Need advice re cutting down a huge oak tree (Raleigh: 2013, insurance)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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I have friend in Raleigh who has an old oak tree that may need to be cut down. It’s your typical giant, beautiful, mature oak tree seen around the City of Oaks.
She’s planning to get the advice of an certified arborist because she wants to save the tree if at all possible, but just in case, we’re learning about cutting down such trees and have some questons.
- Does Raleigh require private property owners to get a permit to cut down trees, particularly oak ones?
- Are tree-cutting services required by law to have a license, insurance, and/or workers’ comp?
- Any idea what removing the tree will cost? We believe none of the limbs can be simply cut and dropped. A large portion of the tree’s canopy extends over my friend’s house, driveway, etc. Either ropes, buckets, and/or cranes will have to be used; we just don’t know which.
- If the tree yields a lot of usable wood, is there a way my friend can benefit, e.g., can we expect to find licensed tree services that lower their costs if they can keep the usable wood? What about interest from woodworkers or firewood sellers?
- if you're hiring someone to cut down a big tree like that on your property, you should verify insurance. Ask for the certificates and then call the insurer to confirm the policy is active and covers what they will be doing.
- The most I've ever heard of a large oak costing was around $3K, and that involved using a crane to pick it up in sections. I would assume you could find cheaper (ropes and a climber). Also depends on if you want the stump out as well.
- Wood useability depends on the type of oak. White oak family? Might be worth pursuing if the trunk is tall and straight. Willow oak? Probably Firewood. There is a smartphone app called "leafsnap" that can help you figure it out.
- Doubtful any tree service will want, much less give you anything, for the wood. If it's a good white oak log, and you get it milled and dried, you might be able to make some money from the lumber once milled and dried. This takes some effort and expense though, and be aware that if it's a yard tree, the high probability that there is metal embedded in it will scare off many sawyers, others will just charge you for the blades that break. More metal = more expense.
Like your friend, I hope it won't have to come down! However, sometimes it is inescapable. Our neighborhood in Durham has magnificent street tree and yard willow oaks planted in the 1920s and 1930s that are sadly reaching the end of their natural lives and are coming down. (The current worm nightmare each spring is not helping.)
The City took down two oak street trees in front our yard over the past 2-3 years, and this fall our neighbor wanted to remove a VERY large oak tree that was primarily on his lot but partially on ours. It had lost two "widowmaker" limbs and had reached the end of its life. It was a very large tree, at least twice as tall as each of our two-story 1920s homes.
My main advice in all this is, get MULTIPLE quotes for removal. My neighbor is a very savvy buyer and negotiator and got four different bids. One contractor wanted over $20,000 to do the removal. In the end, the best bid was under $7,500 for a not-easy job -- a crane was needed over three days' work to remove the tree.
I know "get multiple bids" is a standard advice, but it was very important in this case. I think the other bidders were above $10k. (We used Everett Tree Service in the end and were happy with them.)
This response is based on actual experience. The huge tree was quite near the house, it was damaged and likely to land on the house if-and-when it fell. The insurance agent was notified and she realized the cost to remove the tree was much less than the cost to repair the house. The insurer paid for removal, every penny. This was no simple task; it required a crane and a crew.
Maybe your insurance company won't be so helpful, but it's worth a phone call. A cardinal rule which covers much of life: Don't Ask, Don't Get!
You’re answers are Very Helpful. Hadn’t realized the type of oak would make a difference, didn’t remember that embedded metals can cause problems, hadn’t thought of confirming that the tree service’s policy is active and what it covers, and welcomed examples strongly demonstrating the value of getting MULTIPLE quotes. I was totally surprised that an insurance company paid for an unhealthy tree’s removal - opens up a new possibility for my friend. And I appreciate the recommendation of a tree service company in the area.
This response is based on actual experience. The huge tree was quite near the house, it was damaged and likely to land on the house if-and-when it fell. The insurance agent was notified and she realized the cost to remove the tree was much less than the cost to repair the house. The insurer paid for removal, every penny. This was no simple task; it required a crane and a crew.
Maybe your insurance company won't be so helpful, but it's worth a phone call. A cardinal rule which covers much of life: Don't Ask, Don't Get!
You may have been lucky here. Homeowner claims are usually best reserved for true catastrophes. Insurance companies love to drop someone when they make a "minor" claim. A few thousand dollars is minor compared to the cost of replacing the house.
Insurance companies love to drop someone when they make a "minor" claim. A few thousand dollars is minor compared to the cost of replacing the house.
This happened five years ago. The insurer paid the tree service directly. This good experience cements customer loyalty. FWIW, the insurer was (and is) State Farm.
This happened five years ago. The insurer paid the tree service directly. This good experience cements customer loyalty. FWIW, the insurer was (and is) State Farm.
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I use State Farm and am 100% satisfied with them. (really been great to me), but my experience earlier in 2013 was that they would NOT do any proactive removal. My agent and I had a laugh about how much more it would cost to rebuild my house, but she said there was no way they'd do it.
No harm to ask, and you may get better results than I did (they wouldn't even come look), but don't get your hopes up too high.
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