Crane-Assisted Tree Removal in St. Louis, MO

Crane-assisted tree removal is used when a tree is too big, too weak or too boxed in to take down safely by climbing and rigging alone. A climber, or a lift, attaches the crane to a section of the tree, makes the cut, and the crane lifts that piece clear of the house and sets it down where it can be cut up and chipped. The tree comes out in a few large picks instead of dozens of small pieces lowered on ropes.

Which St. Louis trees end up needing one

Most are big trees standing over something valuable with no clear ground underneath: a large pin oak or sycamore behind a brick two-family, a silver maple whose whole canopy is over the garage and the alley, or a tree wedged between a house and a neighbor's fence. Dead trees are the other common case. An ash killed by emerald ash borer dries out and turns brittle, and climbing it and tying ropes into it puts load on wood that may not hold. A crane lets the crew work from outside the tree on the parts that are least sound.

Where the crane goes

A crane needs firm, level ground near the tree, room to extend its outriggers and a clear path for the boom. On many city blocks that means setting up in the street or the alley, which may need permission from the city, and in some cases parking restrictions or traffic control. Overhead wires near the setup spot matter too: Missouri's Overhead Power Line Safety Act keeps equipment at least 10 feet from lines over 600 volts unless the utility has made them safe, and Ameren has up to seven working days after notice and payment to begin that work. We look at all of this during the estimate.

Is it more expensive?

The crane adds a cost of its own, but it can shorten a job from days to hours and reduce the risk to the house. On some trees it ends up close in price to a long climbing-and-rigging job; on others it is clearly the larger number. We tell you which way we would do it and why, and price it in writing.