Tree Removal in Escondido, CA

Tree removal on a typical Escondido property is a planning job before it is a cutting job. A eucalyptus planted as a windbreak decades ago may now stand between a stucco house, a block wall and a pool; a pine in a 1970s subdivision may lean over two backyards; an old avocado on a slope may be rooted in decomposed granite that crumbles under a ladder. Very few of these can simply be notched and dropped. Most come down from the top in sections, with a climber or a lift taking off limbs first and then rings of trunk, and pieces lowered on ropes wherever a drop would hit something.

Reasons people remove a healthy tree

Not every removal is about a failing tree. Common reasons in Escondido include roots lifting a driveway or cracking a pool deck, a tree shading solar panels, a eucalyptus or pine that has outgrown a small yard, a tree too close to the house to meet the fire department's 10-foot canopy clearance from roofs and chimneys, and grove trees on land being turned into a yard. If pruning would solve the problem for less money, we will say so on the quote.

Oaks and the city's rules

Escondido's zoning code defines a mature tree as an oak of 4 inches or more in diameter at 4.5 feet above grade, or any other tree of 8 inches or more, and a protected tree as an oak of 10 inches or more or a tree on the local historic register. Removing mature or protected trees ties into the city's vegetation protection standards, which call for replacement at least 1:1 for mature trees and 2:1 for protected trees where they apply. Those standards are tied mostly to grading and development, but the details matter, so before we quote an oak removal we ask you to confirm with the Planning Division. In the Old Escondido Historic District, projects that remove mature or protected trees are reviewed under the same sections.

Crane removals

Once in a while a crane is the safest way to take a large tree out of a backyard, for example a big eucalyptus over a house with no room to lower wood on ropes. HomeAdvisor puts a crane at about $250 to $600 per day, with complex crane jobs reaching $6,000 to $7,000. Most removals here do not need one; we only suggest it when rigging by hand would put the house or the crew at more risk.