Tree surgeon in Bristol for felling, cutting and removals

There is no useful flat rate, because the price is driven by the job rather than the tree. What moves it is size, what is underneath it, and how the waste gets out. A small garden tree with a clear drop zone and a driveway to park the chipper on is a straightforward half-day. The same tree standing over a conservatory in a terraced garden with rear-lane-only access has to be dismantled in sections, rigged down and carried out by hand, and that is a completely different piece of work. We come and look, then give you a fixed written price for the whole job including chipping and taking the waste away — free, and with nothing to pay if you decide against it.

Quite possibly, yes. A tree covered by a Tree Preservation Order needs a formal application to Bristol City Council and a decision before any work starts. A tree standing in a conservation area — and Bristol has a great many, including most of Clifton, Cotham and Redland — needs six weeks' written notice to the council instead, giving them the chance to protect it. Doing protected tree work without consent is a criminal offence and the fines are substantial. We check a tree's status before we quote, and if a notice or application is needed we write the specification and submit it for you.

Yes. We carry public liability insurance for tree work, and we are happy to send you a copy of the certificate before we start — just ask when we quote. It is a reasonable thing to ask any tree surgeon for, and anyone who hesitates about showing you theirs is telling you something.

For most deciduous trees the dormant season, roughly November to February, is ideal — the structure is visible with the leaves off and the tree is not actively growing. There are exceptions worth knowing. Birch, maple and walnut bleed heavily if cut in late winter, so they are better done in summer. Plums, cherries and other prunus should only be pruned in the growing season, because winter cuts leave them open to silver leaf disease. And between March and August we have to check for active birds' nests before starting, since all wild birds' nests are legally protected while in use. Dead, damaged and dangerous wood can be taken out at any time of year.

Yes, as standard. Brash goes through the chipper and the chip goes with us, and the timber is taken away too. If you would rather keep the wood, say so when we quote and we will cut it to length and stack it wherever you want it — a lot of customers keep the logs for a wood burner. Either way the price includes clearing up, and we rake and blow the site down before we go.

Crown reduction shortens each branch back to a suitable smaller growth point, so the tree gets shorter and narrower but keeps its natural shape and can carry on growing normally. Topping is cutting the whole head off at an arbitrary height, leaving stubs. It is quicker and cheaper, and it is bad practice: the stubs decay because there is no growth point to seal to, and the tree responds by throwing out a dense mass of weakly attached shoots that are far more likely to fail in a few years' time than the original branches ever were. We reduce trees. We do not top them.

Yes, and it is usually cheapest to do it in the same visit while we are already on site. We grind the stump and the main root plate down below soil level rather than excavating it, which saves tearing up the surrounding garden. How deep we go depends on what is going over the top — a few inches is plenty for turf, more if you are laying a patio or planting a new tree in the same spot. The only thing we need to check first is whether the grinder can physically get to the stump.

That is most of what we do. Trees in Bristol gardens are rarely standing in open space, so the normal approach is sectional dismantling — the climber takes the tree apart from the top, and each piece is either dropped into a clear area or rigged and lowered on ropes under control. That is how a tree comes out from over a conservatory, a garage roof or a shared boundary without anything landing on them. The one thing we cannot touch is a tree in contact with electricity service cables: those have to be isolated by the network operator first, and we will tell you who to call.

As fast as we can get to you — ring rather than filling in the form for anything urgent. Storm work is the one thing that jumps the queue, particularly a tree on a building, across a drive, or with a limb hanging up in the canopy where it could drop on someone. In the meantime keep people and pets well away from underneath it, and do not try to pull anything down that is under tension.

No. We come out, look at the tree, tell you what we think it needs — including telling you when it does not need anything — and give you a fixed written price for the work. There is no charge for that and no obligation to book it.