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Tree removal in Standish, Windham, and Sebago, Maine
Hazard takedowns, dead and declining trees, and removals with no room to drop anything. We take trees down in pieces and rope them out over whatever matters below. Sebago, Standish, Windham, Raymond, Casco, Naples, and Gorham.
Send a photo of the tree and roughly how close it is to the house. We will give you a range before anyone comes out.
When a tree actually needs to come down
Removal is permanent and it is the most expensive thing we do. It is worth being clear about when it is warranted.
- Dead, decaying, or insect-infested trees
- Trees leaning toward a house, a shed, or a power line
- Large white pines damaged by winter wind
- Clearing for an addition, a garage, or a new driveway
Structural failure already started. A crack running down the trunk, a split where two stems meet, a lean that has changed recently, or soil heaving on one side of the root plate. These do not improve. A tree that has begun to come apart is a removal, not a pruning job.
The tree is dead or most of the crown is gone. Dead trees get more dangerous to climb every season as the wood dries and the limbs get brittle, so the cost of removing one goes up the longer it stands. If a tree died last year and it is within reach of the house, it is cheaper to deal with now than in two years.
Decay at the base. Mushrooms or conks at the root flare, hollow sound when the trunk is struck, or an open cavity at ground level. The crown can look perfectly healthy while the part holding it up is failing.
The target is what matters. A compromised pine in the middle of a woodlot can stand for years and hurt nobody. The same pine leaning over a bedroom, a power drop, or a camp road is a different conversation. We assess the tree and what is under it together, because that is what actually determines the risk.
Thin, off-colour white pines are usually not dying. White pine needle damage is caused by fungi that need wet spring weather to take hold, and it shows up as yellowing, browning, and early needle drop on year-old needles. It looks alarming from the driveway.
The Maine Forest Service has documented no tree mortality from these diseases, though badly affected pines can carry noticeably thin crowns for a few seasons. A thin crown on its own is not a reason to take a pine down, and there is no fungicide worth applying for it. If that is what you are looking at, we will tell you so and leave the tree standing.
How the tree comes down
Most of what goes wrong on a removal goes wrong before the saw starts. The plan is the job.
- 01
Felling whole, where there is room
The cheapest and fastest option, and it only applies when there is a clear drop zone the full height of the tree plus a margin. On most lots around the lakes there is not.
- 02
Sectional dismantle
A climber works up the tree taking it down in pieces, lowering each one on rope rather than letting it fall. This is what a removal over a roof, a septic field, a stone wall, or a dock actually looks like.
- 03
Rigging over the target
Where a piece cannot simply be dropped, it gets tied off and swung clear on a line before it is cut loose. Slower, and the reason a tight removal costs more than an open-yard one.
- 04
Cleanup and grade
Brush chipped, wood cut down and hauled or left as firewood, ruts raked out. Stump grinding is a separate step and it is priced separately, so you can take it or leave it.
What drives the price
Any company that quotes a firm number over the phone without seeing the tree is guessing. Six things move the figure, and only one of them is size.
Can equipment reach it
Whether a bucket truck and chipper can get to the tree, or whether everything has to be climbed and carried out by hand. This moves the price more than height does.
What is underneath
An open yard means pieces can be dropped. A roof, wires, a septic field, or a neighbour’s fence means every piece gets rigged and lowered.
Dead or compromised
A dead tree is more dangerous to climb and often cannot be climbed at all, which changes both the method and the crew size.
Height and diameter
It matters, but a 70 foot pine in an open field is a cheaper job than a 40 foot oak wedged between a house and a garage.
Where the wood goes
Hauling everything off costs more than cutting the wood to firewood length and stacking it on site. Your call, and it is a real lever on the price.
Stump, permits, replant
Stump grinding is priced separately. Shoreland zone work adds measurement and documentation, and sometimes a town permit.
Send a photo and we will give you a range the same day. If the range works, we come out and put a firm number in writing, free. On site we look at three things before pricing anything: the tree itself, the ground and root plate under it, and what is overhead. The written estimate is the price. We do not quote low on the phone and revise upward once the truck is in your driveway.
