I've had the pleasure of having Urban Arborist do work for me a few times over the past 15 years or so. I've found Ian Scott, who is the owner and principal point of contact, to be courteous, prompt and professional. Jobs with him always start with a site visit, where he looks over the work that needs to be done, makes suggestions, offers advice, and ultimately provides an estimate for the work that needs to be done. His estimates are always accurate (I've never had one go over), and his team is thorough in the work they do. They do all manner of tree work, including removal (including large trees), thinning, even sculpting and trimming. His team is also trained to scale large trees with climbing equipment, so they can thin and trim even in very tallest of trees. I will continue to use Urban Arborist into the future, and highly recommend this local business. read more

Early this month was the second time that Ian at Urban Arborist did tree work for me. I was very pleased with the ease of setting up an appointment, the reasonably quick timing of an appointment to do the work, the price, and his attention to what I thought was important to attend to. He made good suggestions and the yard was left clean and everything looks just as I wanted. read more

This is our third time working with Ian and his crew and we continue to be impressed with their professionalism and efficiency. Ian was easy to reach to come on-site for a quote. Scheduling and day of the project went smoothly, finishing in the same day with pricing as promised! He has great knowledge as an arborist and cares about delivering quality work that customers are looking for. Highly recommend! read more

Ian and his team have trimmed trees in both my houses in seattle. They are excellent and thorough. Ian cares about the work and the trees. His prices are very competitive. I'll continue to hire Urban Arborisr for all my tree needs. read more

Quote process was prompt. follow through was not great. They confirmed a date and time (but didnt adequately communicate to all involved parties, despite my email reminders and check ins). They showed up 30 min past their 1 hour window and then they just left without cutting the tree they agreed to trim. read more

Damn tree feel on our house right before we leave for a vacation REALLY?? It's cause I leave mean reviews my karma sucks... AND right before Xmas. It's cause Jesus hates me because I make my own Xmas trees every year, so him and God decided to be funny and just fall one on to my house instead just because I even joke about it. Karmas a bitch, but this company is pretty badass. Lucky for me these guys jumped up and were at my place within an hour of calling. Jumped on the roof and covered it because it was raining inside the damn house, even tho it wasn't even part of their job. I was bummed thinking this giant 100ft hemlock was gonna ruin my grass laying on it for weeks, and I JUST planted it this summer and they came out within a few days, even tho their schedule is packed and cleaned it all out! I'm beyond impressed. I'm pretty bitchy about my yard too so it's impressive to impress me. I still have a damn hole in my house because everyone else takes forever but these guys did their jobs immediately without demanding anything from us. I'm disappointed that I don't need them for anything else. I will def recommend them to you for any of your tree needs... or whatever else it is they do. read more

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We had Ian and crew out a few months ago to grind down some holly stumps and to trim our backyard trees. They did great work. I'd battled those holly trees for a decade and now they are gone gone gone! (Anyone who has had holly trees know how impossible it is to get rid of all of the suckers but haha they are all gone now I can attest!) The price was very reasonable. Ian and team were really good sports about maneuvering the stump grinder and tools into our hard to access back yard (it was no easy feat getting up over our rockery and into the yard). The team worked very efficiently and did a nice job cleaning up debris afterwards. I'm actually hoping to hire them again for some more trimming. Highly recommend! read more

A huge branch 3 stories high splintered and was hanging by a thread over my backyard and alleyway in Greenwood/Phinney area. I contacted Urban Arborist via their website after 5pm, received a text from Ian the following morning, and the crew stopped by at noon to remove the branch. It was phenomenal service! They didn't charge emergency fees and were Very reasonably priced! They saved me a lot of worry because I thought it would fall and cause damage to my backyard or possibly cars parked in the alleyway. I highly recommend this caring, talented, and professional crew. Thank you! read more

