Crane-Assisted Tree Removal in Buffalo, NY

Crane-assisted tree removal is a way of taking a tree down by lifting it apart. Instead of cutting a limb and lowering it on a rope to the ground beside the trunk, the crew attaches each section to a crane line, makes the cut, and the crane swings the piece over the house and sets it down in the street or driveway. On many Buffalo lots, where a back yard can be reached only through a shared driveway or a gap between houses a few feet wide, that is the difference between a tree that can be removed safely and one that cannot.

Trees that call for a crane

Not every big tree needs one. A crane makes sense when a tree leans over a house or garage with no open ground below, when the wood is too dead or decayed to hold a climber or rigging, as with many ash killed by the borer, or when a storm has left a trunk resting on a roof. It also helps when a tree is so large that lowering its limbs on ropes would put heavy loads on a house, fence or the neighbor's porch on the way down.

What the day looks like

The crane is set up as close to the tree as its reach allows, usually on the street or a driveway, with pads under its outriggers. If it has to stand in the street, the city may require a permit for using the right-of-way, and we check that before the job is scheduled. A climber or a lift puts the crew at the right height, and each pick is sized so its weight is within what the crane can lift at that distance; heavy wood such as oak and wet maple is cut in smaller pieces. A ground crew signals the operator, lands each piece and feeds brush into a chipper while logs are cut up.

Cost and trade-offs

A crane adds a real cost, but it often shortens a job from days to hours and keeps the most risk away from the house and the people working. For a tree directly over a home, the crane is usually the cheaper choice once you count the time and the risk of damage. The written quote lays out the crane's cost so you can see it.

Protecting what is underneath

Because pieces travel through the air rather than down the trunk, very little lands on gardens, roofs or wires. Mats or plywood go down where the crane and trucks touch the lawn or driveway.