Maybe you’ve woken up one morning to find that the old oak in the backyard has finally tumbled over during the night. Or maybe there’s a tall maple that is leaning precariously over your driveway.
Whatever the situation may be, there will often come a time for a homeowner when they need to decide whether to tackle removing a tree by themselves — or to hire a professional tree company.
While your own experience and expertise certainly comes into play, we’ve put together this short guide with some things to consider when trying to decide whether to go the DIY route or to search Google for your local arborist.
Equipment for the Job
Sure, anyone can go to Home Depot and rent a chainsaw. Familiarity with the equipment and also knowing its limitations is very important once a tree starts coming down. You don’t want to find out halfway through the job that you’ve underestimated the difficulty of the work.
Tree Removal Companies will also have speciality equipment on hand for particularly challenging assignments, such as cranes, bucket lifts, and straps that can carefully lower large branches to the ground instead of relying exclusively on gravity.
Advantage: Professional Tree Company
Project Cost
Yes, there’s no surprise that hiring a professional to come in and do the job will cost more than tackling it yourself. The cost of hiring a tree removal company will vary based on the size of the tree and the complexity of the removal — and it’s generally a good idea to get quotes from a couple companies to see if their solutions fit inside your price range.
When choosing the DIY approach, your costs are simply limited to renting or maintaining equipment, plus your own time investment.
(However, it may also be good to bear in mind that any unexpected hiccups during the DIY takedown could lead to larger costs, such as if you accidentally damage equipment or property while working.)
Advantage: DIY
Safety & Insurance
It’s easy to underestimate the power and force in a tree or branch crashing to the ground. A minor mistake or an unexpected shift can quickly lead to damages or injuries.
Experience is key here. A professional arborist knows the proper techniques and has likely removed hundreds, if not thousands of trees before.
Especially when doing tree removals around property, it gives strong peace of mind to be working with trained professionals who also have insurance in case something unexpected happens.
Advantage: Professional Tree Company
Scheduling
Depending on the time of year and whether you’re calling in the aftermath of a large storm, it may be challenging to get a tree company to arrive in a moment’s notice.
That said, choosing to take on a large tree removal job in the offseason when tree removal companies are less busy is a good way to “beat the rush”.
However, tackling the job DIY means you can work on your own schedule, and that’s hard to beat in terms of timing.
Advantage: DIY
Cleanup
So you’ve brought the tree down, congratulations! But that means you’re only half done…
After lots of hard work and sweat, the trunk and branches are strewn across the yard — and now the reward is to start the long process of cleanup.
Working with a professional tree company means you can leave all the cleanup work to them as well. Once the removal team is done with their job for the day, your yard is left looking spotless.
Advantage: Professional Tree Company
So what’s the verdict?
To an eager homeowner with determination and skills in the great outdoors, tackling a fallen tree can be an intriguing challenge. As the size of the tree gets bigger, however, the size of the risk grows as well and it becomes necessary to have both the right equipment and experience.
When in doubt, your best bet is always to call on someone who has been there, done that.
If you’re in the Ottawa area and looking for support, give us a call today!
Got any more questions?
If so, ask us here directly at VS Tree, Ottawa’s tree services company any questions you may have. Or if you simply want to get started with a project, reach out to us today!
