We got our maple tree trimmed on Monday. When my husband was getting quotes, he felt really comfortable with one of the guys he talked with. He asked if it would be possible to get a discount for doing some of the work himself. The trimmer said that he could give us up to $100 off the quoted price if we did all the groundwork. So when the trimmer arrived, my husband donned his bicycle/unicycle helmet and hung out under the tree for three hours. While the guy climbed around 35 feet up in our tree, looking as comfortable as a monkey up there, my husband spent the whole time picking up the branches as they fell, and piling them behind the truck. When everything was trimmed, the guy got in the back of the truck with a chainsaw and my husband handed every branch into the truck to him. All in all, he spent about three hours working, got a great workout, and felt like he had contributed to how great our tree looks now. After our discount, we paid $245 to have the tree trimmed, which was by far the best price we got from anyone. The guy who did it has been a tree pruner since 1983 – he was really knowledgable, and we’re thrilled with the job he did.
We’re really glad we got the tree pruned. It looks so much healthier now, with all the dead branches gone and the ones that had been all droopy cut back so that they’re looking perky again. It looks like a new tree. It’ll be stronger and healthier since we did this, and when you only have two trees, you gotta baby them a bit!
Grace says
I’m so glad you had a great experience and the tree looks better. My brother-in-law had a nightmare experience this time last year. He did a lot of homework and found a good trimmer to cut down the dead maple in their Houston-area yard. They were to do it while he was at work. The trimmer called and said they had no problems and cleared the whole yard. My brother-in-low got home and the dead maple was still standing, but the tall, 50 year old healthy, and beautiful oak tree that shaded their house was no where to be seen. And on top of that mistake, when my brother-in-law called to tell them the dead tree was still standing and they’d cut down the wrong tree, the guy attempted to charge him for the second visit. And that was a very reputable company! Yikes! Glad your experience was a good one. LOL
jules says
Hi Frugal Babe,
We were looking for stories of people who successully beat their debt, and came across yours. Love your attitude. We featured it on We Beat Debt! and you can read it here.
x
jules
FrugalBabe says
Wow, Grace – that’s a terrible story! I guess signing up to work with the tree trimmer to get a discount helps in more ways than one, since it meant that my husband was there to make sure that everything went well.