Ian came promptly to trim some trees in my backyard. I took care to explain what I wanted. Just trimming, scaling back big branches with taking out only diseased branches when necessary. He and his crew took huge healthy branches off at the trunk, so much vegetation that it completely changed the look of my backyard. Not at all what we talked about. His crew smoked cigarettes in July in my tinder-dry backyard without permission. I was devastated by what they did to my trees and had to hire a landscaper to try to make my backyard feel like a nice place to hang out again. Looking back I realize that while I was explaining to Ian what I wanted, he was talking and walking away from me. He didn't listen at all. The only upside.....he removed a ton of vegetation for a great price. So if you're looking just to take out vegetation, great. The "arborist" part.....I'm not at all convinced he knows what he's doing to keep trees healthy. You've been warned. Keep a very close eye while he's working to make sure he's doing what you want. read more

Ian came by to provide a free quote to remove a dead tree, which turned out to be the best one I received among a total of 6 estimates - and by far. He is not one for pleasantries, but I'm not one to get hung up on that either. I prefer people like Ian that are there to do a job and not tell me about their family history, for example. When I called him to schedule, it turns out they were booking three weeks out but had a slot the next day, which worked well for me. He was free a few hours earlier than planned on the day of, so he called and asked if he could swing by. His crew was extremely good at what they did, and left the place looking beautiful, not a sign of the tree having been taken down - with all the wood and debris hauled away as discussed. They accepted only cash or check, which I found a little odd in this day and age, so I had to dig up my checkbook after years, but happy that this was the only "problem" I had! Would definitely go back to this crew in the future! read more

The quote process went fine. Follow up I was told cash was preferred. I offered half credit card/half cash. I was told the day before no credit card. Day of, Ian and his team were a no show during their two hour window. I asked politely for an ETA and was told his tree climber was injured. While I get these things happen, I expect to be told this information, not hunt it down, and get a curt response. read more

Ian is a no-nonsense guy, and doesn't really get hung up on pleasantries and over-explanation that some of his competition does to sell you on a course of action or inflate the size and scope of a job. Once I got to the point of trusting that- which is a bit different than his competition (the other three folks we talked to, one of whom wouldn't even take the job)- I was extremely impressed with him and his team, who did the exact thing they said they'd do, when they said they'd do it, but even faster than I expected. They got the job done- a tricky long-overgrown tree in an awkward place near some communication cables- quickly, and more affordably than the competition. Ian brought the right size of crew and more than adequate tools for the operation, and everyone was polite, in a good mood and courteous. At no point in the process of taking down this very precarious, heavy old tree near cars, a sidewalk, and fiber lines did anything ever appear- even for a moment- beyond control. They even stacked the wood (that we agreed would be left behind) neatly and out of the way of my parking spot, which was above and beyond in my book. I would encourage other folks reading this review to just trust that Ian and team are effective at what they do. I know next time I have to deal with this stuff who I'm going call... read more

I needed some advice and a price quote to trim a long neglected tree in the backyard of the house that I just bought. Ian called me and we set up a time that was convenient for us to meet. I arranged my schedule to make sure I was home at the agreed upon time. Apparently, he considers his time much more valuable than mine, as he didn't show up and didn't bother to call me to cancel. I guess business must be good. read more

I have a hedge of cedar trees along the side of my property, and I had Ian provide an estimate for trimming it back and removing dead wood. I showed him the work I wanted done, including the area in front, where the hedge is overgrown, and next to the house, where some of the trees were growing against the house. He sent an estimate and I hired him to do the work. When the work was supposedly done, the trees were nicely cut away from the side of the house, but there was still some dead wood and the hedge in front wasn't even touched. When Ian emailed me the invoice, I sent this reply: -------- Thanks Ian. You should be receiving a check in the next few days. I do have a concern, though, that you only pruned the area alongside the house and not in front, alongside the driveway. I thought I made it clear when you came over a couple of weeks ago that the entire hedge needed pruning, including (but not limited to) clearing the area next to the house. The front area doesn't need as drastic clearing as along the house, but I was hoping to get it trimmed back some. There's also at least one small stunted dead tree that didn't get removed. I'm hoping you can come back and complete that work. ------- He responded that they would be back in a few days to take care of this. But when I came home after they'd been here, I saw that all they did was cut back more of the dead wood alongside the house. They didn't touch the hedge alongside the driveway. So I emailed Ian again: ------ Apparently there's some confusion, or I'm not communicating clearly. When I first got home I thought you hadn't made it over here today at all. But then I realized you (or, I'm assuming, someone who works for you) came and did remove the one stunted tree. But no trimming at all was done on the part of the hedge that is in front of the house, next to the driveway. I'm hoping you can take care of this as soon as possible. ------ Ian sent me this email response: ------ Actually we trimmed quite a bit more on all parts of the hedge. It is not reasonable for us to do more. We pruned the trees back by the drive and left the green foliage, took more dead and more off the house. Not sure what more I can do? I do not recall discussing nor is the pruning back of the front part of the hedge in the bid. ------ So hire Ian if you want, but (1) make sure the exact and precise work you want is spelled out in the bid, and (2) be there when he's there doing the work so you can ensure the work you think should get done actually gets done. read more

