Tree felling and stump removal
And nothing flattened on the way down
Felling in sections where there’s no room to drop the tree whole, green waste removal and stump removal. Written quote within 24 hours.
- We check whether it really needs felling before we quote
- Green waste removal included and stated in writing
- The stump priced separately, and explained
Send us a photo of the tree
One of the whole tree and another of what’s around it give us a pretty good idea.
What’s included
Four jobs sold as one
“Taking a tree out” is really four different things, and the one that causes the most arguments is the last, because hardly anyone has it in mind when they ask for a price.
Look before touching
Half an hour in front of the tree decides everything else. Sometimes the conclusion is that it doesn’t need felling, just a lighter crown or clearing what’s underneath it. And sometimes it’s that it’s urgent.
Sectional dismantling
We climb the tree itself or work from a platform, cut it into manageable sections and lower them on ropes. It’s slower than felling it whole, and it’s the only option when there’s something underneath.
Waste taken away
A medium-sized tree produces far more volume than it seems to while it’s standing. What can be chipped is chipped, the rest is taken away, and that’s stated in the quote from the start.
Stump removal
The stump grinder chews the stump away below ground level and leaves a hole full of chippings that gets filled in. It’s a different job, with a different machine, and it can’t always be done.
How it’s really done
Here a tree hardly ever comes down in one piece
The picture everyone has is the cut at the base, the crack and the tree going over. For that you need a clear felling zone at least as long as the tree is tall, and on a built-up plot on this coast that almost never exists: there’s a pool, glazing, a retaining wall, the villa next door or a power line running overhead.
So it’s done the other way round. We climb the tree itself or work from a platform, cut it from the top into pieces that can be handled, and each piece is lowered to the ground on a rope, under control. It’s several times slower, and that’s why the quote looks nothing like the one people imagine.
That leads to the practical point worth being clear on before you ask for a price: what matters isn’t how tall the tree is, but what’s underneath it and how you get in. A big pine next to a track the lorry can drive up works out cheaper than a medium-sized one in an inner courtyard, where the pieces have to be carried out by hand.
And it’s the same with the stump. The stump grinder is a machine that has to be brought right up to it, and if the only way in is a flight of steps or an eighty-centimetre doorway, it won’t get there. When that happens we say so before anything is signed, because the alternative — breaking it out by hand or leaving it — changes the price and the result. What each option involves is covered in removing the stump or leaving it.
Let’s talk about price
It can’t be priced over the phone, this least of all
With maintenance you can estimate by area. Not here: the same tree can cost three times as much depending on what’s three metres away from it.
- What’s underneath. A pool, glazing, a roof, cars or a power line mean every piece has to be lowered under control. It’s the factor that multiplies the cost most.
- How you get in. Whether the lorry can get to the foot of the tree, or everything has to be carried out by hand along a passage, makes them two different jobs with the same name.
- How much volume comes out. The waste from a standing tree takes up far more room than it seems. It can be chipped on site or loaded up and taken away, and the cost isn’t the same.
- The stump. Its diameter, how deep it has to be taken down and, above all, whether the stump grinder can get to it. It always goes on the quote as a separate line.
We come, look at it and send you the price in writing, with the felling, the waste removal and the stump kept separate, so it can be compared line by line. We explain why that matters in gardening prices.
Where we work
Access varies a lot from one town to another
A hillside urbanisation with narrow roads and a flat plot in the valley have nothing in common. Each page covers what changes there.
Before you decide
How to tell if it’s urgent
Almost everything you need to check can be checked from the ground, without tools. We cover it all.
The stump: remove it, leave it, and why palms are different
Felling is only half the job. What’s left in the ground decides whether that bit of garden is any use again, and with a palm the rules are turned upside down.
Read itHow to tell if a tree is dangerous before the first storm
The first storm hits and people always say the same thing: “but it looked perfect”. It looked green, which isn’t the same, and the signs had been there for months.
Read it
Common questions
What people ask us most
Do I need a permit to fell a tree on my plot?
Often, yes, and it depends on the municipality and the species: some town halls require authorisation for any tree above a certain size, and with protected species the answer is that it isn’t touched. We don’t take either for granted: the relevant town hall is consulted before anything is cut, because the person answerable for felling without a permit is the owner.
Does the stump really have to come out?
No. Leaving it is a separate decision, and a legitimate one. What’s worth knowing is what it means: if the species resprouts, suckers will come up year after year; if there’s going to be lawn or paving on top, the stump rots slowly and the ground ends up sinking right there; and if you want to plant another tree in the same spot, the stump is taking up the space. If none of those three apply, leaving it is perfectly reasonable.
How long does it take?
Access decides it, not height. A big tree on a plot the lorry can drive into can be a morning’s work, and a smaller one on a terrace, where the equipment has to be carried up by hand and the waste brought down in buckets, can take twice as long. That’s why the time is given after we’ve seen it, not over the phone.
What if the tree is on the boundary or in a communal area?
Then the conversation starts before the technical part. A tree on a boundary affects two properties, and one in a communal area belongs to the community, not to the neighbour who has it in front of their window, even if they’re the one calling. We work with whoever has the authority to commission the job, and if that means waiting for a general meeting, we wait. How we work with owners’ communities.
Show it to us before you decide
Sometimes the answer is that it doesn’t need felling. When it does, we tell you in writing what’s included and what isn’t, with the stump on a line of its own.