All Your Tree-Removal Questions Answered!
Get Every But of Info You Need About Quotes, Safety, Insurance, Arborists, Councils, Employment Opprtunities & More
(You might even find out who Shane is…)
We understand that you’ve got a lot of information beouncing around your head when it comes to your tree removal project – and it can feel pretty overwhelming! That’s why we’ve put together this handy FAQ page to deal with any of the queries or concerns you have about moving forward with tree services.
Take a look at the list below (and watch the accompanying videos!) to get a bit more familiar with that working with Shane’s Trees might look like. We’ll explain what to look out for with inexperienced arborists (tree loppers) and share some of our best tips for ensuring your tree job is handled safely and effectively every single time.
(There’s also some questions here related to potential employees – so if you’re thinking about joinung our team, that’s a great Idea!)
Costings
there are number of factors that affect the cost of pruning and removing trees. Check out our answer video where we outline the basis of how costs are calculated. Once you’ve taken a look, load up our tree removal price page and use the tree removal calculator to get a rough idea of how much your project will cost. Or just get in touch for a complimentary quote!
About Us
“Who is Shane” is our most common question, check out the video for our response 🙂
In short, we have 2 home bases, one in Sydney and one in Wollongong which allows us to have a service area spanning from as far south as Nowra, as Far north as the Northern Beaches and west out into the southern highlands.
Yes we certainly do work weekends. Some things to remember are our staff wages for weekend work needs to include penalties, so if a job absolutely has to be done on a weekend, then it will attract higher fees
Quotes & Extras
Insurance & Arborists
Absolutely we are, Public Liability, workers comp, public indemity
Currently we have around 10 qualified arborists working at shanes trees so you can feel comfortable that you are getting the right person for the job.
The answer is they have not had the formal training that A qualifed arborists has. This means they may lack the ability to foresee known dangers and risks, they may put the tree at risk by pruning the wrong way and they may not use the industry standard rigging techniques and procedures.
It can be a dangerous job no doubt. Shanes Trees significantly mitigates risk by using fully qualified and insured arborists on every job site. If you are going to use unqualified arborists, then you may get a slightly better prices yes, but they may not fully understand all the correct knots and rigging techniques or other botanical knowledge that helps bring a tree safely to the ground. The risks to people and property are greatly reduced by using the best equipment and experienced personel.
Council Approval
The answer is ‘Maybe’ depending on certain criteria. In some cases, you can legally prune your neighbours tree without their approval but this is of course bad practice and you are better off having a conversation with them and coming to an agreement.
Legally, depending on the council area you might be able to prune trees that are overhanging your property line, but we would not be able to enter the neighbours property to do so. In this case we may need a crane or specialised climbing techniques to do the pruning from your side of the fence.
The answer is sometimes you do and this really varies significantly depending on tree species and your local council regulations. Other factors that could effect this are if the tree is over your house, is the tree seriously compromised and an imminent risk to life or property, are you in a 10/50 zone.
Yes, if a tree has been significantly damaged in a storm or some other event then a qualified arborist is usually permitted to make safe and remove that tree.
Pricing Structure & Discounts
Because all the companies are not same, there are shonky operators out there that will tack extra things on at the end of the job and you will get extra charges. When you a quote from us this is the final quote and there will be no surprises at the end of the job.
yes sometimes, we can leave some wood onsite, leave some mulch, sometimes we can cut multiple trees in one visit to reduce some costs
You can of course pay cash it is legal currency after all. We just cannot discount the gst component of the cost because you paid cash.
We dont do pensioner discount per-se, however we do have a soft spot for pensioners. In saying that, one of our core values is giving one time-first time fair quotes to every customer, so you will find the price we give to our younger customers and our pensioners will be almost identical.
Phone quote & turnaround Time
Sometimes we can, with certain trees you can tell a lot from a photo, but for some photos with poor perspective or jobs that are larger we really need to visit the site to assess all the variables.
Rarely we can, but with so many variables we are not really comfortable until we visit the site. Since our onsite quotes are free and no obligation, there is no real reason to do phone quoting
Sometimes yes. We have 3 or more quoting staff on the road everyday and if they happen to be in your area they will do the quote right away. Because we cover a large area from the Northern Beaches to Nowra and the Southern Highlands our quoters will do all waiting quotes in the area they are in before moving to a new location.
The majority of our jobs are done in a 7-14 day turnaround time, with all of them being done no longer than a 30 day turnaround. We realise people are busy, have deadlines and commitments so we always try to work our scheduling to a time thats suits you whenever possible.
Safety
Our company sets some of the highest safety practices in the Arboriculture industry and really is of world standards. Every day and every job our team undertake toolbox safety discussion in relation to the specific job we are about to complete. During this discussion, we identify every foreseeable risk associated with the job and the appropriate mitigation strategies
Employment Opportunities
Yes we are always hiring if you are the right person.
Pay rate varies depending on skills, leadership ability and work ethic.
Absolutely. Because we have such a wide service area, there is often extra travel time involved, emergency work, weekend work and jobs that run overtime. There is always extra hours available to those that want it.
Staff culture, good attitudes, communication skills and teamwork are all qualities that Shanes Trees look for when hiring staff. It not only makes for a more enjoyable workplace, but we also need reliable and trustworthy people in an industry where little mistakes can have big consequences.
Get A Complimentary Fast Quote
One of our friendly team members will get back to you before you can say ‘timber’!
Some factors that might affect your quote…
The size of your tree. Generally, the bigger it is, the longer it takes to remove – and the more space vegetation takes up in our trucks!
Ease of access. Trees around properties with steep embankments are often difficult to load onto vehicles.
Equipment needed. Certain projects require the use of barges, cranes and even helicopters which may be reflectedin your quote.