Ian lived up to his high reviews. He came out to review the trees on our property after landscaping work turned up some tree rot. He reviewed the property and then said that he didn't see any safety concerns or work that needed to be done and that he be happy to come out again if things changed. I appreciate a businessman who is honest enough to tell you that you don't need his services. I will definitely call Ian for any arborist work in the future. read more

One of the reasons we chose to purchase our home was because it was nestled among trees and greenery. Some of our trees are over 100 feet tall and considering we are placed on a hillside, we did worry about their health and with the extreme weather we've experienced in the NW these last few years thought we should have them checked out. We contacted Ian at Urban Arborist who was referred by a friend. He was professional, efficient, reasonably priced and timely. Luckily all of our beautiful tree friends were healthy and nothing needed to be done with them other than some undercutting of the invasive Ivy that is overtaking a majority of our yard! Which reminds me that we need to get some work done soon! We also had a nasty Chestnut tree out front that left nuts and debris on our vehicles all times of the year and the darn squirrels were helping to spawn several more little nasty tree friends throughout our yard by stashing the nuts for their winter haul. We decided it was too much work so we had Ian cut it down for us. Thus we scheduled a second visit and down the tree came. It was a bitter sweet decision as we are tree huggers at heart and almost regretted doing so soon after. However we are now happy as our workload has been greatly reduced as a result. Ian did it quickly and neatly. He gave us the option to have the wood chipped however we decided to bring it over to a family friend as firewood so it gave it's life to keep an elderly friend warm for the winter. read more

We called Urban Arborist thanks to all the great reviews on Yelp and are now happily adding our names to the list of satisfied customers. We knew we needed a couple of unhealthy trees removed. We had a few others we were hoping to save, but wanted an expert's advice on whether that was possible or if removal was our best option. Ian came out and assessed the condition of the trees and offered sound advice on how each should be handled. It was clear he knew his stuff and his bid was significantly less than another we had received. We went with him and got quite the deal. On the day the actual job was done, he and his crew worked efficiently, but still took special care to keep surrounding areas as clean as possible and to cause minimal disturbance to any abutting foliage. We are very pleased with the work Ian and his team did and we would definitely hire them again. read more

I just had Ian trim 3 trees and remove another. I had called another more well known arborist in the area for a quote and they didn't show. Since they couldn't get out to me for another month and the other arborist I contacted charged $200 for a quote, I decided to get a hold of Ian after reading Yelp reviews. His quote was quick and very reasonably priced. They came out on time to get started. I forgot to move my trailer from the driveway, but they weren't upset waiting another 10 minutes for me to move it. They got the 1 tree cut and the others pruned in less than 3 hours. I was so impressed at how much light they were able to let in while preserving the 3 trees, which is exactly what I requested of them. Not only did they clean up their mess, I had a pile of bamboo that I had recently removed in the backyard and they took care of that for me too. Overall, they were very professional, licensed and bonded, did exactly as requested and were extremely efficient. I would recommend them and will be calling them back up when I need more work done. read more

We scheduled Urban Arborist to come out and trim our four Douglas Fir's. Everything went smoothly from initial meeting to completion of work. The quote we received was competitive. We would definitely call them again. read more

