Hit 412 hazard trees on my removal list this season and the one that messed with my head was a 60 foot silver maple in a backyard

Nathan Murray · 2026-09-30T22:50:03.759416+00:00

So I keep a running tally of hazard trees I've assessed or taken down each season, mostly for my own sanity and to track how my bids line up. This season crossed 412, which is way more than the 300ish I figured, but the one that stuck with me was a 60 foot silver maple in a tight backyard over in Dayton. Homeowner had a big play set and a garden right under the canopy, and the whole trunk had a spiral crack running up about 8 feet with some conk on the back side. Half of me wanted to crane it out in pieces because of the lean toward the house, and the other half figured the crack was old and it could be flopped with a couple of pull lines and a good notch. We ended up rigging it down slow, took most of a day, and the core was punky about 4 inches in, so I felt decent about the call, but I still second guess whether I overcharged the guy with all that rigging. My groundie said he would have just dropped it and taken the fence out, and honestly some days I think that's the right read and some days I don't. Where do you all draw the line between a tree that looks fine but has a hidden defect and one you just know is gonna go, and do you price the doubt into the bid or eat it?

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Hit 412 hazard trees on my removal list this season and the one that messed with my head was a 60 foot silver maple in a backyard | Arborists - The Community Guide