Crane tree removal in Tallahassee

Why Tallahassee tree jobs need cranes

Old live oaks, water oaks and tall pines sit right next to houses in Betton Hills, Los Robles, Killearn and along the canopy roads. When one of those has to come down, there is often nowhere to drop it. A climber rigs a section, the crane takes the weight, the section is cut and swung to the yard or the street.

Storms add to the list. On May 10, 2024, two EF-2 tornadoes with winds near 115 mph came together over Tallahassee and an EF-1 hit Woodville, the National Weather Service found. More than 400 power poles broke. Trees on roofs after a storm like that are the jobs where a crane pays for itself.

Photo: Andrevruas / Wikimedia, CC BY 3.0

What size crane, what cost

Tree sections are heavy and the crane is usually reaching over the house. That pushes the size up:

• Pines or small oaks near the driveway: a 28-ton boom truck or 40 to 50 ton crane. About $720 to $960 at the 4-hour minimum.
• Large oaks behind the house: 75 to 100 tons. About $1,160 to $1,420 plus the $100 permit fee.
• Huge trees with a long reach: 120 tons, about $1,740 for four hours with the fee.

A rigger runs $75 an hour on the posted sheet. The tree crew’s labor, hauling and stump grinding are separate. If you have several trees, get them on one day: once the crane is set up, a second tree costs only the extra hours.

Canopy roads and permits

Leon County protects 78 miles of canopy roads, about 20 inside the city and 58 in the unincorporated county, including stretches of Miccosukee, Centerville, Meridian and Old St. Augustine roads. The protection zone is 100 feet from the centerline on each side. Removing a tree inside it needs a county tree removal permit, and the county requires mitigation.

If the crane has to sit on a city street, Tallahassee’s right of way manual limits lane closures to weekdays 9 AM to 4 PM or overnight, with 48 hours’ notice.

Power lines and soft yards

Tallahassee’s older neighborhoods have lines running through the trees. OSHA keeps cranes 20 feet from lines up to 350 kV unless the utility de-energizes them, so the City of Tallahassee Utilities or Talquin may need to be scheduled too. Wet red clay is soft, and the crane’s outriggers need mats on lawns.