Tree removal question

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by Lampert

I live in central MA. I have something like 10-15 not huge but big big (3-4 stories high) oak trees growing between my house/driveway and a road (with power line). Probably about 10-15 feet from my house and 6 feet from the road.
All the branches toward the road have been cut by previous owners so all the weight is toward the house.
The trees look mostly healthy but I feel a bit uneasy and I am considering removing them and replacing with trees that don't grow very tall.

Given the position I am assuming a crane will be used for most if not all the trees. I haven't started shopping around but does anyone have an idea of what I would be looking for in term of price?
Can I get away with $1,000 per tree or $1,500 (or more!) is more of a reasonable estimate?
I can't really afford to pay something like $30,000 total so in that case I may just have someone come and check that the trees are actually healthy.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

I think a lot of the cost is getting the crew and the large equipment out there. To some extent, there should be some "economies of scale" in having them do a number at one time. It's been a little while now, but I had two large leaning maples removed. They weren't that thick or heavily branched, but were probably 60 feet high, easily and were less than 30 feet to two houses flanking them. As I recall at least, that was $2,500. The crew used a crane, a good sized truck with a flat bed to hold the thicker logs which they cut to something like 12 feet long, and a second hefty truck with a big tow-behind woodchipper to grind up the smaller limbs. They were super organized and efficient, and I couldn't believe how fast they got it done.

Make sure to get several estimates from different firms, and I'd look for people who are insured and have certified arborists as part of the crew. Taking trees down isn't rocket science, but people or property can very easily suffer grievous injury if someone doesn't know what they are doing, or is careless.

[wolfgang239]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

I think a lot of the cost is getting the crew and the large equipment out there.

This is true. Often times if there is already a crane in the area or even just on the road that day you'll get a much better deal.

[Lampert]

Follow up for those who are interested. I went for $4200 for all trees removed. Much better than what I was expecting frankly.

[matrix5k]

Originally Posted by Lampert

Follow up for those who are interested. I went for $4200 for all trees removed. Much better than what I was expecting frankly.

That sounds cheap. Did they grind the stumps?

[Lampert]

No grinding. Only cutting and removing the trees.