If you have hired an arborist...

[mskitkat]

Can you give me an idea of costs and how many quotes did you get? I'm having someone come out to look at two trees that aren't doing very well, plus a quote for removal of one tree that is too close and general trimming of branches that overhang our house. I know this is incredibly variable, but a general ballpark would be useful so I don't die from initial sticker shock.

[rubytue]

I did 2 quotes, with each quote reviewed by my BFF who is a certified arborist. The quotes varied greatly. I was going to get a 3rd quote, but the guy never showed.

[aurora]

I think our 40-year-old maple was about $1500 to take down in MCOL. They left most of the tree (we use it for firewood) so that may have reduced the cost. It was partially overhanging the house.

[AAM2012]

We had 1 large tree removed, 1 small removed and 3 very large trees trimmed and it was approx $3200.

[linus]

We got 3 quotes to take down a very large tree (~100ft pine) in the center of our fenced backyard. First two quotes thought they could use the crane, but would have to put it over our house to reach the tree. Estimates including removal and stump grinding were ~$2K. Third company didn't want to risk using the crane over the house, so sent a climber instead: charged $3400. Our neighbors had several smaller trees in their front yard removed by the same company for about $1K, so it really depends on a lot! We're on the higher side of MCOL.

[whitemerlot]

I had 4 large trees, and 3 small trees, plus a very large oak trimmed. The total was $2000 and the oak was $950 of that. The Arborist was not that much more than some of the other licensed and insured tree trimmers we had out for quotes.

[imojoebunny]

I have had quotes of $3k to $8k to take out the SAME tree. There is crazy variability. I have a guy at my cabin who drops huge trees for $500 (does not haul away), and people in the city who I have paid $3800 to take out the same sized tree, with other estimates almost double.

You also want to know how they are going to take it out. Cranes and such are fast, but will rip up your landscaping, if you have it, which can cost a lot to fix. Some people just use a lot of labor, and others use a lot of equipment.

Typically, I have the city arborist come out to give me a tree permit, so I don't pay for that, except in taxes. Then I get quotes. Taking out a tree without a permit here is a terrible idea, and getting a permit is reliant on the arborist agreeing the tree is a problem. If he doesn't agree, there is not much you can do, unless you want to pay crazy fees, like $5K or more.

[my3bears]

Suburbs in the mid-atlantic region here. We were only able to get 1 tree company to come out for a quote. Our area was hit with so many hurricanes and ice storms for the past few years, trees have been a huge issue, and even the one company couldn't come out for weeks they were so booked. We were really worried and just wanted the trees we were worried about removed before the next intense weather season, so we accepted the one quote.

$3500 included the removal and stump grinding of 3 large trees, 2 smaller trees, and trimming the remainder. It looks like from the other responses on this board that that was reasonable?

ETA: It was more expensive because our back yard is fenced so they couldn't use the big equipment for any of the trees in the back. 

[Redpoppy]

We got two quotes for removal of 5 medium size dead trees, 1 large dead tree, and 3 large diseased trees. They also trimmed 2 trees and ground 2 stumps (we left the others). It was $2650. We were originally going to just trim one of the large trees since it had some time left but the difference between trimming and removing was $100 if done then. We were going to go with. The cheaper estimate but the more expensive company matched the price. He also had a crane and a bucket which made it go much faster. He was doing a large job across the street which helped some too. The cheaper guy climbed, and the three dead trees made me extremely nervous.

We had him give a quote on two very large pines and they would have been $800 each if done with our other work. Lol, they stayed.

[mskitkat]

Thanks everyone! Tree permits didn't even occur to me. i appreciate the advice. So not excited about this bill, but such is the joys of home ownership.

[boiler717]

I would post on H&G, lots of knowledgable ladies there!

[ladyk]

Mine was $350 to get a 20 year old River Birch trimmed. My parents spent about $2500 getting 5 50+ feet trees removed and the stumps ground.

You don't need a tree permit here but according to my HOA covenants, I would need their permission to take any trees out more than 3" in trunk diameter.

[everafter07]

One company cut down two very large, 80 ft trees for about $3500. Another smaller company we found through word of mouth cut down 5 more and did a little branch trimming on others for about $5000.

[carfar]

We paid I think $800 or so to have some huge 50 year old cypress tress on a hill on the back yard trimmed and thinned out.

[mich1]

Yep, just did it. For us, it looks like it'll be about $1800/tree to get it taken down. It's a very large tree, in a difficult area to get to.