Straight answers on cost, ash trees, permits, insurance, and how this service works in Cortland County.
Most ordinary removals land between about $350 for a small tree and $3,000 for a big one, with dead trees, tight quarters, and anything over a structure pushing the top of the range. New York sales tax applies on top. Those are guideposts, not quotes — the free quote from a local pro is the real number.
Yes. Phone call, site visit, and the number itself: free, county-wide, no trip charge, no obligation. You pay a tree professional only for work you approve.
No, and we say so plainly: this is a free local connection service. The work is done by independent, established tree professionals working in and around Cortland County. Our job is matching you with one who answers the phone, shows up, and quotes straight.
The emerald ash borer — an invasive beetle that has killed ash across New York, Cortland County included. Borer-killed ash turn brittle unusually fast, which makes them more dangerous to climb and more urgent to deal with than most dead trees. If you have standing dead ash near the house, driveway, or road, it belongs near the top of the list, and batching several into one visit is the economical way to catch up.
For a tree on your own residential property in most of Cortland County, generally no. The main exceptions: street trees in a village or city right-of-way belong to the municipality, and work near streams or mapped wetlands can involve the DEC. When a line or a right-of-way is in question, ask the town or village office — and the pro quoting the job will flag it too.
Routine removal of a standing tree: normally no — that's maintenance. A tree that has fallen on an insured structure: commonly yes, in part, per your policy and adjuster. Two habits protect every claim: photos before cleanup starts, and an itemized invoice after. If your insurer sent a letter demanding tree work by a deadline, see our home sale and insurance page — that's scheduled as deadline work and documented.
Absolutely, and around here most people do. Ask for the wood bucked to length and left — it usually lowers the price, and New York's rules on moving firewood are one more argument for burning it where it fell.
Hazards: immediately, whatever the month. Planned removals and structural pruning: the dormant season is often ideal — frozen ground protects lawns, bare branches show the structure, and you're ahead of the ice instead of behind it. Sugar maples bleed sap from late-winter cuts; harmless, but prune maples in summer if the sight would bother you.
Routine work: typically within a few days. Emergencies — tree on a structure, blocked access, hanging limbs — jump the line; call rather than using the form and say it's urgent.
Calls may be recorded so nothing you tell us about the job gets lost between you and the professional we connect you with. New York permits this with one party's consent; we're telling you anyway, because straight dealing is the whole pitch.