A well-prepared property makes tree removal faster, safer and sometimes cheaper - crew time is a big part of the price, and every obstacle slows the job. Here's exactly what to do before we (or any arborist crew) arrive, and what to expect on the day.
Clear the access and the drop zone
The crew needs to get a truck and chipper as close to the tree as possible - every extra metre of dragging branches adds time. Move cars off the driveway and street frontage, unlock gates, and clear the area around the tree of anything movable: outdoor furniture, pot plants, trampolines, hoses, kids' toys.
If access is through a neighbour's property or over a shared driveway, arrange that before the day - it's the single most common cause of delays.
Tell us about what we can't see
The things that cause problems on removal day are almost always underground or out of sight: septic tanks and their soakage fields, irrigation lines, shallow water pipes, buried power to the shed. Mark them or tell the crew where they are - heavy sections of trunk get lowered or dropped in controlled ways, and we plan the drop zones around what you tell us.
Same goes for new concrete, fresh landscaping or that one garden bed that matters most - say so, and it gets protected or avoided.
Kids, pets and neighbours
Plan for kids and pets to be inside or away while the crew is working - chainsaws, chippers and falling timber demand a clear site, and an escaped dog in the drop zone stops the whole job. If the work is near a boundary, a heads-up to the neighbours the day before goes a long way - chippers are loud, and a warned neighbour is a patient one.
Decide what happens to the wood
Before the day, decide: do you want the firewood? Rounds left stacked are usually free or cheap since it saves cartage - but they'll be green (unseasoned) and need a year or more of drying before burning well. Want the woodchip for the garden? Say so - otherwise it leaves with us (or see our free mulch offer).
If you want the site completely cleared - wood, chip, every twig raked - that's the standard we quote unless you tell us otherwise. Just make sure whichever you want is written on the quote.
What the day actually looks like
A typical residential removal: the crew arrives, walks the site and confirms the plan, sets up exclusion zones, and works the tree down in sections - climber or elevated work platform up top, ground crew feeding the chipper. A medium tree is often down and cleared in half a day; big technical removals near structures can take a full day or more.
When we leave you should have: the tree gone to the agreed level (usually a low stump unless grinding was quoted), the site raked and blown clean, and no surprises. That's the standard to hold any crew to. Booking with us? Call 022 167 1268 with any questions before the day - we'd rather answer them early.
