Norman, Oklahoma
Tree removal Norman trusts.
Dead, dying, storm-cracked, or just in the wrong place — we take trees down clean, quote them straight, and leave the yard better than we found it.
When a tree has to go
Nobody calls us hoping to lose a shade tree. They call because the tree already made the decision. The usual reasons, in the order we see them: the tree is dead and shedding bark; a storm cracked the trunk or split a main fork; wind on soaked ground heaved the roots; the limbs over the roof have gotten so heavy that the trim which would fix them would leave nothing worth keeping; or a redcedar has grown hard against the house. Several of Norman’s most common yard trees — silver maple, Siberian elm, cottonwood — grow fast and break easy, and for each of them there comes a year when removal is the honest recommendation.
Not sure your tree is done? Ask. Sometimes a real trim buys a good tree another decade, and we would rather do that job. For a second opinion on whether a tree can be saved, the International Society of Arboriculture’s homeowner site, treesaregood.org, is a fair place to start.
A removal, start to finish
We walk the yard, agree on a number, and pick a day. If there is open ground, the tree comes down in one controlled fell. On most Norman lots there is not — so a climber or the bucket truck works from the top down, and every limb hanging over a target gets roped and lowered, not dropped. Brush goes through the chipper, the trunk gets bucked and loaded, and the lawn gets raked. If you are keeping firewood, we cut it to length and stack it where you want it.
The stump is its own decision: leave it cut low, or have it ground out below ground level the same day. Grinding costs the least when it rides along with the removal.
What removal costs in Norman
A typical removal here runs about $750. The realistic range is $200 for a small tree up to $2,000 and beyond for a big one. The hardest jobs — a crane picking a dead oak off a roofline, section by section — can reach $6,000 to $7,000. Emergency work after a storm can run to $5,000, mostly because it happens at night, in the wet, on wood that is loaded and unpredictable.
Four things move the number:
- Size. Height, spread, and trunk diameter set the hours.
- Targets. A tree over open lawn goes quickly. Over a roof, a fence, and a service drop, every piece rides a rope.
- Access. Street-side trees meet the bucket truck. A backyard behind a narrow gate gets climbed, and the wood gets carried out.
- Condition. Dead wood is brittle. It gets rigged slower and safer, and that costs time.
The quote is free and the number is in writing. It changes only if the job changes.
Cranes, tight lots, and dead wood
Some trees are past climbing. A hackberry that has stood dead through two Oklahoma summers will not hold a climber’s weight, and no rope makes it safe. That is when a crane earns its fee: the operator holds each section from above while the sawyer cuts it free, and the wood flies over the house instead of through it. The same goes for tight lots where a tree leans over two roofs at once, or storm-damaged trunks that could go any direction the moment they are touched.
We will tell you plainly when a job needs a crane and when it does not. Paying for one you do not need is a waste, and skipping one you do need is how fences, roofs, and people get hurt.
Removal questions
Can you take just part of the tree?
Often, yes. If the trunk is sound and the problem is one bad limb or too much weight on one side, reduction may be the smarter buy. We will say so.
Who gets the wood?
You do, if you want it — bucked to firewood length and stacked. Otherwise it leaves on our trailer along with the chips.
Will my yard survive?
We lay ground protection where machines roll, flag the sprinkler heads, and rake before we leave. Ruts and crushed beds are not part of the deal.
How long does a removal take?
Most take a morning to a day. Crane jobs and big dead trees can run longer, and we will tell you before we start, not after.
Ready when you are.
One walk of the yard, one written number, one clean removal.