The trees we take down here
Removal work in this region is dominated by four species, and each fails in its own way.
Eastern white pine
The one on your roofThe dominant large tree around the lakes and the one most often over a house. White pines grow tall and fast, hold a lot of sail in a storm, and tend to fail at the top rather than at the base. Codominant stems that split at a narrow union are the classic failure we get called about.
Height plus limited drop zone is why so many pine removals here are rigging jobs rather than felling jobs.
Red and white oak
Heavy, and slow to show itOaks hold dense, heavy wood, which makes a dead limb over a roof a serious problem and makes rigging weights add up quickly. Decline shows in the upper crown first, so an oak can look fine from the ground while the top is already dying back.
Ash
Emerald ash borerEmerald ash borer is established in Maine and Cumberland County sits inside the quarantine area. Infested ash becomes brittle unusually fast, which makes a dying ash one of the more dangerous trees to climb and a strong argument for dealing with it before it is fully dead.
The state has proposed repealing the EAB quarantine, so the rules on moving ash wood may change. We work to whatever is in force at the time.
Eastern hemlock
Shade and shorelineCommon on the shaded, damp ground near water. Hemlock holds a lot of small brush, which means more chipping time and more cleanup than the trunk size suggests.
If the tree is within 250 feet of the lake, check first
Sebago is a great pond, which puts everything within 250 feet of the normal high-water line inside the shoreland zone, and the first 100 feet under the strictest cutting limits in the state. Removing a hazard tree is generally allowed, but the resulting opening may have to be replanted, and towns can be stricter than the state minimum.
We check the state rule and the town ordinance before any cutting near the water, score the plot, and document what was there. The full rules, including the 40 percent volume limit and the rating grid, are set out on our homepage.
Where we remove trees
The Sebago Lakes region and the western edge of Cumberland County. Outside this list, call anyway. We travel for larger jobs.
Tree removal questions we get
How much does tree removal cost in Maine?
It depends far more on access and what sits underneath the tree than on the tree’s height. A 70 foot pine in an open field with room to fell it whole is a cheaper job than a 40 foot oak wedged between a house and a garage that has to come down piece by piece on rope.
Whether the wood and brush leave with us, whether the tree is dead, and whether you want the stump ground all move the number as well. We give written estimates free, and the written estimate is the price.
Should I remove a tree that is leaning?
Not necessarily. Plenty of trees have leaned their whole lives and are perfectly stable. What matters is whether the lean is new or changing, whether the soil on the high side is cracked or heaving, and what is underneath it. A recent change in lean plus disturbed ground at the root plate is the combination worth worrying about.
My white pines look thin and brown. Are they dying?
Usually not. White pine needle damage from fungal infection is common across southern Maine after wet springs, and it causes yellowing, browning, and early needle drop that looks much worse than it is. The Maine Forest Service has documented no tree mortality from it. A thin crown by itself is not a reason to remove a pine.
Do you need a permit to remove a tree?
On most inland property, no. Within 250 feet of Sebago Lake or another great pond the shoreland zoning rules apply, hazard trees are generally allowed to come down, and the resulting opening may need replanting. Some towns require a permit on top of the state rule. We check both before we cut.
Can you get to my property down a camp road?
Usually. Tight lots and camp roads are normal work around the lakes and our equipment is sized for it. If the access genuinely will not work we will tell you at the estimate, not after we have started.
Is it cheaper to remove a dead tree?
No, it is usually more expensive, and it gets worse with time. Dead wood dries out and goes brittle, which makes the tree unsafe to climb and can force a different and slower method. If a tree died recently and stands within reach of a structure, dealing with it sooner costs less than waiting.
What happens to the wood and brush?
Your choice. We chip and haul everything off, or we cut the wood to firewood length and leave it stacked. There is no extra charge for either, and leaving the wood keeps the price down.
Tell us what the tree is doing
Call, or send a photo and a rough idea of how close it is to the house. We will come back with a range the same day.