GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

30-10-2003, 07:02 PM

The message
from (juggler) contains these words:

Hi. My first post here. I'm in the throes of a plumbing nightmare. We
have a lovely 50-year-old oak tree in our front yard that's wreaking
havoc on our 50-year-old terra cotta sewage pipes.

--And would you trust a lumber company who might be willing to take
the tree down for free? I'm concerned that they don't have the
tree-sense of a licensed arborist. I've gotten estimates from $1200 to
$2100 from arborists to take the tree down. And the lumber company may
do it for free, so that's awfully tempting. Especially considering the
plumbing costs and cost to lay down a new driveway, partially.

The lumber company's main interest will be in getting the tree down in
lengths they want to use. An arborist's only interest will be in
minimising the risk to your property by dismantling the tree in smaller
bits. Large oaks, or parts of them, are incredibly heavy and it's a
dangerous and highly skilled job to take one down near a house.

Whichever company you choose should carry an arborists full public
liability insurance; just in case they damage your property or a
neighbour's, or someone gets hurt. Insist on seeing their current
insurance certificate before you accept a contract; its normal practise
so good operators won't mind.

Don't employ a company that hedges or objects to that; it may mean no
insurers would cover them, and you can guess why. Insurance for
treefelling work is expensive, which can explain how uninsured cowboys
workers undercut the price of proper professionals.

Janet.