We just used this company to remove two trees from our yard - and we are so happy with how it all turned out. Initially, we were only looking to remove one tree - and Ian provided a very reasonable quote for that. But then, we last minute added on a request for another tree to be removed. Ian gave us an estimate that we agreed on, but upon completion of the work, charged me much lower b/c the work wasn't as difficult as he had thought. I really appreciate that type of honesty - as I was prepared to pay the higher amount. As for the work itself, they were in and out in no time. They followed our requests exactly and completely cleaned up the yard of any of the debris. They also gave my neighbor some free wood chips when he asked - and delivered it right over. I'll definitely use/recommend this company. The only reason for 4 stars is that I did have to call Ian to follow up to see where my quote was. But after that, he was very responsive. Cash/check only. read more

Ian and his crew are really great - efficient, fast, and competitive on price - I would definitely call them again. Something to note: they have a permit with the city to do street side pruning, which comes in handy if the tree you're looking to prune is not on your property. I saw some notes from the other reviewers about how they usually give a time frame for showing up, but it didn't deter me. Comcast and other larger businesses have similar ways of scheduling - and I think it boils down to the fact that people are generally flakey. What matters at the end of the day is the quality of the work - I couldn't be happier with the results and I'm looking forward to working with Urban Arborist in the future! read more

I needed to cut down two birch trees in my backyard. I looked at reviews on Yelp and decided to get bids just from two of the highest rates companies in which everyone raved about price and service. Ian came out and provided a bid that was over $550 less on cutting down the trees and $150 less on the stump grinding. When the work was scheduled, his team showed up on time and had the trees cut down, the wood that I wanted to keep stacked up nicely and the yard raked in just a couple of hours. They were not able to stump grind on that day due to a parts issue but said they would be back in a couple days to complete the work. Just like they promised, they came back and the job was completed as planned. I would definitely recommend the Urban Arborist and will use them on future tree jobs. read more

Ian was great. I called him because our "mature hedge" (the tall, tall hedges which line our front yard and which we love) seemed to be wilting and turning a bit yellow. He said he would swing by and check out the hedge, do any needed research, and then call me back. A couple days later, Ian left me a long voice mail message noting the type of hedges we have, and that they had simply been trimmed with a dull blade at the wrong time of year, as far as he could tell. He suggested fertilizer and water, but that no other services were needed. This was all free of charge. Thank you, Ian! If we ever actually need tree services in the future, we will call you without a doubt! read more

Based on the positive reviews from Yelp, I called Ian for a couple of jobs and was not disappointed! He stopped by twice for an initial consultation to discuss what would be done with cutting a tree down. Ian and his crew worked quickly and effectively and brought the tree down very quickly without damage (tree was in a tight area) and cleaned up as well. Pricing was excellent and at least 10-15% lower than the next closest bid (I got 4 bids for the job). Ian also removed the stump with a stumpgrinder, and did a great job with that as well. He even helped me take down the fence to bring in the stumpgrinder, so he goes the extra mile. Definitely recommended! read more

Ian's work was very reasonably priced and done on time. We had him trim back some trees and overgrown bushes, and he did what we asked. However, in several instances he or his guys just lopped limbs off rather than doing a proper cut, as I would expect of a certified arborist. I'm expecting a lot of sucker growth next spring as a result. Also they left a lot of debris fallen into the other bushes--I'm still cleaning out branches two weeks later. So I think I'll be looking for somone else next time. read more

Requesting the quote and having Ian come out to take look was such an ease I should've have even prolonged finding an arborist as long as I did. Ian was out to site and gave me a quote within the next day. The price sounded reasonable, I sent payment and within the week everything was done. Two - 20 ft trees that grew so close to the house, GONE! It was like they were never even there. Thank you! read more

Urban Arborist - After Urban Arborist - Tree Services Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Reasonable bid Ian's crew was on time and professional Very happy. read more

We hired Ian and his Urban Arborist team to remove some very large big leaf maple limbs that extended over our house. This involved cutting and lowering the limbs directly over a bank of skylights and through a narrow opening between the tree and our house. I was panicked (well, mildly) but UA removed and lowered the limbs confidently and easily. And then cleaned up the work area to look better than it had before they arrived. And their quote beat the other arborists we considered. We'll hire them again (we got lots o' trees). And I appreciate the folks who recommended them on Yelp! read more

