Every job we take on, and how each one is priced

The four core services

Most enquiries land in one of four buckets, and the difference matters because the pricing logic behind each one is completely different.

Tree removal is priced on risk and access. The size of the tree is only half of it - the other half is what is underneath, how the sections get to the chipper, and whether a crane or an EWP is needed to do it safely.

Tree lopping and pruning is priced on time in the canopy. A crown reduction on a mature fig takes a climber most of a day; clearing a jacaranda off a roofline takes a couple of hours.

Stump grinding is priced on stump diameter, timber hardness and whether the machine can physically get to it. A narrow side gate can double the cost because a smaller machine takes longer.

Stump removal - full excavation of the root plate - is priced on excavator time and spoil disposal, and is only worth paying for when something structural is going in.

The work that sits around them

Palm work is its own category. Cocos, Alexandra and Bangalow palms all behave differently on the saw, and a seeding cocos next to a creek line is a weed problem as much as a tree problem. Seed heads get bagged and taken off site so the next generation does not come up in the gully.

Block clearing for a building envelope is a planning job before it is a tree job. Both Sunshine Coast Council and Noosa Council regulate clearing, and the local rules differ across the boundary.

Arborist reports are the other thing people ask for - usually because a council application, an insurer or a body corporate has asked for one. A report documents the species, dimensions, health, structural condition and recommended action, and it is written to be handed to a third party.

What we will not do

We do not top trees. Cutting a mature tree back to stubs produces a flush of weakly attached regrowth that fails in the next big blow, and it shortens the life of the tree considerably. If the only way to get the clearance you want is topping, the honest answer is removal, and we will tell you that instead.

We do not price removals sight unseen. A photo does not show the lean, the drop zone, the soil, or the 300mm gap between the trunk and the boundary fence.

We do not work on or near live power lines. That is Energex's work or an accredited line-clearing contractor's, and it is the right kind of job to be fussy about.

Getting a number

Most jobs end up combining two or three of the services above, which is why they are quoted as one package - the full tree service page explains how that works and covers the root removal, site clearing and replanting that sit alongside the core four.

Ring (07) 5408 6029 and describe the tree: rough height, species if you know it, what it is close to, and what has prompted the call. That is usually enough to say whether the job is a half-day or a full day, and to book a time to come and look properly. If it is cost you are weighing up, the tree removal cost guide sets out the ranges and the things that move them.