Tree Removal Question??

[jkjoshuatree]

We have to get rid of 10 trees on our property, at $2000 a tree (yikes!!).

The other day I was flipping through a magazine that advertised building their log homes with "dead standing trees", which is what ours are.

So, does anyone know of a tree removal business that would want our dead standing trees?

I know it's a long shot but I figured if anyone knew it would be someone on this site. Anything to save us some money would certainly help.

Thanks in advance!

[SAMIAM]

We used Chippers to remove 6 dead hemlocks........$1,800.00..........Two large 60' to 80' tall and the rest a little smaller.When they left,there was no evidence that work had been done.I would get several estimates.....2k per tree seems very excessive unless they are all over your house or in a place that can't be reached by a crane.

[Seeker]

I assume this is in Mass., correct me if I am wrong. That seems a ridiculous amount as we have had a number taken down here for a fraction of that. Be aware that you cannot cotract a NH contractor to take the trees down if he intends to dispose of them in NH. My best advice would be to call as many tree services as possible to get estimates from. Those with the best equipment charge the most money but get the job done quickly and safely.

I had 3 70+' pines taken down for $700 a few years back. If yours are hardwood you should get it done for zip.

[Belmont Resident]

I'm assuming this is on Bear Island.
You have to get the men & equipment out there as well as disposing of all the material. Barging it back is a huge expense especially if a crane is needed.
As a contractor who does island work it is significantly more expensive to have work done on an island compared to the mainland. The logistics alone not to mention transportation costs which can be quite expensive depending on the distance traveled.
If it’s not for Bear Island why would you post on this web site for a job in Mass.?

[NoBozo]

Just for reference: There is a Tree Service in RI that advertises on the radio. They have Two ADs. One AD for EXPERT Tree and Stump removal...and another add for Firewood For Sale. $200/Cord. NB

[ishoot308]

Joshua;

I recently had two trees taken down at my Island camp for $500.00 per tree by Courtney Kelly of Arbortech. (Two very large pines) Wood was cut and stacked nicely but not removed. When cleanup was done you would never know anyone was there.

$2000.00 per tree seems rather high!

Dan

[jkjoshuatree]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

We used Chippers to remove 6 dead hemlocks........$1,800.00..........Two large 60' to 80' tall and the rest a little smaller.When they left,there was no evidence that work had been done.I would get several estimates.....2k per tree seems very excessive unless they are all over your house or in a place that can't be reached by a crane.

We are on Bear Island (hence the cost). But I will call around to as many places as possible. I saw Chippers online today.

Thank you all for your help!

[jkjoshuatree]

Originally Posted by Seeker

I assume this is in Mass., correct me if I am wrong. That seems a ridiculous amount as we have had a number taken down here for a fraction of that. Be aware that you cannot cotract a NH contractor to take the trees down if he intends to dispose of them in NH. My best advice would be to call as many tree services as possible to get estimates from. Those with the best equipment charge the most money but get the job done quickly and safely.

I had 3 70+' pines taken down for $700 a few years back. If yours are hardwood you should get it done for zip.

They're all pine trees. All over 100 feet tall. Are you saying they'll take them for free?

[Resident 2B]

Originally Posted by jkjoshuatree

They're all pine trees. All over 100 feet tall. Are you saying they'll take them for free?

Pine is a softwood, so it has no real value as firewood. Disposal in your case is a major part of the cost, but I agree, your quote seems high.

R2B

[AC2717]

Definate Second for Court Kelly

[ACutAbove]

I have done treework out on Bear island. And there are additional expences involved with getting out there to do the work, but 2000 a tree wow..I wish I could get those kind of prices.
I do not know of anyone around the area that would do the job for just the wood, and if you did find someone to do that I would be very skeptical about it.
If you want I could come out and check it out. I have my own boat to get out there. Just let me know...Ken

[Belmont Resident]

Where are you on Bear? I've done work over in the cove by marker #29 and just finishing up a job in the cove behind Penny Island.

[eillac@dow]

Another vote for Courtney.....he has done work for us before and he is scheduled to come to our place again.....today in fact!

[SAMIAM]

Just to be safe, you'll probably want to make sure you comply with the Shoreline Protection Act.........you can bet your neighbors will.

