Hazard Assessment & Removal

Hazardous & Dead Tree Removal

Not every scary tree is dangerous, and not every dangerous tree looks scary. We’ll tell you which one you have, and put it in writing.

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When to call us

Warning signs worth a professional look

  • Bare limbs in summer, peeling bark, or woodpecker activity concentrating on one tree
  • Mushrooms or conks growing from the trunk or root flare
  • A crack, seam, or cavity in the trunk, especially where two tops meet
  • Heaving soil or lifting roots on the side away from the lean
  • Large dead limbs (“widow-makers”) caught in the canopy overhead
The honest assessment

An opinion you can hold us to.

Here’s our bias, stated up front: we save trees when trees can be saved. A tree with a structural flaw can often be cabled, thinned, or reduced into safety for a fraction of removal cost, and we’ll always tell you when that’s true. When it isn’t, we’ll say that plainly too.

A dead or dying conifer near a target: your house, the neighbor’s garage, the kids’ trampoline — is not a wait-and-see situation. Dead wood gets more brittle and less predictable every month it stands, and it makes the eventual removal more dangerous and more expensive.

If you need it for a neighbor conversation or an insurance file, we can document the tree’s condition in writing. In Washington, a documented warning about a hazardous tree changes who’s liable when it fails, that piece of paper matters.

An opinion you can hold us to.
Straight talk on cost

What hazard work costs

Dead-tree removals typically price 25–50% above a comparable healthy tree, because dead wood can’t be climbed and rigged the same way: it fails without warning, so the work is slower and more conservative, sometimes requiring a lift or crane.

That premium grows the longer a dead tree stands. The cheapest version of this job is the one done soon after the tree dies, while the wood still has some integrity.

Assessments are part of any free estimate. Written condition reports for insurance or neighbor documentation are available. Ask when you call.

Real questions, straight answers

Frequently asked questions

Look for the pattern, not one symptom: thinning crown over multiple seasons, dead branches concentrated in the top, bark falling away to reveal dead wood, fungus at the base. A single brown limb doesn’t mean much; a top that’s died back another few feet each year means the clock is running.

Sometimes. A tree that’s leaned the same way for decades and built compensating wood may be fine. A NEW lean, especially with lifting soil on the back side — signals root failure, and that tree is telling you it’s going over. New lean plus a target underneath is an emergency, not a maintenance item.

You can be. In Washington, once you know a tree is hazardous, because it’s visibly dead, or because someone told you in writing — letting it stand shifts a storm failure from “act of nature” toward negligence. If your neighbor has sent you a warning about a tree, take it seriously and get an assessment.

Usually not — most local jurisdictions, including Lakewood, exempt genuinely dead or hazardous trees from normal tree-removal permitting. Documentation still helps, since photos of the tree’s condition answer any later questions. We handle that as part of the job.

Tree keeping you up at night? Get a straight answer this week.

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No-pressure advice, sometimes the honest answer is “your tree is fine.”