Tree Surgery Services in Leicestershire

How we price tree work

Tree work has no menu price, and anyone quoting one over the phone without seeing the job is either guessing or planning to change it on the day. Four things move the number: the size of the tree, the access, the risk, and what happens to the arisings.

Access is usually the biggest single factor. A 12-metre sycamore in an open paddock might be a two-hour job for two people. The same tree in a terraced back garden with no rear access is a full day for three, because every section is roped down and carried through the house.

Risk is the second. Working over a conservatory, a boundary wall, a neighbour's greenhouse or a public footpath means rigging every piece rather than dropping it — slower, more equipment, more people.

Disposal is the third. Chipping brash on site is quick; carrying timber 40 metres to the road is not. Say at the quote stage if you want cordwood left for a burner — it usually takes money off.

What we will not do is quote low, start the job, and discover a problem. If we find buried masonry under a stump or decay we could not see from the ground, we stop and talk to you before the price moves.

Getting comparable quotes

If you are getting three quotes, make them comparable. Ask every contractor for the specification in writing in BS3998 terms — "crown reduction of 2m in height and 1m in spread, cuts to suitable laterals, deadwood over 25mm removed" — rather than "cut the tree back". Ask for their NPTC certificates, their public liability certificate, and their waste carrier registration number. A contractor who has all three will produce them in a couple of minutes.

Then check the price against the specification, not against the other prices. The cheapest quote for topping a tree is more expensive than a proper reduction, because you pay again in five years and the tree is worse.