[SteveA]

See this post. Court took care of a real problem tree for me.

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...ead.php?t=7584

[jkjoshuatree]

Originally Posted by Belmont Resident

Where are you on Bear? I've done work over in the cove by marker #29 and just finishing up a job in the cove behind Penny Island.

We're on West Bear, across from Shep Browns.

[jrc]

One time I cleared land for a pool, and the guy wanted the hardwood and not the pines. Ten years later I cleared land for a house, the guy wanted all the big pines for a lumber mill, he didn't want and left the hardwood. I think it depends on the market.

What about waiting until ice? Would that make things cheaper?

[GoSnow]

Courtney has come out to my place on Rattlesnake Island & several neighbors. Everyone was very happy with his work!

[jkjoshuatree]

Originally Posted by ACutAbove

I have done treework out on Bear island. And there are additional expences involved with getting out there to do the work, but 2000 a tree wow..I wish I could get those kind of prices.
I do not know of anyone around the area that would do the job for just the wood, and if you did find someone to do that I would be very skeptical about it.
If you want I could come out and check it out. I have my own boat to get out there. Just let me know...Ken

I just talked to my dad and he said it's going to be $10,000 for 8 100 foot white pine trees.

Is that still excessive in everyone's opinion?

So it's not $2000 a tree. It's about $1200. Too high?

[dpg]

That's more like it in my opinion being on an island. That cost includes hauling everything away I assume?

[jmen24]

JK, one thing to ask of who ever takes your trees, is that they give you credit for the timber value of the pine. Not every tree is a good lumber log, but even pulp wood trees have some value.

Being on an island changes things, but I had 23 trees taken down on my property this spring. Mostly pine with some hardwood. The hardwood was left on the ground, the pines were taken away and all branches chipped and stumps ground. The total cost was $2200 after the credit for timber value and every tree was craned over my house (with an 80 ton crane) and set down in the driveway. Sizes from 6" to 20" pines and hardwood. The credit for timber value was about $700 and they filled a log truck with the pines and chipped anything under 10".

[jkjoshuatree]

dpg...that [I]does[I]include removal.

jmen24...thanks for the tip. That may save us some money!!

[LIforrelaxin]

Even at 1200$ a tree I would do some calling around.... A Cut Above has already mentioned he would be willing to come take a look. And other have mentioned Arbor Tech...... I am not a huge fan of Chippers although they do a good job, they are just to dam expensive and what to use bucket trucks for everything...(I had an argument with them about this, because they wanted to put one where I told them they couldn't)....

As for worrying about getting credit, my experience is that sometimes this pays off sometimes it doesn't... I personally don't worry about it to much.... unless it is hardwood and I know the guy is in the firewood business.... Also you have mentioned that this is dead wood standing not knowing the condition of the trees until they fall its not worth try to figure this in...

Last, Someone mentioned the Shoreline Protection act.... Taking 10 100' trees down, is definitely going to be noticed, I would make sure your in compliance, and make the sawyer responsible for the permitting... It may raise your costs, but eliminates your headaches... and make sure it is written that way into the contract.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by jkjoshuatree

dpg...that [I]does[I]include removal.

jmen24...thanks for the tip. That may save us some money!!

Seems to me that if you have to make mention of this to your tree removal guy, you have the wrong guy doing it in the first place...

Dan

[jmen24]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Seems to me that if you have to make mention of this to your tree removal guy, you have the wrong guy doing it in the first place...

Dan

Correct.

But the way each company handles this is different and that is the important talking point. Two of the three that quoted for me would handle all the removal and sale (I, knowing that a cost was going to be deducted for that service) and the third was going to leave me a truck load of pine to find a buyer for. Not one of them wanted any of the hardwood.

Who knows, the trees could be garbage and that is why it was not mentioned.

As to cost, if the trees are actually dead, that will increase the cost considerably as they are a real hazard to work around. Not knowing if a twenty foot section is going to snap off.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by jkjoshuatree

We are on Bear Island (hence the cost). But I will call around to as many places as possible. I saw Chippers online today.

