I wrote this in August 2021. The numbers below are what we were quoted back then, for one tree, in one backyard.
The tree that dropped hints
Our backyard had a tree that looked at least 120 years old. A real giant.
Then, out of nowhere, one of its big upper branches snapped off on its own and landed on the roof of the house behind us.
Not long after, another big branch broke off the same tree. This one covered our entire yard.
My first feeling was thank you. Two huge branches, and not one fell on our house. Thank you, tree. Really.
My second feeling was: we need someone who knows trees.
What the tree experts told us
We called in tree specialists to take a look. The diagnosis was sad but clear. The tree was rotting from the inside, and that’s why it was breaking apart by itself. If we left it alone, there was no telling when the next piece, or the whole thing, might fall on someone else’s house.
Their advice: take it down, and soon.
So we decided to cut it.
The quotes: $6,500, then $4,500, then $2,000
Quote #1: $6,500. I’m going to type that again. Six thousand five hundred dollars. At the time, that was more than 7 million Korean won. I did the conversion in my head. Oof.
So I kept looking. I checked a few more companies.
Quote #2: $4,500. Better. Still way, way, way too expensive for us.
I couldn’t sleep for a few nights. All I could think about was that money flying out of our account, straight into a wood chipper.
Quote #3: $2,000. The last company I tried offered to do the job for $2,000. That’s $4,500 less than the first quote, for the same tree. I signed on the spot.
What I’d want you to know
I’m no tree expert. Still, a few things I learned:
- Big branches breaking off on their own are a warning. In our case, the cause was rot inside the trunk, and it only got found because we had experts look.
- Get more than one quote. Then get another one. Our quotes for the same job ranged from $6,500 down to $2,000. If I had stopped at the first call, I would have paid more than three times what I ended up paying.
- Think of it as a safety cost. $2,000 is still real money. But I decided to see it as the price of keeping everyone safe later, including the neighbors whose roof already took one hit.
Saying goodbye
Before the tree came down, I thanked it for all its years. We shared a glass of soju, the tree and I, and then we let it go.
Around that time, I had just watched Fantastic Fungi on Netflix, a documentary that left me grateful for mushrooms, and for everything that grows out of the ground. So taking down a tree that big weighed on me more than I expected.
I cut one big tree. So I should plant ten or more. That’s the plan.