Cost of a hiab crane to move an impulsive sale buy?!

[Crumbelina]

So DH and I went to a garden centre today for a short browse and walked out having purchased a £500 olive tree - oops!

We now have the slight issue of how on earth we get it into the garden. The centre will deliver it to the front of our house and then it's likely that we'll need to hire a hiab crane to lift it over the house. Would anyone have a rough idea as to how much it's likely to cost for this single job please? I'm on the London/Surrey border, we have a two storey house and the garden centre have estimated that the tree weighs around 500kg! We live on quite a wide road so access shouldn't be a problem.

These January sale bargains aren't quite what they seem.

Probably at least £500 for half day. Depends how far the crane would need to reach , might be more.

It’s gorgeous!

Sorry no practical advice!

No idea I’m afraid but I just want to applaud you for the most random impulse purchase ever! Good luck!

Try a tree surgeon/gardener.....they often have the kit and if you pay them to collect and plant for you, it’s a win/win.

I have no idea but that beats any of my random eBay buys that I regret the next day lol . Brilliant !

Thanks all. Glad that's made you chuckle. Looks like a hiab crane is the way forward and will 'only' cost us around £350.

Posting this update just in case anyone has the same dilemma in the future.

Fab tree

I love this!

What a beautiful tree!!

I bought similar earlier this year and we had them put it on the trailer and reversed the trailer right up to where it was going to be planted, then put a couple of planks from the trailer up to the planting place and slid it.

We had to cut the pot off with an angle grinder!

Good lord!!

How much space do you have at the side of your house? Sometimes you can wrap whippy branches (upwards) to get a tree through a tight spot. It needs sunshine and good drainage, so get some sacks of grit and dig them in! It'll need protection if it gets very cold, below -6 or so.

That's an amazing tree!

Amazing!

Our alley is around 70cm wide so no chance there. It'll fit down the neighbour's one but then there's a six foot brick wall to navigate.

I'm still calling around but the hiab will need a 28m reach over the house as we have a new extension. The best reach so far is 26m, so we might have to shift it when it's in the garden. Or just leave the tree where it lands when the rope snaps and then design the garden around that spot.

Our brickies are just finishing work on our brick garden wall and find it hilarious. Like we're ridiculous posho clients with too much money. They probably have a point.

Surely it would be easier to heft it over a 6 foot wall than over a house, though? You could probably do it with a much smaller crane?

I'll post an update photo later this month when it's making its way over and when it's arrived in it's new home.

Possibly Whiskyowl, but the neighbours have plants against their wall which we could ruin and we've already tested their patience with our extension build (seven months and counting now). Also the weight of it would need many men to shift it down the alley and a much smaller crane would still need to lift 500kg and fit down a small alley itself.

Ahhh, I see! In that case, I hope you can find a really big crane soon. I'd love to see a picture of its aerial flight.

I would go and talk to a big tree supplier expert. I used to work for an inteior plant firm - the sort that kits out those huge atriums in vast office complexes and shopping centres.
They would deliver these vast trees and although some needed cranes to lift into place, (they would be perhaps as much as 20-30ft tall) smaller ones would get very carefully wrapped in clingfilm like stuff that gently folded the branches inwards and upwards and made the tree narrower for transplanting into place. When you consider they also decorated cruise ships and all manner of building interiors many had to go through quite small gaps! They had special trolleys on which these trees could be wheeled in through buildings etc. If I remember correctly, (I was the manager of the branch, not at the plant tending end of the business) olive tree branches are quite flexible at the ends, so you may get away with your alleyway.

Brilliant. Man with a van?! Treat yourself - you've saved on the build, so why not! That will look incredible once planted.

Right, so the crane is all booked for next week at a cost of £350. To be honest it now feels like a bargain. The other quotes I managed to get (bearing in mind that very few companies have lorries with a 26m+ reach) were £850 and £1,600! Plus VAT!

Fingers crossed this works.

Oh, and thank you so much for the advice Ariela. Sadly the root ball is too wide for any other solution.

Time to call in Popeye methinks..