I am having trouble keeping this thread up on my screen; however, by punching "stop", I can reply using a post from the middle of the thread. Since I can't read the thread to its ending, I suppose nobody else would ever have previously posted this same opinion anyway, so I'll just go ahead and start.

As I have a half-dozen trees on my lot that are dead, I would suggest leaving the dead trees standing—if you have the room.

Dead trees bring much to the lives of New Hampshire's birds and amphibians. (Housing and food come to mind.) Fallen trees help to build up soil that would normally run into the lake, adding unneeded nutrients.

I have a birdfeeder that White-Breasted Nuthatches visit. They'll take sunflower seeds and carefully drive them into the dead tissue of the dead trees—one after another—all day long, and for months.

Later, when their hatchlings fledge, they dig out those seeds. They feed the hatchlings, while showing the hatchlings how and where the seeds are stored for later.

Now, does it make sense to spend money for sunflower seeds, and then to cut down the tree that has my seed-money driven into it—that I put in the birdfeeder—at my own expense, for the personal enjoyment of my family and me?

Dead trees tend to fall in pieces—from the uppermost branches first.

It might be eight years before something substantial actually falls down to possibly damage anything.

At that point, it will be much shorter and easier to handle.

IMHO.

[jkjoshuatree]

Originally Posted by LIforrelaxin

Even at 1200$ a tree I would do some calling around.... A Cut Above has already mentioned he would be willing to come take a look. And other have mentioned Arbor Tech...... I am not a huge fan of Chippers although they do a good job, they are just to dam expensive and what to use bucket trucks for everything...(I had an argument with them about this, because they wanted to put one where I told them they couldn't)....

As for worrying about getting credit, my experience is that sometimes this pays off sometimes it doesn't... I personally don't worry about it to much.... unless it is hardwood and I know the guy is in the firewood business.... Also you have mentioned that this is dead wood standing not knowing the condition of the trees until they fall its not worth try to figure this in...

Last, Someone mentioned the Shoreline Protection act.... Taking 10 100' trees down, is definitely going to be noticed, I would make sure your in compliance, and make the sawyer responsible for the permitting... It may raise your costs, but eliminates your headaches... and make sure it is written that way into the contract.

The building inspector knows they're dead. We had a foundation poured and a new septic put in this summer so we had a very thorough and detailed plan as to what we had to do. We also had to sit down with him and map out a diagram of EVERY tree on our entire lot.

We can hear worms or termites as we sit on the porch at night eating the trees. Believe me, we don't want to get rid of the trees but pretty soon they're either going to fall on our dock, boat, or cottage (or perhaps all three). It's going to make our lot look "naked" and we love being tucked in and nestled among the pines.

But thank you for your concern. I hate to see any trees along the shoreline being removed.

[secondcurve]

Courtney Kelly did work for me, too. Very professional and a nice guy.

[eillac@dow]

I mentioned Courtney earlier in this thread and when I did, I said he was coming that day....9/3. Let's just say that once again he came, did an awesome job. He cleaned up the area by removing low hanging branches from the roof area of our home (island home) and also took down some trees. He has done work for us in the past. We have him take down the trees and cut into rounds and then we split it.

Not sure if Courtney is in the removal part of the business, but it may be worth your while to contact him about this. Perhaps he contracts with someone who does. Or maybe it would be winter work for him to split and stack. He has been very reasonable with his prices...just thinking....just throwing out a few ideas.

Good Luck....

[AC2717]

Originally Posted by eillac@dow

I mentioned Courtney earlier in this thread and when I did, I said he was coming that day....9/3. Let's just say that once again he came, did an awesome job. He cleaned up the area by removing low hanging branches from the roof area of our home (island home) and also took down some trees. He has done work for us in the past. We have him take down the trees and cut into rounds and then we split it.

Not sure if Courtney is in the removal part of the business, but it may be worth your while to contact him about this. Perhaps he contracts with someone who does. Or maybe it would be winter work for him to split and stack. He has been very reasonable with his prices...just thinking....just throwing out a few ideas.

Good Luck....

I know he does removal, just not sure on an island, but I know he does include others if needed to get the job done

[LIforrelaxin]

Originally Posted by jkjoshuatree

We can hear worms or termites as we sit on the porch at night eating the trees. Believe me, we don't want to get rid of the trees but pretty soon they're either going to fall on our dock, boat, or cottage (or perhaps all three). It's going to make our lot look "naked" and we love being tucked in and nestled among the pines.

