A tree near the street raises a first question
Before a tree company prices a job in Sandusky, it helps to know whose tree it is. A shade tree along the front of the lot, a row of shrubs near the curb or a trunk that leans over the sidewalk may be on your property, or it may stand in an area the city looks after. The answer can change who gives permission, what paperwork comes first and when a crew can start, so it is worth settling before anyone sends a price.
Sandusky's Forestry Division and the Tree Application
Sandusky's Forestry Division is responsible for trees and shrubs in public areas; property owners may hire a private contractor to plant, trim or remove a tree in the right-of-way only after completing a Tree Application for authorization.
Questions to settle with the city first
Where the right-of-way runs at your address is not something to judge by eye from the curb. If a tree or shrub you want worked on stands anywhere near the street, put these questions to the city:
- Does this particular tree stand in the right-of-way?
- Where do I get the Tree Application, and what does it ask for?
- How will I hear that the work has been authorized, and should the contractor see a copy?
- Is there anything the city wants me or the contractor to know about this tree?
Keep the answers, with the date and the name of the person you spoke with, alongside the estimates.
Drinking water: Big Island Water Works
On a separate subject, the city's water supply: Sandusky's Big Island Water Works draws surface water from Lake Erie through an intake three-quarters of a mile off the Cedar Point Chaussee, gravity fed through a 42-inch steel pipe; an emergency back-up intake is in Sandusky Bay.
Name the pruning you want
"Trim the tree" can mean very different jobs, and two companies may price two different ideas of it. Arborists use a few common terms, and it helps to know them before the first visit:
- Crown cleaning takes out dead, dying, broken and diseased wood.
- Crown raising removes or shortens lower limbs to clear a walk, a drive or a view.
- Crown reduction shortens selected limbs back to healthy side branches to lower the height or spread.
- Thinning removes some live branches inside the crown to let light and air through.
Tell each company what you hope to gain: more light on the lawn, room over the roof, less weight on a long limb, or simply a healthier tree. Then ask which of these types of work they propose for each tree, how much living wood they expect to take, and why. If an estimate just says "trim," ask for it in these terms instead.
Cabling, bracing and other options short of removal
A tree with a weak fork or a heavy limb is not always a tree that has to go. An arborist may suggest a cable high in the crown to share load between stems, a rod through a split fork, or a reduction cut to take weight off one side. Each of these has limits. Ask what problem the hardware is meant to address, what it will not fix, and how often someone should look at it after it is installed. Ask too what the company would recommend if you chose not to do it.
How a crew may set up in the yard
A crew may reach the tree by climbing on rope and harness, by working from a bucket truck, or with a crane for a large removal near the house. Each method needs space, and each leaves marks on a yard in its own way. Before the day, ask:
- Which method do you plan for each tree, and why that one?
- Where will the truck and chipper park, and will anything cross the lawn?
- Will limbs be lowered on ropes near the roof and fence, or cut to fall in open ground?
- Will mats or boards go down under heavy equipment?
- Does a gate need to come off, or a vehicle move, so the crew can get in?
If you have pets, a garden bed you care about, or a buried sprinkler line you know of, mention it now rather than on the morning of the job.
Wood, chips and the stump
Decide in advance what you want left behind. Some owners keep rounds for firewood or chips for their own beds; others want every piece hauled away. Ask each company whether the price assumes haul-off, whether you can keep wood or chips, and whether it will be split, stacked or left where it falls. On a removal, ask whether the stump is ground out, cut flush, or left at a set height, and who handles the grindings and any hole that remains.
Questions for each tree company
Ask every company the same set of questions, and keep the answers in writing:
- "What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?"
- Can you provide proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation for the crew on site?
- If a tree is in the right-of-way, who completes the Tree Application, and do you wait for authorization before starting?
- Who leads the crew on the day, and how can I reach that person?
- Will the written estimate name each tree, the type of work on it, cleanup and what happens to the wood?
When the crew packs up
Before the final payment, walk the yard with the crew lead. Look up at the trees that were pruned for cuts made just outside the branch collar, and for any long stubs or torn bark hanging below. Check that the work matches the estimate tree by tree, that the yard has been raked and blown clear, and that ruts or damage are noted. Raise anything that looks wrong while the crew is still there, and ask for any agreed fix to be written on the invoice.