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Housekeeping

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Original poster

Roughly how much does it cost to have a large tree chopped down?

59 replies

MuffinMclay · 05/03/2007 14:11

It is a silver birch. I'm not very good at guessing heights, but it is higher than our (normal height) house and quite wide.

I'm thinking we'd have have it chopped down to ground level, but not have the roots and stump removed (that would involve digging up grass and disrupting a flowerbed).

Any idea how much this might cost. We're in Herts, so south east prices.

OP posts:

fruittea · 05/03/2007 16:29

Hundreds of pounds, I'm afraid. Especially if it's near a road. I had a large - but not full size- sycamore out, it cost me £400. That was without stump grinding. I had a quote of £650 for my huge lime.

Having said that, silver birches are a bit more delicate than sycamores or limes. Best get some quotes - most companies are happy to come out and advise.

Do you have any planning or conservation area issues? Council will advise.

cece · 05/03/2007 16:30

We had a massive scotts pine taken down -taller than our house. Think it was about £500 but to have the roots out as well was nother £200

KathyMCMLXXII · 05/03/2007 16:32

Hang on, we just this morning had our eucalyptus removed and our holly halved in size (both around as tall as the house) for £130, and that was the more expensive quote.
This was without stump removal, which apparently bumps the price up a lot, and is East Yorks which is a fairly cheap area, but even so.....

Kelly1978 · 05/03/2007 16:32

at some of these prices. Can't you do it yourself, a little bit at a time?
My bro took down a tree once but that was only about ten foot high. He did get a bit carried away though and a branch went through the toilet window!

fruittea · 05/03/2007 16:33

Sounds like a good price - lucky you ! I'm in West Yorks, and tree work's not cheap. Who did you use?!

toomanyprojects · 05/03/2007 16:33

we had 7 huge Leylandii down which was about £1000 - our access isn't very good and theyn had to drag it round to the front of the house. They were big and it took 2 man 1.5 days to do. Price included taking it all away but not grinding out the stumps. We are in South Northants on the Oxforshire borders.

Had a eucalyptus taken out for about £120 in Surrey a couple of yrs ago.

Would advise getting several quotes - they varied hugely.

fruittea · 05/03/2007 16:34

It depends whether they have to "dismantle" the tree, which onviously depends on the size. I suppose if it's small enough they can just chop it down. Mine have needed full climbing apparatus.

cece · 05/03/2007 16:34

TBH ours was way too big to do oursel;ves. The tewo men took all day andhad climbing harnesses and saftey gear galore! The logs filled their flat bed truck

Wheelybug · 05/03/2007 16:34

we had a eucalyptus down recently for £260 (left stump in). We're in london

KathyMCMLXXII · 05/03/2007 16:37

Fruittea - he was called Matthew Wilcockson. We had a quote of £120 from someone called Trevor Dale who also seemed fine. I have both their numbers if you're interested.

The job only took a couple of hours though. Maybe eucalyptuses are easy?!

Original poster

MuffinMclay · 05/03/2007 16:44

It will be a full climbing apparatus job, taking it down bit by bit, probably with 2 or more men (or women) needed. Definitely not something we could attempt ourselves. The main trunk is over a metre wide - I think it is quite old.

Fruittea - good point about the conservation area. I think we are in one, so I'd better check with the council. It isn't near a road though, so that is something.

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NAB3 · 05/03/2007 16:48

Ours had to come down in August as it was dying and dangerous and it was about £440.

FioFio · 05/03/2007 16:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

pooka · 05/03/2007 16:51

If the tree is in a conservation area you automatically need the consent of the council to remove the tree. You submit the proposal and then they decide either to make a tree preservation order (so you can't take it down without risking fine/imprisonment) or to let you fell it.

NAB3 · 05/03/2007 16:52

If it is in a conservation area and there are grounds for takin gthe tree down, you will have to plant another to replace it.

CanSleepWeirdShifts · 05/03/2007 16:56

Haven't had any cut down professionally, but we did have a stump ground and it cost well under £100 iirc. If you want that doing then ask me for the guys no on Thurs.

fruittea · 05/03/2007 16:57

Our trees are covered by their own TPO, as well as being in a conservation area, and the basic rule of thumb is that you can't do anything to a tree with a trunk over the thickness of a man's wrist. Having said that, I think conifers are excluded - but not sure as I don't have any!

The council are generally very helpful, as long as you're not trying to pull a fast one. They let us take out the sycamore on a 5-day notice as it was rotten, but generally you have to apply for permission for tree work, which takes up to 6 weeks IIRC. The tree surgeons have done the paperwork for us in the past. We had permission for some pruning work recently with no problems. My neighbours also had permission to remove quite a few old, large trees - I think that they have to replace, but with something much smaller and with a shorter final height.

FWIW, the kids thought it was great to see the guys dangling from the trees like something from Robin Hood!

Thanks for the info, too, Kathy, will hang on to those names!

morningpaper · 05/03/2007 16:58

rough guess, 500-700

CanSleepWeirdShifts · 05/03/2007 17:00

guy's no

Whizzz · 05/03/2007 17:03

This is DHs field of work...tree reports not chopping down...will ask him for advice. Info is right about Tree Preservation Orders - if the tree is TPO'd you have to prove the reason as to why you want it removed (via a professional report) ie. its a hazard, in bad health etc.
Always check with the council before doing any work just to be on the safe side.

Most felling costs are so big beacause of the man power + removal costs. Beware of very cheap quotes as they are often dangerous cowboys !

fruittea · 05/03/2007 17:05

Speaking of cowboys, we get people touting door to door for work, with flyers with mobile numbers provided. Apparently these people are fly-by-nights who chop down the tree, load it into their van, then dump it on someone else's drive when no-one's looking!

Whizzz · 05/03/2007 17:07

DH reckons if its half a days work , a very rough guess would be £300. But you will have to check with your council BEFORE doing anything to see if its TPO'd

Original poster

MuffinMclay · 05/03/2007 19:10

Thanks everyone. I will check with the council before doing anything. There's nothing wrong with the tree as such, but it does cast a bit if shade on one side of the garden.
If it costs close to £300 (and we're allowed to do it) I might go ahead, but if it is nearer £1000 I think I'll just put up with a bit of shade. I can think of 101 more fun things to spend the money on.

CSWS - I'll get the number on Thursday, illnesses permitting (ds has a throat infection now). You don't know any good electricians too do you?

OP posts:

hunkermunker · 05/03/2007 19:11

Bit more than getting a small tree, but not as much as an enormous tree. HTH.

Original poster

MuffinMclay · 05/03/2007 19:19

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