Make sure if you are positive that you have an infestation in your trees that your sawyer or to be more PC Arborist knows about this. Additionally you may want figure out exactly what the infestation is before proceeding. After the trees are down the next step you take may be to treat the area surrounding where there trees where taken down with the appropriate insecticide. There are many lite creatures that can cause havoc with trees, and if you cut down their home and they get away they will move to a new home.

Taking these steps may add some to your overall cost of the project but unless you want to be in the same boat in another 10 years, make sure you deal with the full circle of the problem if you suspect an infestation of something.

[pickwick]

We have to agree with Courtney @ Arbortech. His quote was at least half of what 3 other companies quoted us. Excellent job taking our trees. Very professional and clean!

[Piston]

Standing dead timber is good for wildlife. Standing dead timber next to your house or dock is not good for obvious reasons.

One thing that may or may not help you but would certainly be worth a shot, is contacting the Belknap County Extension office. I have used them before and they are very helpful. The county forester for Belknap is Andy Fast, I have his email if you want it and I will pm it to you.

They can certainly give you some good ideas as to your options.
If the trees are tall and straight with no branches for a while then they could actually be worth some money. Certainly not 1200 per tree but maybe enough to offset some of the cost. People talk about only hardwood being worth money but that is not true, there are a lot of local sawmills that buy nice pine logs for many uses. Timber Framing is big in the northeast and it can be hard to find long straight knot free logs. If they are really 80-100 tall then you could be throwing away a lot of money!
For example, I just milled a 16' 8x12 and multiple 16' long 2x boards from one single log. The 8x12 alone would be just over $100 to buy.

[Merrymeeting]

Piston,

I would have thought that your points are valid too. Even pine lumber is very expensive to buy nowadays. I have 4-5 80+ ft, 3-4' diameter, straight pines that will need to come down someday soon. I would think they are worth something despite what has been posted here.

If anyone wants to contact me to take them, feel free.

[ApS]

Is the major expense in chipping and moving the debris off the island?

Leaving the chips would make a good ground cover.

"Firewood" sold at roadside stands is often dried pine wood such as what you have: it burns readily, and gives off a satisfying ambiance for weekend campers. Sawing burnable pieces to that size could provide firewood for a neighborly campfire—when permitted.

Some could be retained on the island as straight logs for a rustic enclosure—say, for enclosing the neighbors' boats or garbage cans?

Originally Posted by Piston

Standing dead timber is good for wildlife. Standing dead timber next to your house or dock is not good for obvious reasons.

1) I've got a few dead trees standing close to structures, but I'm not too concerned. Most dead trees start their eventual fall starting at the top. When the lowest part falls, it is shorter, not particularly heavy, and has less height to inflict damage.

I've been watching one dead tree out front for eight years. I just tied it loosely to a healthy tree to limit the radius of its fall—should it drop over-winter. (Our steep lot blocks strong winds the rest of the year.)

2) The cutting of trees affects the wind-resistance of its "neighbor trees". It is well known that wind can "take-out" some others—as my abutter discovered. Notice the freshly-cut stumps in my photo.

The two healthy pines "spared" in this photo were shortly uprooted by winds and fell in opposite directions. (These were two of dozens that fell as a direct result of "planned-trimming".)

Your neighbor may want consideration in these decisions!

[ApS]

Originally Posted by Acres per Second

Dead trees tend to fall in pieces—from the uppermost branches first. It might be eight years before something substantial actually falls down to possibly damage anything. At that point, it will be much shorter and easier to handle. IMHO.

One of my dead trees did start falling from the top; however, recent strong winds have caused that same tree (dead about five years) to fall on my little house. (Fortunately, only an eave is damaged).

Yesterday, my insurance agent got lost along our Wolfeboro Neck shoreline, and called back to ask,

"Which is your place? None here are numbered—trees are blocking the driveways of several houses—we can't get in!"

True, many there are recent structures and, except for mine, addresses aren't adequately numbered. If you have a seasonal place in the area, it might be a good idea to have your place looked over for recent wind damage.