Tree Service Costs, Explained Plainly

What moves a removal quote up or down

Height is the first thing people tell us, and it's fine for a rough idea. It doesn't set the number. A forty foot tree in the open with a clean drop zone is a different day from a forty foot tree leaning over a roof with a fence and a shed crowding the only side we can work from.

When we price one, we look at four things. Lean, because a tree already committed to a direction tells us how much we have to work against it. Crown weight, because a wide head full of limbs means more pieces coming down one at a time instead of one trunk on the ground. Nearby obstacles, because every roof line, fence, outbuilding and shrub we have to miss adds handling. And how we reach the work area: whether a truck can back up to the tree, whether a lift can be set, or whether a climber goes up on rope and lowers the limbs by hand.

Several of those stacking on one tree is what pushes a quote to the top of its range. Describe the tree over the phone and we'll tell you roughly where it lands. The firm figure waits until someone has walked the yard.

For the hands-on side, see tree removal. Want tree service in Wichita? Our home page covers it.

Stump work and hauling: what sits outside a lot of quotes

Full stump extraction runs $90 to $125. That means the stump is taken out of the ground, not cut flush and left. Hauling and disposal, when it isn't already part of the job, adds $20 to $90.

So our written quote says plainly whether the stump is in or out, and whether the wood and brush leave the property or stay. If you want the trunk rounds for firewood, or you have a spot behind the garage to stack brush, tell us before we start. Hauling is the line that changes when wood stays. We'd rather settle that up front than have you find a pile in the driveway you never agreed to.

What the safe way of working adds to a job

Every saw, rope, saddle, carabiner and piece of lift equipment is inspected before it goes up, and anything worn or damaged comes out of service. A climbing rope that isn't trustworthy doesn't get a second chance. Climbers keep at least one secure tie-in point at all times, including while they reposition, because the move between anchors is the easiest place to be unprotected.

Before a tree is felled, we also account for wind, on top of the lean and crown weight already described. Then we pick the fall direction and clear an escape path that takes the crew away from the fall line, not along it. Choosing a safe way to reach the work area is its own decision, made before anyone climbs.

None of that shows up as a line item, and all of it is time in the quote. We won't cut it to hit a lower number, because a cheaper job means fewer people, less gear or a shorter setup, and the risk lands on whoever is under the tree.

Is there a cheaper time of year?

We can't point to a month when the same work gets done for less. What timing changes is the schedule, not the tree.

Winter work here is normal. Snowfall totals about 12.7 inches across the year, peaking in February at roughly 3.6, and 4,414 heating degree days (base 65 °F) mean a long cold season that is part of the working year. Snow sitting in a crown adds weight, and crown weight is already something we weigh before a cut, so a snowy week makes us slower and more careful.

What fills the calendar is everyone calling at once. A storm drops trees across the area, and the jobs behind it push everything else back. If you've been meaning to deal with a tree, booking it in a quiet stretch usually gets you on the schedule sooner and gives us room to do the work the way we want to.

What we can tell you on the call

Call with the tree's rough height, what's under and around it, and whether you want the stump and the wood gone. The stump extraction and hauling figures above apply as stated, and we'll add them to the tree price for a ballpark.

The exact price comes after we've stood in your yard and looked at the lean, the crown and the access. That's when the written quote gets its final number.