Tree Removal

Tree removal is the safe, controlled taking down of a tree that has become a hazard, has died, or stands where you need the ground. David’s Tree Service has been removing trees around Lynch Station, Lynchburg and the surrounding counties since 1993. Licensed and insured, with the same crew doing the quoting and the cutting.

Climber in the bucket cutting a trunk section with a chainsaw

Tree removal in Lynch Station and central Virginia

Tree removal is the safe, controlled taking down of a tree that has become a hazard, has died, or stands where you need the ground. David’s Tree Service has been removing trees around Lynch Station, Lynchburg and the surrounding counties since 1993. Licensed and insured, with the same crew doing the quoting and the cutting.

Call 540-297-3454 and David will come look at it. Free estimate.

When a tree needs to come down

Not every tree does, and we’ll tell you when one doesn’t. The ones that usually do:

  • It’s dead or most of the way there. A dead tree gets more dangerous every season, and it gets more expensive to take down safely once the wood goes soft.
  • It’s leaning toward something that matters. A house, a driveway, a power line, a barn.
  • There’s decay in the trunk. A cavity or soft spot at the base means the tree can fail without warning, in a wind you wouldn’t think twice about.
  • It split at the fork. Two stems growing tight together with bark pinched between them is the single most common failure we see after an ice storm.
  • It’s in the way. Building, septic, fence line, or a view of the lake.
Bucket truck working on a large ivy-covered tree beside a house
A tree section being lowered from the bucket
Crew working a removal in a wooded lot

The trees that give people trouble around here

Thirty-three years in the same counties teaches you which trees call us out.

Tulip poplar is the big one. They grow fast, they grow tall, and a mature one standing over a house is a serious piece of work to take down. When they fail they fail all at once.

Black locust is everywhere in this area and it’s brittle. It decays from the inside while still looking healthy from the road.

Leyland cypress gets planted in rows for screening and then blows over, because the roots stay shallow and the whole row catches wind like a sail.

Pines — Virginia, loblolly, white — are common on rural and lakefront lots. An exposed pine that has lost its neighbors to clearing is a candidate for uprooting in saturated ground.

Red maple and the oaks are usually sound, but they get big, and a large dead limb over a driveway is a hazard on its own.

How we take one down

  1. We come look at it. David walks the site, checks what’s underneath and around it, and tells you what it needs. Free, and no obligation.
  2. You get a price before anything starts. One number, including cleanup. If stump grinding is separate we say so then, not after.
  3. We set up. Drop zone cleared, rigging set where the tree can’t simply be felled whole.
  4. It comes down. In an open field, felled in one piece. Near a house, dock or line, taken down in sections and lowered on ropes.
  5. We clean up. Brush chipped, logs cut and hauled or left stacked if you want the firewood. Yard raked.

What makes one removal cost more than another

People ask why two trees that look similar are priced differently. It comes down to a handful of things:

  • Height and trunk diameter. More tree means more climbing, more rigging and more wood to handle.
  • What’s underneath it. A tree in an open lawn can be dropped. A tree over a roof, a pool, a dock or a power line has to be dismantled piece by piece, and that takes hours rather than minutes.
  • Whether we can get equipment to it. Steep lake lots, narrow driveways, soft ground and fenced back yards all add labor.
  • Whether it needs a crane or a bucket. Tall trees in tight spots sometimes do.
  • Condition. A storm-damaged tree, one hung up in another, or one partially uprooted is more dangerous and takes longer.
  • What happens to the wood. Hauling everything away is different from leaving you the logs.

We price the job after looking at it, not from a chart. That’s why the estimate is free.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will you take the tree away or leave the wood?

Either. Most people want it gone and we haul it. If you burn wood, say so and we’ll cut it to length and stack it instead of chipping it.

Does removal include the stump?

No. Standard removal leaves the stump cut low to the ground. Grinding it out is separate work, and we’ll price both at the same visit so you can decide.

Can you take down a tree next to my house?

Yes. That’s most of what we do. A tree close to a structure gets dismantled in sections and lowered with ropes rather than felled.

What about a tree near a power line?

Call us and we’ll look. Lines that run from the pole to your house we can often work around. If it’s a primary utility line, that’s the power company’s to de-energize first, and we’ll tell you so.

Do I need to be home?

Not for the work, as long as we’ve agreed the scope and we can get to it. Most people are at work when we come.

How long does it take?

Most residential removals are a single day. A large tulip poplar over a house, with a crane, can be longer. We’ll tell you when we quote it.

Get a free estimate

Tell us what you are looking at and we will come price it. If a tree is down right now, call our 24/7 emergency line, 540-871-8338, instead.

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Call and we'll come look

If you’re not sure whether a tree needs to come down, that’s worth a phone call. We’ll tell you straight. Sometimes the answer is that it’s fine, or that trimming it solves the problem for a lot less money.