Tree Removal
Whole trees taken down, from a backyard camphor laurel to a spotted gum leaning over a Merewether roofline.
Learn more →Before anyone starts cutting
The day begins with a walk of the site. The climber and the ground crew agree where the tree is coming down, where the chipper and tipper sit, where the rigging points are and what the escape routes are if something moves unexpectedly. Drop zones get cleared and taped. Anyone not working gets moved out of them, including the owner.
This is also when problems get found. A hidden clothesline wire, a septic lid under the grass, an irrigation main, a neighbour's shed closer to the boundary than it looked from the street. It is far cheaper to find those at 7am than at 11.
The order of cuts
Removal runs from the top down, not the bottom up. The climber sets a line, works up through the canopy and takes the small material first, either dropping it into a clear zone or lowering it on a rope where there is something underneath. The canopy comes off before the trunk, because a bare stem is predictable and a loaded one is not.
Once the canopy is gone, the trunk is taken in sections. Each section is cut, held on the rigging line, and lowered to the ground crew rather than dropped. On a tight inner-Newcastle block that is the whole job — twenty or thirty controlled lowers, each one slower than simply letting it fall, and each one the reason the roof is still intact at the end.
Where a crane or an elevated work platform is used, the sequence is similar but the lifting is done by the machine. That is the method on a Merewether or Hamilton block where the tree is behind the house and there is no rigging point strong enough to take the load.
Processing and clean-up
Everything that fits goes through the chipper as it comes down. Trunk rounds are barrowed or winched out to the tipper, or cut to firewood lengths and stacked if that has been agreed. Palm fibre is bagged separately because it does not chip well and most green waste facilities charge for it.
Clean-up means the drop zone raked, the driveway blown down, and chip either blown back onto your beds or loaded and carted. Ask which of those the quote includes. "Full clean-up" means different things to different contractors, and it is the most common source of an argument at the end of a job.
What happens with the stump
The stump is a separate decision and usually a separate machine. If the grinder is coming the same day, the crew will cut the stump low and flat so the grinder can get at it. If it is being left for later, it gets cut at a workable height instead. Say which you want before the fell, because a stump cut flush to the ground is harder to grind than one left 200 millimetres proud.
The two options are covered on the stump grinding page and the stump removal page, and the difference between them is set out on the grind-or-dig page.
Then the paperwork
If the tree was removed under a council approval, keep the approval, the quote and the invoice together. Councils in the Hunter occasionally audit, and a replacement planting condition is common — Lake Macquarie and City of Newcastle both attach them regularly. The council rules page explains who requires what.
To book a removal, call (02) 4071 2525 or read the main tree removal page first for how the job gets priced.
More services
Explore our other services
Tree Lopping and Pruning
Deadwooding, crown thinning and clearance work that leaves a eucalypt stable instead of shocked into regrowth.
Learn more →Stump Grinding
Stumps and surface roots taken below grade so you can turf, pave or plant over the top of them.
Learn more →Stump Removal
Full excavation where grinding is not enough — footings, pools, drainage and new builds over the old root plate.
Learn more →Emergency and Storm Work
After-hours callouts once a southerly buster or east coast low has put a limb through a roof or across a driveway.
Learn more →
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
How long does a tree removal take?
A small backyard tree with kerbside access is often an hour or two. A mature eucalypt needing sectional dismantle over a roof is usually a full day for a three-person crew. Anything requiring a crane or traffic control can run across two days because the equipment window and the cutting have to be scheduled around each other. The quote should tell you which it is.
Do I need to be home while the work is done?
Not usually, provided the crew has the access they need and you have agreed the scope in writing beforehand. Most people do stay for the start so the trees and the boundaries can be confirmed on the spot. If gates need unlocking or a neighbour's yard is part of the drop zone, someone being there makes the day much smoother.
Will my lawn and garden be damaged?
Some marking is normal. Chipper and tipper tyres compact turf, and rigged sections land on ground protection rather than floating. A reasonable crew lays boards over soft ground, keeps the drop zone tight and rakes out at the end. Damage to paving, irrigation or septic lids should be raised before work starts, not after.
What do I need to do before the crew arrives?
Move cars off the driveway, unlock side gates, pen the dog, take washing off the line and clear pots, furniture and anything breakable from under the tree. If your neighbour's yard is in the drop zone, tell them the date. Those five minutes save the crew an hour, and the quote assumes they have been done.
Free, no-obligation