Dead trees are expensive! The process of removal of a dead tree becomes more involved as time ticks on…
I have removed trees that were so long dead, had they been removed while still alive, it would have cost the owner 1/10th of the total price.
Take, for example, a large Lombardy Poplar next to a house. Originally when alive the tree began to show signs of decline, and I recommended removal. Total cost; $1600.00. While not a small number by means, the story gets better.
Doing what all trees do eventually, yep, you guessed it, it finally croaked!
It wasn’t the owners fault mind you, no amount of love or money would have saved the darn thing, it was just on its way out after a long happy life.
Now the fun part…
Lombardy Poplars are EXTREMELY “weak wooded” trees when they are alive, and when the moisture leaves the wood after they die, they are downright terrifying to climb! Assuming the tree is out of reach of a lift, such as a bucket truck or such, and there is no way to fall it without damaging property, some poor sap (like me) must climb and rig the thing down into itself using ropes and various equipment.
Jerking and shock loading must be kept to an absolute minimum, but it is going to happen, no matter how you rig it.
The question all climbers ask them self when they get into this situation is, “How much is my life worth?”
A whole hell of a lot more than 1600 bucks, that’s for sure!
When the top goes over, and it is rigged into itself, it jerks the whole shootin’ match around enough to snap the stem below the climber, and he/she rides the mess down to their death. It has happened, not cool.
If left dead for more than a few months, the price just doubled. More than a year, and you can expect the decimal point on the original estimate to start moving to the right faster than you can say “ OK, I give!”
It will get to the point that you will be floored by the cost of removal if you wait too long!
A fellow arborist in a not too far away state just completed a removal of a huge tree over a very famous ( and expensive) winery. That job ran almost 40 grand!
Yes, one tree. Yes, forty thousand bucks.
Now if that tree were dead…Think about that. The tree in question was a very strong tree, which means it was also a very heavy tree, as well. It required a very large crane. Very large cranes are also very heavy. Very heavy cranes are also very expensive cranes…
And so it goes…
The moral: the less your arborist needs to wonder if they are going to see the next sunrise, the less it will dent your wallet…
