Tree Removal in Tonawanda, NY

Tree Removal in Tonawanda often means dealing with trees planted by the first owners of a house. The town grew from 32,155 people in 1940 to 105,032 in 1960, as suburban building spread out from Kenmore across Brighton, Green Acres, Kenilworth and Sheridan Parkside. Many of the shade trees put in during those two decades are now 65 to 80 years old. Some are magnificent. Others have outgrown small front yards, lifted driveways, or started dropping limbs over roofs that were built for a sapling.

A different housing market than the outer suburbs

This is the northern inner-ring suburb of Buffalo, with 18.7 square miles of land and smaller lots than towns farther out. Census QuickFacts shows a 72.2% owner-occupied rate, a median owner-occupied home value of $213,900 and an average of 2.10 people per household. One in five residents is 65 or older. That mix means a lot of long-time owners who no longer want to handle a big tree themselves, and a lot of new buyers inheriting trees they did not choose.

Water on three sides

The Niagara River forms the town's western border, Tonawanda Creek and the Erie Canal run along the north, and Ellicott Creek crosses the northern neighborhoods. Yards near the creeks and the 165-acre Ellicott Creek Park tend to stay wet. Silver maple and willow thrive there and grow very large, but wet soil and weak wood are a poor combination in a windstorm. We look at root plates and soil heave closely on these properties.

How a typical job goes

Most removals here are done by climbing and sectioning, because there is rarely room to drop a full-height tree. Pieces are cut small and lowered on rigging so they land in the driveway or lawn, not on the garage. Where wires run to the house, the utility service drop needs to be disconnected or covered before we cut near it, which takes a call to the utility several days ahead. We schedule around that.

Weather history

In the October 2006 storm, the Weather Service recorded 12 to 18 inches of heavy wet snow in Tonawanda, falling on trees that still held their leaves. Across the region that storm produced about three million cubic yards of debris. Trees that lost big limbs that week often closed over the wounds, but decay can continue inside for years. A trunk with an old wound, mushrooms at the base or a hollow sound when tapped is worth having inspected.

What happens to the debris

The town collects branches, shrubs and wood tied in bundles of 60 pounds or less and no longer than 6 feet. That works for a pruning cleanup, but a removal produces many times that amount, so our estimates include chipping the brush and taking the logs unless you want to keep firewood. If you want the stump gone too, stump grinding can go on the same quote. Get a free estimate