# Ok tree removal vs pruning need help!



## Bkell101 (Jun 25, 2018)

Hi all,

Hoping for some suggestions and guidance.

I have two large oaks.

I had three companies give me estimates and reccomendations which has left me confused. All are regarded as reputable in the community.

Company 1: 2500$ prune both
Company 2: 4000$ prune both 
Company 3, option A: 4600$ 
- remove tree A and grind stump 
- prune / cable tree B 
Company 3, option B: 2900
- prune / fertilize tree A (as opposed to removal)
- prune / cable tree B

Company 3 is concerned about the driveway overlay that was redone last year prior to us moving into the house. He says that they likely damaged the roots and tree may or may not come back. How do you really tell? Is the driveway thing accurate? None of the other Guys mentioned this.

Also, how do you tell if a tree needs cables?

Any advice? Such variability!


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

We moved into a new house almost two years ago. The lot clearing tree removal process had damaged the roots on at least four oak trees (that we know of). During the spring/summer, the leaves that did appear turned brown and died on the tree, so it was obvious the roots were damaged and the tree would eventually rot and die. I've cut down one of the trees so far and plan to cut the down the rest this winter.

Are these two large oak trees near a structure? Cables, along with pruning, are basically used to bring a tree into weight distribution balance. If the roots are damaged, it may be enough to shock and kill the tree, sooner or later a top heavy branch will fall down. But … maybe with TLC the tree might be nursed back to a better health condition. If you could only predict the future.


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## Bkell101 (Jun 25, 2018)

Unfortunately the base is probably only 25 ft from the house and the beaches extend over the roof


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## chrisverner (Jul 16, 2018)

Not sure if this helps but I have two large live oaks that were "pruned" for me this spring. They were very overgrown/neglected before we moved in. Insured company....guys up in the trees with chainsaws and safety harnesses. Did excellent work, team of 5, at my house for 6 hours, hauled everything away; even mowed up their remnants so there wasn't a trace. They charged me $400. I am sure there is a large cost difference between TX and OH but surely not 6x-10x! Is one of the trees really unhealthy/dying?


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## Powhatan (Dec 15, 2017)

If the tree leaves currently look healthy compared to other similar oak trees in the area, then a prune might be the minimal only work that is needed. My preference is not to have any limbs over the roof, so those would be the first to go. But if the tree(s) are crowding out the space, then more than just a pruning is probably needed, but that's your call.


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## Mr McTurf (Jun 21, 2018)

chrisverner said:


> Not sure if this helps but I have two large live oaks that were "pruned" for me this spring. They were very overgrown/neglected before we moved in. Insured company....guys up in the trees with chainsaws and safety harnesses. Did excellent work, *team of 5, at my house for 6 hours, hauled everything away;* even mowed up their remnants so there wasn't a trace. They charged me* $400*. I am sure there is a large cost difference between TX and OH but surely not 6x-10x! Is one of the trees really unhealthy/dying?


That's crazy cheap! Not sure how they can make money at that price.


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## Ecks from Tex (Apr 26, 2018)

Bkell101 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Hoping for some suggestions and guidance.
> 
> ...


Large oak trees increase the value of your property by about $10k per tree on average. So if you cut them out, consider the loss in assets to your cost-benefit analysis.


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## Bkell101 (Jun 25, 2018)

Ecks from Tex said:


> Bkell101 said:
> 
> 
> > Hi all,
> ...


So I was told the exact same thing by a pretty savvy guy at work. Why is that?


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## Bkell101 (Jun 25, 2018)

chrisverner said:


> Not sure if this helps but I have two large live oaks that were "pruned" for me this spring. They were very overgrown/neglected before we moved in. Insured company....guys up in the trees with chainsaws and safety harnesses. Did excellent work, team of 5, at my house for 6 hours, hauled everything away; even mowed up their remnants so there wasn't a trace. They charged me $400. I am sure there is a large cost difference between TX and OH but surely not 6x-10x! Is one of the trees really unhealthy/dying?


That just makes me sad


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## Bkell101 (Jun 25, 2018)

Powhatan said:


> If the tree leaves currently look healthy compared to other similar oak trees in the area, then a prune might be the minimal only work that is needed. My preference is not to have any limbs over the roof, so those would be the first to go. But if the tree(s) are crowding out the space, then more than just a pruning is probably needed, but that's your call.


how do you evaluate the health of the tree?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Don't go by any of the companies' advise. Get an arborist. They know their stuff and will give you an advise (prune, cut down) without trying to sell you the service.


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## Ecks from Tex (Apr 26, 2018)

Bkell101 said:


> Ecks from Tex said:
> 
> 
> > Bkell101 said:
> ...


They take hundreds of years to grow. They (oak trees) are present in most wealthy inner-city neighborhoods in my state; some of the wealthiest neighborhoods are even named after the oak tree, such as "River Oaks" (Houston). In established neighborhoods, they give character to the area and attract people with money. It's hard to put a value on the tree, but most realtors will tell you the right trees (such as oaks) increase your home's value substantially - 10k per tree on avg. You couldn't replace a mature oak in your lifetime; maybe your child's lifetime.

I'm definitely not here to tell anyone what to do, but tearing out a hardwood like an oak is basically like pissing 10 grand away. So if I were to ever do it I damn well better have a good reason (such as it's destroying my driveway). I would never do it just to have a better lawn - i'd change the landscaping or get a more shade tolerant grass before I cut the tree, though I routinely prune my trees to help the lawn. To the average home buyer in a good neighborhood, a perfect lawn on a lot with zero trees adds very little value to a house compared to an above average lawn on a lot with well-maintained hardwood trees like the oak. Remember, us lawn obsessed folks are not in the majority.


