storm. More on Bradford pears.
- Leaning trees with lifting soil. A lean that is new, or a mound of soil rising on the side away from the lean, means the roots are letting go.
- Limbs over the roof. A sound limb is fine. A long, heavy one over a bedroom is worth a second look before the snow lands on it.
Why winter is a good time to take it down
With the leaves off we can see every crack and dead branch from the ground, so the assessment is more accurate and the price is firmer. Frozen ground carries the bucket truck and the chipper across the lawn with far less rutting than soft spring soil. And the tree is gone before the storms that would have decided the timing for you.
How the work runs
- A free look, with you there or not We walk around the tree, check the trunk, the forks and the root plate, and tell you plainly whether it is a danger or just looks like one.
- Options and a written price Sometimes the answer is one bad limb, a crown reduction, or cabling a weak fork, not the whole tree. When it has to come down, you get the price in writing first.
- Taken down in sections over the house Every piece over a roof, fence or power line is roped and lowered, not dropped. The stump is ground below grade.
- The yard is put back Brush chipped, wood stacked or hauled, driveway blown off.
Over roofs and garages, piece by piece
From the crew’s phones: a climber working above a neighboring roof and a garage in October, and a trunk lowered in sections from the bucket in September.
What people ask about dangerous trees
Will my homeowner’s insurance pay to remove a dangerous tree?
Not while it is standing, however obviously it is going to fall. Cover generally starts when a tree damages a structure, which is the outcome you are trying to avoid. Taking it down first is almost always cheaper than the deductible.
Can you take a tree down in the snow?
Yes. Cold and frozen ground are fine, and often better for the lawn. We hold off during ice or high wind, when climbing and rigging are not safe, and reschedule with you.
How can I tell if a tree is dangerous from the ground?
Look for dead branches with no buds or bark falling off, cracks or a seam between two trunks, mushrooms or soft wood at the base, and a lean that is new. Any of those over the house is worth a free look.
What if the tree is my neighbor’s?
We can look at it with you from your side and tell you what we see. If it needs work, it is usually easiest when we talk to your neighbor before anything is booked.
A limb is already hanging or down. What now?
Call rather than book, and keep people and cars out from under it. See emergency tree service.
More to do while the leaves are down
Have it looked at before the first storm
Pick a window that suits you. We tell you whether it is a danger, what it would cost, and what we would do instead if it does not have to come down.