Anyone know about chopping down trees?

[DanceToTheMusicInMyHead]

We have a beautiful mountain willow in our garden- about 18m tall. It's a lovely shape and brings so much wildlife into the garden.

Over the last week it has developed a big crack down the middle between the 2 boughs and it worsened significantly in the high winds yesterday. Sadly it now looks really dangerous so I need someone come and assess, and probably chop it down

Does anyone have any idea how much a tree surgeon will cost to chop it down? We have access nearby, but it is on a steep slope and near a pond and raised veg beds. We've had a run of bad luck with cars and other unexpected costs recently which have massively depleted our savings, and I'm worried the expense here will mean no holiday this summer

Try your local council first. The Parks Department at mine offers very competitive rates for tree work and the tree people where efficient and very clean and tidy.

I had a magnolia at the back of me that was overgrowing my boundary and hadn't been looked after for years. It cost £99 for three hours/ a two person team/clear up. Absailing type ropes were used so it was a complicated tidy up. Not the same as your situation but I hope it gives you an idea. I live in the Thames Valley too so not a cheap area.

Thank you so much- I hadn't thought of that!

We pay 325 for a day's work for two men. They do nine hours inc lunch. So approx 20 an hour each.

However this is more than a day's work for two men. As it is rotten then they cannot scale it. It's too dangerous. They will need a cherry picker or equivalent.

The issue is then once it's down. It takes a lot of time to remove the branches, and log it.

We also have a huge rotten one, and have decided to let it come down into the neighbouring field of its own accord. As the cost to get men into fell it will be way higher. We will then have to pay for it to be removed.

If you can let it come down naturally, if it won't damage any buildings, then consider doing so, as it will reduced the costs.

First off get someone out to assess. If it's stable enough they will abseil it, as per the pp, but if it is rotten and there is a risk it will come down with a man on it, then they won't do it.

Do you have a wood Burner? Can you keep the wood? Wood is very expensive and if you can season your own then it can offset the cost. If you don't maybe ask them if they will reduce the price if they keep the wood as they will be able to sell it on.

Willows are not legacy trees unfortunately. I've just planted one. As they are beautiful, but they live on average about 30 years.

The other thing to look out for is is it close to thr house? Willows are shallow rooted, and their roots are hugely invasive, so will go out for at least a hundred feet. They take a lot of water from the ground. You need someone experienced to check the roots have not invaded the foundations of the property as it could cause structural issues when removed as then there is nothing then removing the water any more and effectively the ground swells.

If it is near your house chop it down between November and February when it is dormant to reduce the likelihood of affecting your foundations. Also out if nesting season.

If it's dangerous and likely to come down on the building she cannot wait until November. And she is not expected to wait and cause a risk to life due to nesting birds.

I would worry about someone being underneath when it came down naturally!

Just look up ‘tree surgeon’ locally

Is it really 18m tall?

Really helpful advice- thanks.

Yes it is 18m- the trunk is about 10m and the canopy is enormous- at least 8m. The pp point about all the wood is our concern- it's going to take ages. We don't have a wood burner, sadly (though our neighbour does, so maybe he might be interested).

Sadly it can't come down naturally- it's not going to damage houses but would potentially damage structures in mine and our neighbours' gardens, and block an access lane. And also be really dangerous for anyone in mine and my neighbours'gardens. Thankfully it is about 30m from any house (long, steep, narrow gardens behind terraced houses).

This is going to be expensive

We had a tree taken down and one crowned last year, think it was around £500. Both done in a day, but the one that came down was a spindly Eucalyptus.

Are you sure the trunk is ten metres, that sounds unlikely. Not ten feet?

It will probably take them about three days to deal with the wood. It depends what you want done with it.

I had a huge fir tree taken down a year ago, it took them three or four days in total.

I’d get a tree surgeon to assess - it may be that the bough just needs to be taken off and the tree thinned. Sometimes a bough just gets too heavy but the rest of the tree is perfectly healthy.

You might not need the whole thing to come down, tree surgeons are amazing in their abilities to save trees I thought were goners.

What area are you in? I can recommend an excellent tree surgeon in Norfolk/Suffolk area.

Bluntness100 you're right- trunk is only about 4-5m. I was trying to wrestle a truculent 2 year old when estimating the first time- everything must have seemed worse than it is

I've got 2 tree surgeons lined up for today to assess, and thanks to those who have given figures. It's useful to have in mind. Google suggests it's an area where quotes vary massively so I just wanted to know what seems realistic. I'm really hoping just the bough can be removed but the crack looks to have got bigger again over night and I really think it will be the whole tree.

It might not be as expensive as you think. Good luck, anyway.

Do you mean circumference of trunk is 4m? Can’t be 4m across?

I’m asking because I’m hoping you’re typing metres, but meaning feet and it’s a lot smaller than everyone is thinking.

Willow can be pollarded, so it may be they can take out the dangerous bit and keep the rest which will save on costs considerably, especially if they can do it from the ground.

Can I just mention, when our apple tree had to be felled, because it was going to go anyway with the rain we were having, the emergency chainsaw feller charged us £80 to fell it, and I put it on freecycle and someone with a wood burner came, chopped it up and took it away. Ours was about to launch itself into the canal and could have taken out a boat or the side of the canal bank, so it had to go.

Had I a better storage solution at the time, i'd have saved it myself but we just wanted it gone.

I still think your measurements may be off willows trunk girth is normally about 2-3 metres max. 4-5 seems really unusual to me, I'm also not sure it's a mountain willow, are you sure it's not a golden weeping willow? Mountain willows I thought were much smaller and more the dwarf variety.

Golden weeping generally are huge, they grow to about forty foot high and the same in width,

Ok I've attached some pictures. The girth is probably 1.5m. The trunk is 4-5m high and then a big canopy. I've also attached a picture of the crack (not very good due to shadows). Every day this weekend it has gone deeper into the trunk. We've identified it as mountain willow but may be wrong- we didn't plant it. (Also- no birds are in the box. They have hated that box ever since we put it up!)

Gosh, I'm not sure what that is, it could be a mountain willow, I assumed it was weeping, but it's not.

Ah it’s height of trunk you’re quoting. That makes more sense!