How to take the headache out of hiring tree cutting services

To keep your trees in good health, both structurally and physically, implementing a regular tree cutting schedule is a great idea. Not only will the tree have a better vigour, but it will look at lot more aesthetically pleasing.

There are two way to go about tree trimming, by using a professional tree cutting service or the DIY approach. We will give you all the information you need to execute whichever direction you decide to go in.

Tree cutting prices depend on a lot of factors, but the 3 big ones are the height of the tree, the location on your property and the complexity of the tree cutting required.

We also need to stipulate whether we are talking about complete tree removal or just cutting some branches.

The below sizes will include prices from trimming some branches to complete cutting down and removal of the tree.

The biggest factor is the size and without going into too much detail we are going to break this up into 4 categories of height.

Small trees less than 1 story high (3 – 5m) will cost $150 – $650. They include trees such as bottle brush, wattle and Magnolias.

You will need to add $50 – $100 for the grinding and removal of the stump.

Tree sizes would include anything from 1 – 2 stories high (5 – 9m) and will cost you $350 – $1200. This price is purely based on the possible size and height of the tree and does not take into account the complexity of removing particular branches.

Types of trees would include Liquidambars, London plane trees and some species of privet, Eucalyptus and Jacaranda trees.

Size for what we refer to as large trees would be anything that is 3 stories or higher. These tress can cost quite a bit more. I would expect $850 – $5000 depending on whether you were just getting a branch cut or the whole tree cut down and taken away.

They types of trees that grow this large are Oak trees, Gum trees and of course Angophora’s.

The shape and structure of the tree and the complexity of its branches will have a large baring on price depending on the service being provided. Tree cutting services offer a multitude of services including:

Crown lift
Thinning
Pollarding
Reduction
Shaping
And of course complete cut down and take away

Each of these services do differ in price and we have specific prices for each service in our tree pruning cost guide.

Other than height, trunk size or diameter is the other biggest factor that will contribute to the cost of cutting down a tree.

Why does this add to the cost, basically the sheer weight and volume of the trees trunk take time and man power to cut down to ground level and then remove from your property.

You can save up to 30% off the cost of cutting down a tree by asking the company to leave the tree logs on site so you can sell them on eBay for firewood.

The money saved requesting the logs to stay compounds depending on access. If the tree is hard to get to like in a backyard, the tree cutting service does not have to spend time, resources to remove the tree off site.

Once they have gone, take a photo of the tree logs and sell them on Facebook or the trading post for fire wood. The winning bidder would be more than happy to come and do the grunt work, and the best part is they will also pay you for the logs!

I highly recommend using a certified tree cutting company. This means the boss is a qualified arborist and is trained to do the work.

You can save yourself some money if you have a tree smaller than 5m by hiring a lawn mowing company. But you need to understand there will be a significant drop in the quality of work carried out.

Here are some things you need to check when getting a tree cutting service out to quote your job.

Never take their word for it. Always ask to see their qualifications. The industry is slowly being regulated, but it’s a slow process. There are plenty of unskilled workers posing as the real deal who would be more than happy to take you money.

This seems like an obvious one, but so many customers get sold on the first quote. Even if they are an amazing company, I always recommend getting a second and third opinion and price before you pull the trigger.

The industry standard is 10 million in public liability insurance. The purpose of this insurance is to protect your home, and your family in the off chance that something goes wrong and the arborist you hired damages your property or hurts someone.

This one is not so obvious and is rarely done. It just takes a minute to go to ABN lookup and type in their company name. More than to check they are a company, you want to see how long they have been in business. I suggest someone who has been in the game for longer than 5 years running their company. Also make sure they have not made any name changes.

If they have, search the old company name and look for reviews. They might be a totally innocent reason why they changed names, but I would do your due diligence just in case.

Sometimes there can be some confusion as to what was agreed upon, especially if a week or two pass between the quote and the job being done. As your tree cutting expert to specify exactly what they will be cutting and what the service does and does not include.

It saves any surprises for both parties.

The disposal of the waste after the tree cutting service has finished is the most costly and time consuming part. Make sure they are going to be taking all the waste with them when they leave unless you specify otherwise.

Previous customers vote on the best priced local service after they have received their quote and had their job done. They rate the tree services on price and quality of service ratio.

When you request a quote from us, we send you the top voted companies that week to ensure you get the best price and highest quality service possible.