Most tree work is straightforward. A tree in an open yard with room to fall is a job a competent crew handles safely and quickly.
A tree hanging over your roof is a different job entirely, and it is the one where the gap between an experienced crew and a cheap one shows up as damage to your house.
You cannot fell it. It has to come apart.
When there is no drop zone, nothing gets dropped. A climber goes up, takes the tree apart from the top down, and every section is tied off and lowered under control before it is cut free.
That is rigging, and it is a skill. The rope has to be set in the right place, the piece has to be cut in the right order, and the person on the ground has to let it run at the right speed. Get the sequence wrong and a section swings instead of lowering — into the roof, the fence, or the person underneath.
Why the pieces are small
Customers sometimes ask why we take so many small pieces instead of a few big ones. Weight. A section of green oak is far heavier than it looks, and every pound of it has to be absorbed by the rope, the rigging point and the tree itself. Smaller pieces mean forces stay inside what the system can hold.
A crew taking big pieces over a roof to save time is gambling with your house rather than theirs.
What experience actually buys you
Judging which limb to take first so the tree stays balanced. Knowing when a trunk is too rotten to rig off and working from an adjacent tree instead. Recognising when the safe answer is a crane rather than a climber. Knowing when to stop and come back tomorrow because the wind picked up.
None of that shows up on a quote. It shows up in whether your roof is intact at the end of the day.
Questions worth asking before anyone climbs
- Are you insured, and can I see the certificate? Ask every single time on overhanging work. If an uninsured crew damages your roof or someone gets hurt, that can become your problem.
- Who is climbing, and have they rigged over a structure before? Reasonable question. Anyone experienced will answer it happily.
- How will you get the sections down? If the answer is vague, that tells you something.
- What happens if the weather turns? The right answer is that work stops. Wind and rigging do not mix.
Power lines are not a tree service job first
If any part of the tree is touching or close to a line, call the utility before you call a tree company. They make it safe. We will not put a climber near an energised line, and neither should anybody else.
How we work
We have a climber who rigs everything down. On the dangerous and overhanging trees page there are photographs of our own crew on a pine removal — taking the crown off first, then working down with a line on every section. That is not stock photography. It is what the job looks like.
If you have something over your roof and you want a straight answer about what it takes, call (850) 818-9694. Estimates are free, and if the tree is sound and only needs a reduction rather than a removal, we will tell you that.