Tree Removal in Joliet, IL

Tree removal is a planned job most of the time, not an emergency. Around Joliet the trees people ask us to take down are usually healthy enough to stand for years but in the wrong place: a silver maple whose roots have heaved the driveway, a spruce that has grown into the gutters, a cottonwood dropping limbs on the garage, or a row of pines planted a few feet from the foundation when the house was new. The decision is yours; our job is to tell you plainly what we see, whether pruning could fix the problem instead, and what the removal will involve.

How a tree comes down depends on the yard

Felling a tree in one piece needs a clear landing zone at least as long as the tree is tall. That is rare on Joliet's older blocks, where houses, garages and fences sit close together, and not always available in newer subdivisions either, where backyards back onto each other. So most of our removals are sectional. A climber or an aerial lift works from the top down, cutting limbs first and then the trunk in short lengths. Pieces that would damage something if dropped are tied off and lowered on ropes through a friction device at the base of the tree. On the rare tree that cannot be climbed safely and has no room for a lift, a crane lifts sections out.

Signs that removal makes more sense than pruning

• More than about half of the crown is dead or thinning
• A large cavity, fungus or soft wood at the base or on the main trunk
• A long crack running through the trunk or between two main stems
• A lean that is new or getting worse, with soil heaving on one side
• Roots that have been cut badly for a driveway, sidewalk or foundation
• A species that keeps failing, such as a weak-wooded tree dropping limbs every storm

Not every one of these means the tree must go. A tree with a single dead limb or a crossing branch may only need pruning. We tell you which category your tree falls into.

Clay soil, wet springs and your lawn

Many yards around Joliet have clay-heavy soil that stays wet in spring. Heavy equipment on a saturated lawn leaves ruts that last all summer. We plan the route for chippers and lifts, use ground mats where needed, and sometimes suggest waiting for drier or frozen ground if the tree is not dangerous. Winter is a good season for planned removals here: the leaves are off, so the structure is easy to read, and frozen ground carries weight with less damage.

Logs, brush and stumps

Brush goes through a chipper. You can keep the chips for mulch or have them hauled off. Logs can be left in rounds for you to split, cut to firewood length, or taken away. The stump is a separate line on the quote; it can be ground right after the removal or left for later. If you plan to plant a new tree, we suggest a spot a bit away from the old stump, since the old roots take years to rot.

Before the saw starts

We confirm the tree is yours. A tree in the parkway, between the sidewalk and the curb, belongs to the City of Joliet, and its Forestry Division removes dead or dying parkway trees at no charge to the homeowner, so call 815-724-3650 rather than hiring anyone for those. If a homeowners association governs your subdivision, it may have rules about removing and replacing trees. And if a tree grows on the property line, both owners should agree before it comes down.