Storm Damage Tree Cleanup in Winchester, VA
After the wind, the ice, or the microburst moves through, we clear the downed limbs, the split trunks, and the debris, and we haul it all off.
What storms do to trees around here
The valley gets summer thunderstorms with straight line wind, the occasional ice storm, and remnants of tropical systems coming up from the southeast. Each one breaks trees differently and each one leaves something behind that is still dangerous.
We have been cleaning up after valley weather since 1977, so we know what to look for once the rain stops. Here is what we find most often.
- Hangers, meaning broken limbs still caught in the canopy waiting to drop
- Split crotches where a co dominant stem has torn partway down the trunk
- Uprooted trees with the root plate lifted and the tree resting on something
- Trees bent over and pinned under other trees, loaded with stored energy
- Whole crowns snapped out, leaving a stub that will not recover
Hangers get pulled out of the canopy instead of left for gravity, downed wood gets sectioned and chipped, and the whole mess leaves with us.
What drives the price
Two calls on the same street can price very differently. Here is what we are actually looking at when we walk your property.
Wood on the ground
How much wood is on the ground. A yard with one broken limb and a yard with three trees laid over are different days of work. Volume is the single biggest driver, because everything that came down has to be cut, moved, chipped and hauled.
Stored energy
Whether anything is still under tension. A trunk pinned under another trunk, a bent sapling, or a root plate that is still holding takes patience and rigging to release safely. That work is slower than cutting a tree already at rest, and it is the part you should never take on yourself.
Access
Whether the bucket truck can get to it. If we can back the truck up to the work, the job moves. Soft ground, a fence line, a septic field or a tight side yard means a man climbs it and we carry material out by hand, which takes longer.
The chipper
How far the chipper has to sit from the work. Every foot between the brush and the chipper chute is carried. A long walk out to the road adds real hours to a cleanup even when the tree work itself is simple.
What is underneath
Whether anything has to come out over a building or a fence. Material over a roof, a shed, a fence or a power drop comes down roped and lowered in controlled pieces. That costs more than dropping it in an open yard, and we will tell you which one you have at the estimate.
The number first
Estimates are free and we give you the number before anybody starts a saw.
What every call includes
- A free estimate and a firm price before anybody starts a saw
- Full insurance, general liability and workers compensation
- Photos of the damage and the work, plus an itemized invoice for your adjuster
- Hangers pulled out of the canopy instead of left for gravity
- Downed wood sectioned, chipped and hauled off with us
- The work area raked down before we pull out
- Somebody answering the phone 24 hours a day
The crew that pulls in your driveway
This is a family owned outfit working out of Berryville since 1977, and the men who give you the estimate are the men who do the work.
Everybody on the truck is covered by general liability and workers compensation, and we will send you the certificate before we start if you want to see it.
We answer the phone 24 hours a day, so when the weather comes through at two in the morning you get a person instead of a machine.
How the job goes
1. Hazard assessment
We walk the property and identify what is still able to move. Nobody starts a saw until we know where the stored energy is.
2. Hangers removed
Broken limbs pulled out of the canopy from the bucket. We take them down instead of waiting on gravity to do it.
3. Downed trees cut out
Trunks sectioned and moved with the grapple. Nothing gets dragged across your yard.
4. Hauled and raked
Brush chipped and wood hauled off with us. Ground raked down before we pull out.
The part people miss
The tree that already fell is the obvious problem. The bigger risk is usually the one still standing. After a serious wind event we walk the property and look at what is left, because a tree that lost a third of its crown or has a fresh crack in the trunk is now a hazard tree even though it is still upright.
Spring loaded material is the other one. A bent sapling or a limb pinned under a trunk is holding real energy, and cutting it in the wrong order sends it somewhere fast. That is the specific thing that hurts homeowners with chainsaws after bad weather. If something is under tension, leave it and call us.
Cut material gets moved with the machine instead of dragged across the ground, which is the difference between a yard you can mow next week and a yard full of ruts.
Forty nine years of cleaning up after valley weather
Since 1977
Family owned out of Berryville. We have seen what every kind of valley weather does to a tree line.
Fully insured
General liability and workers compensation. We send the certificate before we start if you want to see it, and we photograph the damage and the work and give you an itemized invoice for your adjuster.
4.9 stars on Google
4.9 stars across 175+ Google reviews. The record is public. Read what your neighbors in Winchester, Berryville, Boyce and White Post have to say about how we work and how we leave a yard.
Somebody answers
Open 24 hours. When the weather comes through at night you get a person, not a machine.
Straight answers on storm damaged trees
Is that tree safe? How to tell
When a tree can stay
Free tree estimates
Other work we do
Emergency Tree Service
Something came down or is about to. Call and we will work you in.
View ServiceTree Removal
When what is left standing is not worth saving, we take it down.
View ServiceStump Grinding
Take the stump out too so you can mow straight over the spot.
View ServiceTree Cabling and Bracing
Support a split crotch on a tree that is worth keeping.
View ServiceWe cover Winchester and the valley
Questions about storm damage cleanup
- Do you handle insurance work on storm damage?
Yes. We photograph the damage and the work and give you an itemized invoice for your adjuster. Documentation is worth doing properly and it costs you nothing.
- Can you just take the dangerous part and leave the rest?
Absolutely. Plenty of people want the hazard handled now and the cleanup done later on a budget. Tell us and we will scope it that way.
- Is it worth saving a storm damaged tree?
Sometimes. A tree that lost under a quarter of its crown with no trunk damage often recovers fine. Once you get past about a third, or there is a crack in the main stem, it is usually on borrowed time. We will give you our honest read.
- How fast can you come after a storm rolls through the valley?
We prioritize by danger. Trees on houses and blocked driveways go first. Call (540) 514-7906 and we will tell you realistically where you land.
Tell us what the weather left you
Call Robbie, tell him what came down, and we will come look at it and price it for free. Somebody answers 24 hours.
(540) 514-7906