We had great service from Urban Arborist LLC. We had a huge Birch in our backyard that had become infected with the Birch beetle. It was an intimidating project, with a brand new fence underneath that needed to stay in tact. The project was done well, it was done efficiently and the clean up was great. It was also BY FAR the best price quote I received. I really appreciated the fair pricing. read more

Ian showed up on time and as promised and was very quick and efficiant in pruning and cleaning out deadwood from our Box Elder. Ian's price was considerably lower than other arborrists we got quotes from, and his service was excellent. Tom in Seattle spearstom@hotmail.com read more

I highly recommend these guys. They came out to remove some trees and do a bunch of pruning. The bid was competitive, and their turnaround time very quick. I think it took a week from the time I first contacted them to when the job was done. The day of the job, they were prompt and super friendly. I worked in my garden while they worked and I thoroughly enjoyed their company. I will definitely use the guys down the road. read more

Ian and his crew are terrific! Ian responded quickly to my initial inquiry, setting up an appointment to come by for an estimate. The morning of our appointment, he called 30 minutes before our appointment to let me know he was running a bit late and asked if it was okay to push back our appointment by half an hour--which was not at all a problem, and I appreciated the heads-up. He came by, looked at the trees I was most concerned about, and he suggested a couple of other tasks they could take care of within the basic minimum time. He emailed me the estimate a few hours later, which was significantly more affordable than other estimates I got--and included more work. We scheduled the work and his crew arrived at the agreed upon time. They were professional and friendly, and quickly took care of all the agreed-upon tasks, including removing several non-weeping limbs of a weeping cherry tree, even in the frigid cold with snow still on the ground and in the trees. I offered them some coffee to help warm up, which they politely declined. They cleaned everything up and were finished in less than an hour. I highly recommend Ian and his crew, and intend to contact them for any future arborist needs. read more

Ian is professional and responsive. This is the second time I used them. Brought his whole crew who made quick work of a giant Evergreen. Cleaned up after and the crew was awesome and polite. read more

I got a bid for removal of a small tree stump. Bid was fair and timely, but things quickly went south. Ian missed the first date that he set with zero notice. When I sent him an email he apologized and explained he'd been on vacation. (dude?!) Ian set a second date a few weeks out. He missed that date too, again with zero notice. I even sent an email the day of to make sure we were still on. No reply. read more

Ian is a nice guy but seemingly is clueless about time and explanations. Just could not get him to be on time - he seemed to think "around" means a 2-hour stretch of time. He doesn't call to let you know he is running late nor does he offer an apology when he is. If that works for your schedule, hire him. Not a good way to do business. My time counts, too. read more

Ian doesn't say much. Doesn't need to, it seems. If you want a tree out, he's got a cadre of doods that will do the job quick, clean and for what seems extremely reasonable rates. Don't expect a hug when he's done, though. Good peeps. read more

I called Ian based on the positive reviews here, and he came over to consult about thinning out four large trees on my property. I told him my goals and he made some useful opinions. I was not on the premises when he and his crew came to do the actual work, but they did the job and left no trace except for the beautifully thinned trees. read more

Based upon the other Yelp reviews I had Ian come out to discuss having a tree removed nearly a year ago. A year later the tree was in even worse shape so I decided it was time to pull the trigger. I contacted Ian and although his bid had expired, he said that the bid was still valid. Several days later the tree was gone and the final bill was less than the original bid! Ian and his crew left the yard in great shape--very cleaned up and even chipped some branches that had been laying around for weeks from an apple tree that I pruned. Very impressed. Very satisfied. Very happy to recommend Ian to others. read more

Now I am not one to write many reviews either unless I am really pissed off at the service or extremely happy. Ian and his crew are too notch. They cut down a tree in my backyard that was not fun to maintain. Ian gave me the best quote and stuck with it. when the job looked a little more difficult than he had foreseen he still stuck with his quote. I have dealt with many companies but very few that stick to their word and Ian and his crew are straight up honest people. They did an excellent job cleaning up everything as well. Would highly recommend them!! read more

I've used Ian and his crew many times over the years and they've always been prompt, really friendly and they've consistently given quotes that were more competitive than others. I highly recommend them. read more