Tree removal: five things set the price.
Two oaks the same size can be a morning apart in cost — one leans over open lawn, the other over a pool cage with a locked gate. Here’s exactly what Cody looks at when he prices a removal.
1. Size — height and trunk diameter. More wood is more cuts, more rigging, more hauling; a 70-foot oak is not twice a 35-footer, it’s a different category of operation. 2. The drop zone. Open lawn under the tree means big pieces come down fast; a pool cage, roof, fence maze or garden underneath means everything gets cut small and lowered on rope — same tree, twice the hours. 3. Access. Can equipment reach the trunk, or does every pound of tree leave through a 36-inch gate? Backyard trees behind narrow gates are wheelbarrow economics. 4. Condition. Sound wood holds climbers and rigging predictably; decayed or dead wood doesn’t, so bad-condition trees get slower, more engineered removals — sometimes lift or crane work. 5. What stays. Stump grinding, wood hauled vs. left cut for firewood, debris chipped on site — each a real line item you control.
Reading quotes with this lens
A quote that’s dramatically lower than the field usually found its savings in factor five (no stump, no haul, “we’ll leave the wood”), in insurance that doesn’t exist, or in a cleanup standard you’ll discover afterward. Ask every bidder the same three questions: is stump grinding included, does ALL debris leave, and can I see the COI? The spread narrows fast.
Permits, since you’re here
Most Pinellas jurisdictions require a permit before removing a protected tree — thresholds run from 4 to 6 inches DBH depending on your city, with big exceptions for invasives and (new in 2026) a homestead carve-out in unincorporated county. It’s your property but our paperwork radar; our city-by-city permit guides cover who needs what, and we flag permit questions in every removal quote rather than discovering them after.
Getting your number
Photos beat adjectives: the whole tree, what’s under and around it, and the access path, texted to (727) 761-8618. Most removals get a real, written number from exactly that — and if yours needs eyes on site, the visit is free and we’ll say so instead of guessing.
Questions Cody hears every week.
Why can't anyone give me a price over the phone without photos?
Because the tree is half the price and the yard is the other half. A photo showing the tree, the drop zone and the access answers in seconds what twenty questions can’t — that’s why texting pictures to (727) 761-8618 gets you a real number fast.
Does removing the stump cost extra?
Stump grinding is its own operation with its own machine, so it’s quoted as its own line — you’ll see it separately and decide. Lots of people skip it; lots regret skipping it when the suckers or the mushrooms arrive. Our stump guide covers what drives that number.
Is a dead tree cheaper to remove since it's coming down anyway?
Usually the opposite. Dead and decayed wood is unpredictable under a climber and rigging, which means more caution, more time, sometimes a crane or lift. It’s one more honest reason not to let a dead tree stand for a year.
Tell Cody about your tree.
Three fields. He answers his own phone — you’ll hear back fast.
Faster: text a photo of the tree to (727) 761-8618.