I had two large sycamores that needed to come down, one was partially dead and hanging over the house I had just recently bought and the second, while healthy, was leaning towards the house. Both trees were around 70' with a 2.5-3' trunk. I looked at several companies before deciding to call Leimeister for a first estimate.
Steve was such a nice, knowledgeable guy. Their estimate came in right where I was expecting at $1,500 per tree. They also ground the stumps for free, which I expected to be an up charge. The full cleanup/haul away was an additional $2,200, which I decided against. I couldn't justify paying that much to have something that I figured could be fairly valuable removed, at the least I could let it season and sell it as firewood, though it would be in a rough spot for planned home renovations.
Steve called me the day before they were scheduled to remove the trees and mentioned that they were actually interested in the wood and would haul it away for free. I debated it for a while before deciding to just let them take it. I'm certain I could have negotiated a better price on the removal in exchange for the timber, but ultimately they were taking unnecessary work off my hands and the timber would very likely go to better use. Plus, they're such a good company/people that I didn't mind them getting it.
They did an awesome job, no damage, the stumps were ground below grade, and there was NO mess. I have no regrets and would not hesitate to call them for more work in the future. The customer service they provided, and the work they did should be absolute text book. It's a shame more companies aren't as good as Leimeister Crane & Tree. read more