Six trees priced one by one, and a seventh left

There were seven trees worth discussing on this property. Six came down. The seventh was left standing, on our recommendation.

That was the whole shape of this estimate. There were more trees here than the homeowners wanted to pay for at once, and rather than quote a single number for clearing the lot, each tree was listed and priced on its own — by how hard it was to get to, what it threatened, and how soon it needed doing. Anything that was not on that list, we recommended leaving alone. Those trees posed less of a threat than the ones that made the list, and they can be looked at again whenever you want them looked at. A tree that is not a problem yet is not a job yet.

The property was tight. A house, a shed, a chicken coop and a woodpile all sat inside the working area. Two things made the difference on price, and both of them were the homeowners’ to arrange:

• The chicken coop and the small woodpile behind the house were moved out of the way for the duration
• Permission was obtained for trees to be dropped across the back property line

That second one mattered more than it sounds. Tree number one had somewhere to go because of it. Without that permission it would have had to come out over the top, off a lift and on extensive rigging, and it would have cost several times what it did.

Six trees, up to two days, and a seventh still there.