Tree Removal in Cleveland, OH

Tree removal on a typical Cleveland lot is rarely a single cut at the base. Between the house, the garage at the back, the neighbor's place a few feet away and the wires along the drive, there is seldom a clear spot for a mature tree to fall. So it comes down from the top: a climber or a lift takes off the limbs, then the trunk in short sections, and anything heavy enough to do damage is lowered on a rope. Height matters to the price, but access, what is underneath and how sound the wood is usually decide how long the job takes.

Trees that should come out

Some are obvious: a dead tree, a trunk with a cavity you can put your fist in, mushrooms or conks growing at the base, a split down the main fork, or a fresh lean with the soil heaved up on one side. Others are judgment calls. A healthy silver maple may simply be too big for a 40-foot-wide lot, a Norway maple may be lifting the driveway, or a tree may drop a limb on the garage every winter. We tell you what we see, and if pruning or cabling would solve the problem for less, we say so.

Dead ash and beech

Emerald ash borer has been confirmed in all 88 Ohio counties since 2016, according to the U.S. Forest Service's Ohio forest health report, and most ash trees that were not treated are now dead or close to it. Dead ash dries out and turns brittle, so limbs can snap off unpredictably during climbing and rigging. The longer one stands, the more often the safe answer is a lift rather than a climber, and that costs more. Beech trees with advanced beech leaf disease are heading the same way. If either stands over your house, your driveway or the sidewalk, taking it down while the wood still holds a rope is usually simpler and cheaper than waiting.

Tree lawn trees and wires

If the tree is in the strip between the sidewalk and the curb, it is likely a public tree. The City of Cleveland requires a Division of Urban Forestry permit before a public tree is removed, says that work must be done by a licensed tree contractor, and requires the stump to be removed with it. We flag tree lawn trees during the estimate so you can call 311 first. Near power lines, the utility comes first; we do not cut within reach of energized lines, and we finish the rest of the tree once the line is clear.

Wood, brush and the stump

You decide what stays. Logs can be left in rounds, cut to firewood length or hauled away, and brush is chipped on site, with chips left for mulch or taken with us. The City picks up up to 20 bundles of brush a week, which is fine for small trimmings but not for a whole tree, so plan on the wood leaving with us unless you want it. The stump is its own line on the quote. Grinding it is often done the same day.