Common Questions
Answers to what we're asked most.
Height, condition and what's underneath set most of the price. Around here a small tree under 30 feet typically runs $300–$700, a medium tree of 30–60 feet $700–$1,500, and anything over 60 feet $1,500–$3,500. A wide silver maple over an older Jacksonville roof costs more than a dead ash that height in the back corner, since every limb over the house gets roped down. Storm work is priced on-site once we've seen the hazard.
Usually only once the tree has fallen on something covered, like the house, the garage, a fence or a shed. Most policies won't pay to take down a dead ash or a leaning cottonwood before it fails, and policies differ, so ask your agent. We'll help with the paperwork: photos, the tree's condition and what it hit, written up for your adjuster so the claim keeps moving.
Not for a tree wholly on your own lot (§ 27-87). Two rules do apply. If any part of the tree could fall on the street, the sidewalk or other city property, the city forestry advisor has to OK it in writing, and the trees in the strip along the street belong to the city outright. And whoever cuts and hauls it needs a City of Jacksonville tree-trimmer license (§ 27-1). Our Jacksonville permit guide has the rest.
Most single trees take somewhere between a few hours and a full day. A dead ash in an open side yard that we can drop whole is quick. A big bur oak or silver maple over the house, lowered a limb at a time, takes longer, and adding stump grinding can spill into a second morning. A wet spring week slows us down on soft silt loam.
There are two. Spring and summer bring severe thunderstorms, straight-line winds, derechos and the odd tornado; winter brings ice that loads every limb at once. Snapped silver maples, split cottonwoods, dead ash and old oaks uprooted in soaked ground are what usually fails. Afterward, keep away from downed trees and anything they touch; a tree on a power line is the utility's first. Take photos if it's safe, then call. Storm calls jump the schedule.
Leaving it is cheaper today; grinding saves years of hassle. A stump in the mowing line catches blades and ankles, sprouts, and slowly rots into a carpenter-ant nest near the foundation. A big bur oak or walnut stump can hang around a decade. Our silt loam grinds easily, though maple and walnut roots spread wide. Figure $100–$400 for one stump by diameter, $50–$150 for each extra, and $75–$200 more for root chasing or a deep grind.
We do. We cover all of Morgan County, from South Jacksonville, Woodson and Lynnville out to Waverly and Meredosia, plus nearby parts of four counties: Virginia, Arenzville and Ashland in Cass; Manchester, Winchester and Bluffs in Scott; Roodhouse and White Hall in Greene; and New Berlin in Sangamon. Most are about half an hour out by US-67, IL-104, IL-125 or I-72.
We haul it. Wood, limbs, brush and chips leave with us that day unless you're keeping firewood. In Jacksonville that matters: cut trees left lying around are a nuisance under §§ 12-5 and 12-6, and licensed trimmers can't use the city's landscape-waste drop-off (§ 12-85). Burning yard waste in town is banned by § 11-163, apart from a recreational fire under 3 feet across, 50 feet from buildings, dawn to dusk. Out in the county, ask your fire protection district.
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