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The image most people have of tree felling — a cut at the base and the whole thing coming down — is what happens in a field. It almost never happens in a garden, because there is almost never the space to lay a tree down safely.
What actually happens is a controlled dismantle from the top down. Here is the sequence.
Before Anybody Climbs
- The tree is assessed from the ground. Which way it leans, where the weight sits, whether there is decay that makes any part of it unsafe to be tied into or to climb
- The drop zone is worked out. Where material can go, what has to be protected, what needs moving. Garden furniture, pots, the car, the washing line
- Access for the vehicle is confirmed and the chipper is set up as close as it can sensibly get
- Anything overhead is checked. Power and telecoms lines change the method and are not something to discover halfway up
The Dismantle
A climbing arborist works up through the tree on rope, or works from a platform where access allows one.
Small branches at the top are cut and dropped where there is a clear drop zone beneath. As the sections get heavier, they stop being dropped and start being rigged — tied off before the cut is made, so that when the piece comes free it is lowered on a rope by the team on the ground rather than falling.
This is the slow part, and it is what you are paying for in a tight garden. Each rigged piece is a separate small operation: tie it, cut it, lower it, untie it, move it clear, go again.
Once the crown is off, the remaining stem is taken down in manageable lengths from the top, until what is left is short enough to fell safely into the space available.
On the Ground, at the Same Time
The ground team is not standing watching. Brash goes into the chipper as it arrives, cordwood is cut to length and stacked or loaded, and the drop zone is kept clear — partly for speed, mostly because a cluttered drop zone is how people get hurt.
The Stump
Removal leaves a stump. Grinding it out is a separate operation with a separate machine, and it needs its own access: a grinder is a wheeled machine that has to physically reach the stump, so a side gate too narrow for it is the deciding factor, not the stump itself.
It is worth deciding on the stump at quotation stage rather than afterwards. Doing it in the same visit is cheaper than bringing a machine back separately.
Finishing Up
The site is raked and cleared. Chip goes unless you have asked to keep some; cordwood goes unless you want it, in which case it gets cut to a length you have specified and stacked where you want it.
A tree removal leaves the ground looking different in ways people do not always anticipate. There will be a bare patch where the canopy kept things from growing, and the light in that part of the garden changes immediately and noticeably. Both are normal.
What helps on the day: clear the garden of anything moveable beforehand, keep pets indoors, and if the vehicle needs a particular space on the street, put something in it the night before. None of it is essential, all of it saves time.
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