Read your trees before winter does
Annual · typically October · weather can move it up
Why it matters
Trees fail on a schedule of their own, but they almost always send notice first — dead limbs, thinning crowns, fungus, a new lean. Nobody reads the notice because nobody looks up on purpose. This is a different job than your clearance trimming: that task keeps branches off the siding and roof; this one asks whether the whole tree, or its biggest limbs, are structurally sound enough to stand over your house for another year.
Ice is your other test — freezing rain triples limb weight, and it finds every dead branch you didn't.
What skipping it costs
$2,000–$60,000
A mature tree limb through the roof is a $10,000–$25,000 event; a whole trunk on the house can double that, and insurance gets combative when the tree was visibly dead beforehand — 'known hazard, unaddressed' is claims-adjuster language for a denial. The tell was usually visible for two years: dead limbs, fungus at the base, a lean that wasn't there before.
Two ways to get it done
Do it yourself
You'll need: Binoculars, Phone camera.
- Stand back where you can see each large tree whole. Dead limbs — bare when the rest holds leaves, bark sloughing off — over the house, driveway, or play areas are the #1 finding.
- The base: mushrooms or shelf fungus growing from the trunk or root flare mean internal rot — that's a call-the-arborist finding, full stop. Also look for heaving soil or newly exposed roots on one side.
- The lean: trees can grow leaning forever; a lean that's NEW or increasing is the emergency version. Compare against last year's photos.
- The crown: one side thinning while the rest thrives, or big limbs with cracks/splits at the trunk union (tight V-shaped unions split; wide U-shaped ones hold).
- Photograph every tree from the same spots each October — year-over-year comparison is the whole diagnostic.
- Chainsaw rule: your saw stays below shoulder height with both feet on the ground. Everything else is a hire.
Hire it out
$150–$450National fair range — local labor moves this number.
An ISA-certified arborist assessment runs $150–$450 and is worth every dollar when the DIY walk found something — they'll tell you prune vs. cable vs. remove, and certified ones have a professional bias toward keeping trees, which conveniently is also the cheap answer.
Removals are priced by size, access, and what the tree can hit — $800 for a small open-yard tree to $5,000+ for a big one leaning over the house. That spread is why second bids exist. And schedule found problems for late fall or winter: dormant-season work is easier on the tree and, routinely, on the invoice.
Ask the tech
- Are you an ISA-certified arborist? (Certification is searchable — actually search it.)
- Is this tree a removal, or is there a pruning or cabling option that keeps it?
- Are you insured for tree work specifically — and can I see the certificate?
Red flags you're being upsold
- 'Topping' — cutting the whole crown flat. It's tree butchery that creates weakly-attached regrowth, i.e., MORE hazard in five years. Certified arborists don't top trees; the guys with a truck and a chainsaw love to.
- Post-storm door-knockers quoting removals for cash. Same crews as the roofing chasers, different tool.
- A removal quote for every tree they look at. Arborists save trees for a living; removal-only outfits sell removals.
Second opinion time: Any removal quote over $2,000, or any 'this could fall any day' urgency on a green, full-crowned tree. Removal spreads run 2–3× between bidders.
The call
DIY the annual look — binoculars and ten minutes per big tree. The moment a saw needs to leave the ground, hire it; tree work is the most dangerous trade amateurs attempt.