I need to get 4-5 trees trimmed in my yard for as little $ as humanly possible. If I climb a ladder with a chainsaw, I'll wind up hacking off my own fingers. Any ideas on a cheap tree trimmer? Should I hire some dude from the Home Depot parking lot?
You could try these guys, they are a nice father-son team and will give you a free estimate: Jimenez Tree Services, 832.758.0941 Unfortunately I have some difficult trees so I have to use the fancy companies and drop 2k for three of them to be done properly. And that was a lower bid.
You can buy that telescopic tree trimmer with the saw blade and the cutter (for small branches) at Home Depot or Lowes. It works pretty well albeit not for the weaklings or out of shape to use probably. If you went with any kind of pro tree trimming service, then I expect you would be out at least $400 and probably more given the number of trees you mentioned (unless they are smaller trees which don't require much). You can at least get a few people out to give you some estimates before you decide. I think your best bet is someone who does their own company out of their home, e.g. a Mom & Pop operation. They are usually cheaper than a pro tree trimming service. Usually just one person with a telescopic pole with a small chainsaw mounted on the end who cleans up by himself...from my experience hiring out this type of work.
Julians's Tree and Lawn Service 832-371-5611 They raised the canopy in the backyard and cleared a big limb and other low branches over the driveway in the front. Did it for $150. We got two trees in the back and two in the front.
I need to necro this thread for my own devices anyone had any trimming done recently? I have a huge sycamore in my back yard and a few of the limbs are hanging over my house. I have gotten two quotes so far in the $500 range. reccomendations?
i wouldn't trust some guy in a parking lot. Pay the extra and get some people with experience and expertise.
if you don't know exactly what you are doing pruning trees, then i would leave it to the pros. you can't just start cutting branches you don't like. there is technique involved. you don't shape trees like bushes. what happens if you try to shape a tree is all the cuts to branches you make tend to explode into little nodes that spawn several more branches. then, your tree grows very thick with little new branches everywhere. it becomes a mess later on even if it initially looks good. like others have mentioned, they do things like raise the canopy by cutting entire lower branches off. they will also thin out a tree. they don't tend to alter the way a tree is branching out and growing, i.e. its natural growth pattern. i guess it also depends on the tree type. i just had two entire trees removed from my front/back yard because some idiot decided it was a good idea to plant an immature live oak and then put a pool in right next to it. well, that live oak grew up and hung over the pool creating a pool maintenance nightmare. so, it's history. then, they also decided to put some bushy, wide growing tree not more than 10 feet from a red oak (which tends to grow taller than wider) in my front yard. so, i had them remove that bushy, wide tree (i can't remember the name of). total cost of job when all said and done with additional pruning of other trees, stump grinding, disposal, etc...$1300. some idiot made some real winner decisions on planting trees in my future home when it first went up. "oh...look at how cute these trees look when they are immature!" ten to twelve years later...trees start growing up and it's not so cute. i'd like to stick a knife in the person or persons who made those decisions...and prune them. lol
The telescoping trimmers work pretty good...and you can buy one that has a small chainsaw attachment at the end which makes it easier. I went that way after hiring someone to raise the canopy initially in the front and back. They did a good job but I didn't want to have to keep hiring someone year in and year out. In fact I think it was Julian's. You do have to be careful that you hire someone who KNOWS what they are doing. I've heard and seen stories of so called landscapers that basically gut the tree or bushes, and it looks horrible.
If they're live oaks, you have to be sure to paint the cuts, so it would also need an attachment for a spray can. Oak wilt is a huge deal here in Austin, and I have about a dozen live oaks of various sizes, plus a few other trees. So I sprung for an arborist-owned tree trimming company. If the OP ends up hiring someone, be sure they're bonded. You don't want to end up being sued if they fall out of your tree.
good to know about the bonding, much obliged. I am having a couple guys come out for quotes, no way in hell I am taking care of any of this myself. its a great tree, built a tree house around it last winter. it just needs a little TLC
What is really bad about oak wilt is that live oaks are usually connected underground with their root systems, which is why you often see groups of them. If one gets oak wilt, they all eventually get it, unless you do an expensive trenching thingy around the first tree affected, and hope that it hasn't yet reached the others. So always paint live oak cuts, or if a limb breaks off, clean up the cut and paint it.
Also clean the chainsaw or whatever you use to cut with before moving onto the next tree. That's another way oak wilt spreads