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## Bkell101 (Jun 25, 2018)

@Ecks from Tex

Makes sense and your insight about the neighborhood is accurate. I live in Hyde park Cincinnati and people pay more to live here because of the charm and beauty. Our street has tons of mature oaks up and down so it makes for a beautiful street. So I totally get it now.

What makes me really confused is the asphalt driveway thing. He says the tree roots are likely damaged because of how asphalt overlay is done. I know nothing about this. Two other tree guys said nothing about this. Does anyone know if the driveway overlay definately ruins the tree roots? Maybe we just prune and fertilize to bring it back?


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## Ecks from Tex (Apr 26, 2018)

Bkell101 said:


> @Ecks from Tex
> 
> Makes sense and your insight about the neighborhood is accurate. I live in Hyde park Cincinnati and people pay more to live here because of the charm and beauty. Our street has tons of mature oaks up and down so it makes for a beautiful street. So I totally get it now.
> 
> What makes me really confused is the asphalt driveway thing. He says the tree roots are likely damaged because of how asphalt overlay is done. I know nothing about this. Two other tree guys said nothing about this. Does anyone know if the driveway overlay definately ruins the tree roots? Maybe we just prune and fertilize to bring it back?


A surface structure like a driveway can harm the tree roots it covers, but it is absurd for anyone to affirmatively say the tree is going to die without seeing any visible signs of harm or disease. Whoever told you that is taking out his ***.

I have found pruning oaks can really open the canopy and still allow you to keep the tree without losing the grass underneath


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## jmatthias (Jul 23, 2018)

Dang that tree removal is expensive. I got a quote today from a well known company in our area. 900 bucks to cut down and stump grind my pecan teee.


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## Darrell (Mar 22, 2018)

Have you had a licensed arborist take a look?


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## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

The main headache the driveway could cause is diverting water away from those roots. But if the tree is looking good than it probably IS good.

As many know I moved recently to a place that had been neglected especially the trees. Among the trees are about five huge oaks. We had a great company come out. They were here with eight guys for three full days. They put mats down ahead of their cherry picker trucks (which they brough out two ) and also two ginormous big engined chippers.

They charged about 6 to 7 hundred dollars each to remove trees and an extry 100 or so to stump grind. They included as part of their quotation a copy of their insurance certificate.

At my old house I once made a deal with a couple of country boys who came by looking for work and it was one of the best deals I ever made. But risky from an insurance liability standpoint. And I think I was very lucky that they wanted to do a good job.

One thing I would mention. I look at pix of your house and feel at home because we have several neighborhoods here in St.Louis cut from exactly the same cloth. Since your house was built before WWII they probably did not chisel on the roofing materials. Consequently if a tree did drop a branch (which yes you definitely want to prevent that) probably there would be no injuries inside the house. It also depends on the size of the tree.

In the case of my new place one of the oak trees , a truly ginormous leviathan is right next to a large addition made to the house. This addition used frame construction. I asked them to trim it a little agressively to make sure it doesn't crush us in our sleep during a night storm. That same tree has been living with a concrete patio that invades its drip line and has not seemed to bother it at all. There is an area of lawn between the house and the patio where only weeds are growing right now. But the tree seems perfectly healthy. The addition and patio were done in 1997.

The oaks are now trimmed and look completely magnificent. I would agree with @Ecks from Tex that he is guessing about the future. You may save a little by having it all done at once but having mature oaks is nice and you can't buy them. With a house like you have what I would recommend is to have them trim carefully. I don't know about cabling. Probably won't hurt.

As you get older and own more houses you learn what trees are junk trees. I am going to start a thread on that topic.

I only learned about cabling trees after I moved here. There is a thing called Neighborhood.com or something I joined and someone posted about having a safety cable added to a 70,000 lb tree. Apparently they used titanium cables too. I would like to see that bill.

I would say go with the prune and fertilize both. My tree company charged more to trim than to remove even though they used the cherry picker on both. They have to be more careful trimming. I had them remove a Walnut , a huge silver maple that turned out to be so hollow you could have made a dugout canoe out of it and a 100 foor tall sweet gum which I was loathe to do but did. My final bill quoted beforehand was $8400. They cleaned up very well.


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## Stellar P (Apr 13, 2018)

gene_stl said:


> As you get older and own more houses you learn what trees are junk trees. I am going to start a thread on that topic.


@gene_stl +1 for the junk tree thread.

I work with a guy who has a forestry degree and he's my go to if I've got a tree question. Recently he ID'd a Sugarberry tree I've got growing on my property. He told me that it is a junk tree that'll pop up on fence lines. Bird eats fruit. Bird sits on fence line and ponders life. Bird s#!ts. Fertilized seed grows and the circle of life continues.


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## JDgreen18 (Jun 14, 2018)

Damn 10k a tree I lost about 200k then.....when I moved in there were so many damn oak trees on my property. I have large oak trees all around me 2 sides of my property are against woods. I'm down to about 8 or 9 oak trees now and I want to get rid of a few more. They make a mess the leaves last forever...I have leaves from oak that are over 10 years old and they still aren't broken down yet. They dont even have nice foliage. In the spring they drop white seeds and brown catkins, not to mention acorns. They also tend to drop thier leaves very late so I'm usually doing fall clean up still past Thanksgiving....Having a few for shade is ok but I hate them.


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## maliik (1 mo ago)

Once I was traveling on a bus when a man sitting near me told me about oak trees that provide shade and store carbon dioxide and release oxygen which improves air quality. I was very inspired by him then I started research about trees care service Tree Service | Tree Experts in Columbia, SC - Sox and Freeman because this is very important for us.


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