Can you get a tree out of a fenced backyard without taking the fence down?

Yes — my equipment fits through a 36-inch gate, which is the width of an ordinary garden gate. If the gate opens and the run to the tree is clear, we drive in, do the work and drive out, and the fence stays where it is.

What if the only way in is the gap between my house and the neighbour's?

That is the usual way in on a town lot, and it is what the 36-inch machine is for. The tracked loader goes down the side run and the wood comes back out the same way, in pieces small enough to carry.

Does a backyard tree cost more than one out front?

Usually, yes. Access moves a removal price more than anything else does. My minimum is $800 and most land between $1,500–$3,500; a tree behind a fence sits higher in that range, not in a different one.

The tree is over a playset and a shed. Can it still come down in one day?

I will tell you after I have stood under it, and the answer is usually yes. Nothing gets dropped on a target — the pieces are cut small, roped and lowered, and the playset stays where it is.

What equipment actually goes in the back?

Tracked machines that fit a 36-inch gate — a compact loader for the wood and a tracked grinder for the stump — plus lifts and climbers for the tree itself. Tracks spread the weight over the lawn instead of cutting into it.

Tight-Space Tree Removal in Hampstead, NC

Will you have to take my fence down?

No. A 36-inch gate is an ordinary garden gate, and the tracked machines go through one. If the gate opens and the run to the tree is clear, we drive in, do the work and drive back out. The fence stays where it is, posts included — a panel is cheap to put back, concreted posts are not.

Bucket lift taking a bare hardwood apart inside a fenced backyard with the tractor standing by. — Taking a bare hardwood apart inside a fenced backyard, tractor standing by for the wood.

What if the only way in is between the houses?

Then that is the way in, and on most lots here it is. The side run is usually the narrowest point of the job, so it is the measurement I take first. What cannot be driven gets carried: the tree comes down in pieces small enough to come back out of the same gap, which is why access moves the price more than height does.

Bucket lift set up in the narrow run between a house wall and the tree line. — Lift set up in the narrow run alongside a house, working the tree from above the gutter line.

How do you get a tall tree out of a small backyard?

With lifts and climbers. I run a variety of lifts, and climbers for the trees a lift cannot be set under — between the two there is not much back garden here we cannot work in.

In a tight yard nothing is felled. The top comes off in short lengths, each piece roped before it is cut and let down to a clear patch instead of allowed to fall. That is what keeps a pine off a playset, a shed roof or the fence six feet the other side of the trunk.

Bucket lift reaching a tall pine over a fenced backyard with a children's playset below. — Reaching a tall pine over a fenced backyard with the children's playset still in place below.

Bucket lift working high in a backyard tree alongside the back wall of a house. — A different job: working high in a backyard tree tight against the back wall of the house.

What does a backyard removal cost?

My minimum is $800 and most land between $1,500–$3,500. A tree behind a fence sits higher in that range than the same tree out front, because the hours go into carrying rather than cutting. Access moves where you land on the list; it does not put you on a different one.

To say it plainly: there is no backyard or tight-access surcharge. Nothing gets added to the number because the tree is behind a gate.

My published prices, including what specific pine sizes cost.

Will the lawn be torn up?

The machines that go in the back are tracked, so the weight is spread rather than cut in, and we walk the route before anything moves. Grass marks where the tracks turn and it grows back. Tell me beforehand about anything buried on the way in — a septic field, a sprinkler line, a cable to a shed. I would rather plan around it than find it.

Do you grind the stump back there too?

Yes, same crew and same visit. Grinding is $7 per inch of diameter with a $200 minimum, ground up to 12 inches below grade. The grinder is tracked too, so it comes through the same gate the removal gear did — nobody opens the fence twice.

How stump grinding is priced and how deep it goes.

Is a tree against the house the same job?

Related, priced differently. Tight access is about getting the machine to the tree; a tree hard against the siding is about where the pieces can go once they are cut. Plenty of backyard jobs are both, and then the house sets the number.

Tree removal near the house · Tree removal in general.

Which towns do you do backyard removals in?

Hampstead, Wilmington, Jacksonville, Surf City, Sneads Ferry, Holly Ridge, Rocky Point, Burgaw, Topsail Beach, Scotts Hill / Porters Neck, across Pender County, New Hanover County, Onslow County. Coastal lots run narrow and most are fenced, which is why the 36-inch machine earns its keep here. I live in Hampstead, the phone is answered open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and I am fully insured.

Questions I get asked

Can you get a tree out of a fenced backyard without taking the fence down?: Yes — my equipment fits through a 36-inch gate, which is the width of an ordinary garden gate. If the gate opens and the run to the tree is clear, we drive in, do the work and drive out, and the fence stays where it is.
What if the only way in is the gap between my house and the neighbour's?: That is the usual way in on a town lot, and it is what the 36-inch machine is for. The tracked loader goes down the side run and the wood comes back out the same way, in pieces small enough to carry.
Does a backyard tree cost more than one out front?: Usually, yes. Access moves a removal price more than anything else does. My minimum is $800 and most land between $1,500–$3,500; a tree behind a fence sits higher in that range, not in a different one.
The tree is over a playset and a shed. Can it still come down in one day?: I will tell you after I have stood under it, and the answer is usually yes. Nothing gets dropped on a target — the pieces are cut small, roped and lowered, and the playset stays where it is.
What equipment actually goes in the back?: Tracked machines that fit a 36-inch gate — a compact loader for the wood and a tracked grinder for the stump — plus lifts and climbers for the tree itself. Tracks spread the weight over the lawn instead of cutting into it.

Send me a picture of the gate

Quickest way to an answer: the gate and the tree. Call or send the details and I can usually get you a free estimate pretty quick. I'd love to be your tree guy.

Call (910) 445-7060 Get a free estimate

Tight-Space & Backyard Tree Removal in Hampstead, NC