I don't suppose any of you...

mstang67chic

Going Green
...know anyone in NE Indiana who is good at topping/trimming trees but would be willing to do it for reeeeeeeeeally cheap?

We have two trees in our back yard. A big pine that was originally a live Christmas tree from the previous owners and a big....I think...some kind of Elm. The elm is probably around 100 years old but is in desperate need of trimming. It's very spread out and has a LOT of dead branches. I started calling around to get some estimates and just got the first one. Just to have it trimmed (we would take care of removing the cut stuff) is $400 and it just goes up from there. Trimming and removal would be about $600 and to have the entire tree removed would be around $900.

I don't really want to cut it down entirely.....it's the only shade in the yard and I hate the thought of cutting down a hundred year old tree. But...something definately needs done. It hangs over fencing on both sides of the yard and somewhat over the garage and part of the house. Plus, it is seeping some kind of moisture and if the whole thing went down, God knows what it would take out.

That's another thought though. Who could I call to find out if the center is solid or diseased?
 

WhymeMom?

No real answers to life..
Might check with any amish in your area and see if they would cut for the firewood? and maybe a small fee? I would fear the Elm may have dutch elm disease that is prevelent in the area...... if you can't find anyone my first step would be to plant an oak tree in the opposite corner of your yard, because your elm/pine will eventually come down, one way or another and then at least you would have a start on a new shade tree......
 

mstang67chic

Going Green
*sigh* That's what I am afraid of. Another concern is that my back yard, while deep for in town, is not very wide. We have a small cottage style house with a detached garage that sets back from the front of the house but is pretty much lined up edge to edge with the house. (Right side of the house is approximately along the same line as the left side of the garage) The yard is only the width of the house and the garage. We have fencing all around as well as a shed, grape arbor and the pine tree so there really isn't any good open areas to drop the tree or large limbs. Either way we go is going to be quite the PITA. husband once suggested that we do it ourselves and once I gave him the LOOK....I just laughed hysterically. There is absolutely no way we could do it and I'm sure there would be major blood loss, broken bones or possible amputations involved. Besides, the only person in our house who is agile and skinny enough to shimmy up the tree is difficult child and there is no way in HADES I'm turning that boy loose with a chain saw!

I've got a guy from our Extension Office stopping by later to look at it. He's also going to get me some information on arborists in the area. We don't have any in our county but he said there are some up your way WMM. (Ugh. We don't really have much of anything here. Drives me nuts!)

I'm hoping we can keep the tree and find someone to trim it at a reasonable price. It's a big ol' tree and I really don't want to lose it.
 

lmf64

New Member
900 to remove the tree is cheap. We had two trees removed at my parents a few years ago. They weren't very old (less than 30 years), but were over 40 feet tall. Cottonwoods grow fast and tall. Anyway, to remove the two trees cost over $3000 and that included us cutting it all up to use at the lake so no removal of the trees only cutting them down. Of course the fenced in yard made that a bit difficult.
 

mstang67chic

Going Green
900 to remove the tree is cheap. We had two trees removed at my parents a few years ago. They weren't very old (less than 30 years), but were over 40 feet tall. Cottonwoods grow fast and tall. Anyway, to remove the two trees cost over $3000 and that included us cutting it all up to use at the lake so no removal of the trees only cutting them down. Of course the fenced in yard made that a bit difficult.

:faint:
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
My Mom just had to have 3 Maples removed in her yard - it cost $2800 - and that was with a Senior discount. Not with stump grinding.

The elm is a hard wood. Maybe - someone will need the wood - advertise on Craigslist that you have the tree - need someone to do it cheap - and they can HAVE the wood. You may get a few HAHA emails - but ignore them- you MAY get a few TAKERS for the wood since it's going to be a freezing cold winter. I don't know about the pine - no one can burn pine - in a stove.

AND someday I'll tell you the story about the bikers who said "Oh we can cut that tree down, and tied the tree off to the bumper of the tiny Nissan pickup and made the V cut in the tree on the wrong side and watched the truck go across the yard.....over the fence....up....up and finally the rope broke...but dang what a story. ;) yes these stories are true and not drug or alcohol related.
 

mstang67chic

Going Green
Actually Star, I think I've seen that on Youtube. LOL

I would really prefer to have a professional do this. There is just too much in the way around the yard to trust there being no damage or bodily harm if done by someone wanting the wood.

As for the pine....it stays. It's doing fine and I know exactly how old it is as it was originally a live Christmas tree for the people we bought the house from.


I just wish it wasn't so flippin expensive!
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
Stang, I hope you're able to find a good solution to your tree problem.
It's true...$900 for tree removal is a VERY good price.

Some of the trees in our yard are very very old and might need removal at some point. The price we were quoted for trimming and treatment was about $4000 per year. Removal just goes up from there. When we started pricing replacement trees, we were quoted between $15,000 and $35,000 PER TREE!!! depending on what kind we wanted. (At that point, we ran away)
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
We had a guy come trim our trees at our other house. He trimmed the canopy around the back yard and did a few trees in the front with some big limbs. We had gotten an estimate from one guy for about $900. The next guy who showed up (who was actually on time) we asked him to give us his "cash" price. He did it for $400. Sometimes you just need to say the word cash. The guy did a great job, too. The yard was spotless when he left.
 
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