Discovering a section of rotten bark, bark bowed outwards and a void at the base of a large Monterey Pine which was both close to our home and leaning towards it meant a fairly urgent need for a tree service. Turning to the web, I found the uniformly excellent reviews for Roman's Tree Service here, and asked them to come out to quote on removal of the compromised tree, and another mature Monterey Pine that had several young Redwoods growing underneath it.
We are in the Oakland Hills (Montclair), our home is built on a slope, and both trees are behind the house, with no access for heavy machinery. The compromised tree was close to our home, our elevated deck, a fence, terracing, and there were young Redwoods growing underneath. In addition, to get the wood out to street level meant either climbing two earth slopes, or trudging around the house and up steps. So, not a lot of room to work in, and requiring considerable effort to carry all the wood out.
Erick Roman and a colleague arrived on Wednesday at noon. They checked the condition of the tree base, discussed with me how the trees could be extracted, what safety measures they may have to use (anchoring to neighboring Redwoods), what they would do to protect our property and plants, what impact their vehicles may have on blocking street access, how long the job would take, and the availability of a team to come do the work -- we were concerned about the tree's integrity given that the dry spell was about to end. With all our questions answered, Erick gave us a very fair estimate (which included copies of their worker's comp. and liability insurances!), and said that he could get a team out the next day to do the job before the rains arrived.
We still had some other companies scheduled to bid on the job, but my wife and I soon decided that getting the work done ahead of the rain arriving was most important. So, after a quick call back to Erick, everything was scheduled for the next day.
Erick and his team (Antonio [the cutter], Francesco, Jose and Jose) arrived as scheduled, and they quickly set about determining staging areas for the wood, and how they would bring the wood out. Within minutes a tarpaulin was draped over part of the house and deck (to protect it), ropes were in the first tree, and I was still chatting with Erick when I heard the sound of a chain-saw: the cutting had already begun!! The guys were a great team, working like clockwork, each knowing their role. As a result, they had the compromised Pine down to the ground and the wood hauled out in a little over 2 hours! Antonio deserves special mention because he had to drop the trunk sections into a small area bordered by a fence, terracing and a young tree. He dropped the sections with deadly accuracy, never hitting any of the surrounding obstacles. Bravo!
The second tree had forked into three about 30' up, with two large branches growing over the neighbor's garden. Antonio had to move from tree to tree to ensure he had a secure anchor, continuously paying attention to all the ropes to ensure no dangerous snags. This added a little time to the cutting, but by early afternoon, both trees were down to the ground, all the wood had been hauled out, and, right on time, the truck with the chipper showed up. With all wood either chipped or loaded, the guys made sure that everywhere was thoroughly clean. They left everywhere spotless. By not having the chipper arrive until needed, it meant no blocking of the road. Excellent!
Like others here, I have absolutely no qualms in giving Roman's Tree Service a well-deserved FIVE STARS. My initial meeting with Erick was exactly as others have described, which gave us the confidence to award them the contract, and the work was carried out efficiently and effectively. The team were a great bunch of guys, taking pride in what they do. I give Roman's a thoroughly deserved recommendation. read more