Tree removal in Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Roanoke and Floyd

A tree that needs to come out usually tells you before it goes. Bark sloughing off in sheets. A crack running down the trunk. Mushrooms at the base. A lean that got worse after the last storm. Whole limbs leafing out late, or not at all.

What we see a lot of around here

• Dead ash. Emerald ash borer has worked through this part of Virginia and killed most of the ash. Dead ash goes brittle fast and comes apart in unpredictable pieces — it is one of the least forgiving trees to leave standing near a house.
• Split poplars. Tulip poplar grows tall and fast in this soil and shears in wind. A poplar with a co-dominant fork over a roof is worth a look before the next storm rather than after.
• Storm damage. Summer thunderstorms and the ice we get most winters take the same trees, usually the ones already carrying deadwood.
• Trees planted too close. A pine put in twenty years ago six feet off the foundation is a different problem now than it was then.

How the work gets done

If there's open ground and nothing underneath, a tree can be felled in one piece and that's the cheapest way. Most yards around here don't offer that, so it comes down in sections — limbs first, then the trunk in manageable lengths, with each piece controlled on the way down. Trevor looks at the drop zone, the lean, the access for a truck and trailer, and what's under and beside the tree before he prices it. That's why the estimate happens on site and not over the phone.

What's left afterward

Brush and limbs get hauled off and the work area gets raked out. If you want the trunk cut to firewood length and stacked instead of hauled, say so up front and it stays.

What stays either way is the stump. Trevor doesn't grind them — he takes the trunk down low and leaves it at that. If you want it taken out below grade, that's a separate job with somebody who does that work. He'll tell you so while he's pricing the removal, not after the trailer is loaded.

When less work is the right answer

Not every ugly tree needs to come out. Sometimes the answer is taking three limbs off the roof side and leaving the rest standing for another ten years. That's a smaller job than a removal and Trevor will still tell you when it's the right one.

If a tree is on a power line, do not wait on an estimate. Call your utility and 911. Downed lines are their job.