Redwood Tree Removal, May 2003
I hired a crew to cut down the redwood tree next to the house. My
neighbor talked to the daughter of the original owner of lot/house and found
out the tree had been planted over 50 years ago. It was causing damage
to the house.
The tree was planted too close to the house and as it got older and
bigger it was causing damage to the cement work. In Oakland I had to get a
$45 permit ... they notified my neighbors and I waited a month for approval
(in my case). My neighbors were not sad to see it go.
In the beginning I'd tried to find someone who would salvage the wood. I
thought that that would recoup some of the costs. For various reasons, that
didn't work out ... mainly inaccessibility ... also, the huge main trunk
became 3 main trunks about 6' above the ground. The man who was most
interested in the wood only wanted the part of the trunk before it
branched. This outfit is at
http://www.recycletrees.org/
I got bids from 4 places. Another bid was the lowest, but I was concerned
about insurance (although he said he had it). While I was thinking it over,
the next highest bidder came along and said he could use the wood (or sell
it) and he could do it for less. I really think he just wanted the business
and that was his way of submitting a lower bid.
I selected the latter guy. The cost included stump grinding. And it
included a 10% discount from a flyer he'd sent out. At first I wasn't going
to have the grinding done, but I'm glad I did. The price also included me
keeping the chips and grindings (all of which I wanted for mulching). The
cost may have been less if they could have gotten a crane close enough ...
less labor. In my case it was all manually done. The guy up in the tree
would tie up 5 or 6 branches, cut them and lower them all at once. The guys
on the ground would drag them to a chipper which could take very large
diameters. They worked very quickly I thought. A couple days later a crew
came and ground out the stump. They didn't leave any other wood, but
probably would have if I'd wanted it... say for firewood.
The guy I selected is Mark at M & M Tree Service,
631 S -13th, Richmond, CA 94804 (510) 237-5618. I liked his crew
and he did a clean, quick job and I'd recommend him to others.
