Two trees that look identical from the street can cost very different amounts to remove. The tree is only one part of the job, and access usually matters more than height.
One thing upfront so you can tell quickly whether this applies to your job: our scope covers small tree and stump work up to four metres. If your tree is taller, this will still help you read the quotes you get.
What sets the price
- Access. Often the single biggest swing between two quotes for similar-looking trees. A tree beside a driveway with room for a chipper and trailer is a different job to one down a narrow side passage, behind a locked gate, or on a slope where everything is carried out by hand.
- Size and height. These decide how the tree comes down: felled in one piece, sectioned from the ground, or climbed and worked through the canopy piece by piece. A tall straight tree in the open is often simpler than a shorter one crowded by fences.
- Proximity to structures and lines. A tree that can be felled into open space is quicker and lower-risk than one dismantled piece by piece around a roof, fence or overhead lines. Anything near power lines can need coordination with the lines company.
- Stump grinding. Different equipment, often a different visit, and normally quoted separately. Do not assume it is bundled in.
- Haulage. Leaving timber on site cut into rounds lowers the price. Full removal of every branch and offcut costs more and leaves the property clear the same day. Neither is wrong, but they are not the same job.
Reading the quotes
Check each one is pricing the same job, not just the same tree. Is stump grinding in or out? Is debris hauled away or left? Is the figure fixed or an estimate that can move once work starts? Does it account for your actual access rather than a generic assumption? A lower number that excludes grinding and haulage often costs more once both are added back.
Our approach
We quote small tree and stump work up to four metres as a fixed price per job, agreed before we start, never an hourly rate and never an estimate that shifts once the truck is on site. That price accounts for access, haulage and whether grinding is part of the same visit.
Above four metres, close to power lines, or needing rigging and specialist climbing, we refer you to a qualified arborist. It is a deliberate line rather than one we try to talk around. Send a photo if you are not sure which side of it your tree falls on. Worth checking consent status before you collect quotes at all.