On Mon, 3 Sep 2012 11:02:52 -0400, "Don Phillipson"
wrote:

On 02/09/2012 19:06, stvnshrmptn wrote:
We have three trees (conifers I think?) in our back garden, that I would
love to have taken down.

"Jeff Layman" wrote in message
...

Definitely avoid your friendly "man with a van and a chainsaw". This is a
job for professional tree surgeons. You need to check that they have full
insurance cover for any damage or injury that might occur.

1. Local handymen with chainsaws would probably be cheaper
than tree specialists.

Often the cheap will turn out expensive. If a tree is of a size or in
a location that you can't/won't remove it yourself it's best to
contract with a tree removal specialist, not some schmo with a
chainsaw. I remove trees myself every year but when large and near a
structure I call a pro. It really doesn't cost that much, I had four
large maples removed last year from between a building and its utility
lines, $400. All the branches were chipped into their truck and
larger pieces taken for firewood.. the pros will charge less if you
give them the wood (they wouldn't want conifer). I didn't need the
stumps ground but it would not have cost much more, especially since
they were already there and were towing a large stump grinder... it's
best to have everything you want done at the time, having to come back
costs more... they arrived with a huge truck such as utility workers
use, with a bucket that reaches 80'... also came with a large dump
truck towing a humongus chipper. In fact the fellow who started this
company was (maybe still is) a lineman with the local electric
company:
http://lbtreeservice.com/