Trees over 80 feet, and trees of any size that are genuinely complicated, get their own category because the planning is different in kind, not just degree. This is the 90 foot silver maple over three backyards in Etobicoke, the towering white pine beside a Halton Hills farmhouse, the huge dead ash leaning over a Hamilton garage, the storm-wrecked poplar with a cracked lead suspended over a pool. At this scale we are often coordinating a crane or a large lift, planning where multi-tonne picks land, protecting driveways and lawns from heavy equipment, and sometimes staging the job over more than one day. Complex also covers trees that are not especially tall but are dangerous: severely decayed trunks, storm-loaded wood under tension, and trees that failed partway and hung up. We take on this work across the west GTA, from Toronto out to Burlington, Hamilton, and Halton Hills. The quote visit for a job like this is a planning session, and it is free. You get a written number, a description of the method, and a straight answer about equipment, timeline, and permits. Nobody should quote a tree like this from a photo, including us.
What's included
- A full planning visit before anything is booked, covering method, equipment, crane or lift placement if needed, protection, and sequencing, all written into the quote.
- DBH measurement and the complete permit picture for your municipality, including ravine rules in Toronto where they apply, handled before scheduling.
- Coordination of any crane, lift, or specialized equipment the job requires, including where it sits, what it protects, and how it gets in and out.
- Top-down dismantling with carefully planned rigging or crane picks, each section sized, secured, and lowered or lifted out under control.
- A ground crew dedicated to the drop and landing zones for the entire job, managing ropes, wood, and site safety.
- Ground protection matting or plywood under equipment and along wood routes to protect driveways, walkways, and lawns.
- Processing and removal of what can be a very large volume of wood, chipped, hauled, or left as firewood by agreement.
- The stump flush cut with grinding quoted alongside, complete site cleanup, and a final walkthrough, with the site left safe at the end of every working day on multi-day jobs.
How it works
- Call and tell us what you are looking at. If the tree is actively dangerous, say so, and we provide same-day response during business hours for hazardous situations. After hours, leave a voicemail and we call back when we open.
- Planning visit and free written quote. For complex removals this visit runs longer, because equipment access, landing zones, and neighbouring properties all have to be worked out before a number means anything.
- Permit work. Trees at this scale are over the threshold everywhere in the west GTA that regulates private trees, and we prepare the application path with you, including hazard documentation where the tree qualifies for an exemption or expedited stream.
- Scheduling and coordination, including equipment booking, any utility coordination for lines in the work zone, and a heads-up to affected neighbours where access or overhang requires it.
- The removal itself, one to several days, worked top down with the site controlled and left safe at the end of each day.
- Full cleanup, wood handled as agreed, stump flush cut, ground protection lifted, and a walkthrough with you at the end.
What moves the price above starting at $3,000
- Equipment. Crane days, large lifts, and the trucking to move them are the single biggest variable at this scale, and whether the job needs them is decided by safety, not preference.
- Height and mass beyond 80 feet. Wood weight scales brutally with size, and a tree at this height can hold ten tonnes or more that all has to come down under control and leave the property.
- What the tree stands over. Multiple structures, pools, neighbouring properties, or a ravine slope each constrain how wood can move and add rigging complexity or crane time.
- Condition. Severely decayed or long-dead trees, hung-up storm failures, and wood under tension are the highest-risk work in the trade and are staffed, equipped, and priced accordingly.
- Access for heavy equipment. If a crane can work from your driveway or the street, good. If it needs road occupancy or the job must be done without machinery entirely, the plan and the price change.
- Disposal volume. A tree this size can fill several trucks with wood and chips. Keeping firewood and chips on site offsets some of that, and full haul-away is priced honestly at the quote.
- Permits and documentation. Applications, hazard documentation, and any conditions the municipality attaches are handled transparently and included in the written scope where they apply.
Starting at $3,000, quoted in writing before any work starts.
On-site visit, written quote, no obligation. Usually within 24 hours of your call.
When you need this
- A tree over 80 feet is dead, dying, or structurally failing anywhere near your house. At this size there is no version of waiting that makes the situation better or the removal cheaper.
- A massive silver maple or willow has dropped a leader or major limb, and what remains is overextended over the house. Partial failures at this scale usually mean the rest is coming.
- A giant ash killed by emerald ash borer is standing over a target. Large dead ash are the trees professionals treat with the most caution, and several years dead they can be too hazardous to climb at all.
- A storm has left a big tree hung up, cracked, or partially uprooted, with heavy wood suspended over a structure. This is same-day response during business hours territory, so call rather than wait.
- A towering spruce or pine has developed a lean, heaving soil at the base, or a visibly hollow trunk, on a lot where a failure would land on something that matters.
- You have an arborist report or municipal order identifying a large hazardous tree, and you need a crew that can execute the removal, the paperwork, and the cleanup at that scale.
Local notes for the west GTA
Every tree in this class is over the diameter threshold in every west GTA municipality that regulates private trees, so treat the permit as part of the project. Toronto including Etobicoke regulates at 30 cm DBH and regulates ravine-protected land at any size, so large old trees on ravine lots involve both Chapter 813 and Chapter 658 of the city's code. Brampton's By-law 317-2012 sets 30 cm with exemptions including hazardous trees and trees within 2 metres of an occupied building, which is often relevant at this scale. Hamilton is 30 cm, Burlington 20 cm, Woodbridge 20 cm under Vaughan By-law 177-2025 with a simplified stream for dead and hazardous trees, Mississauga 15 cm in some zones, and Oakville 76 cm circumference. Milton has no private tree permit for most residential lots and Halton Hills has no private tree bylaw. On larger rural properties, Halton Region By-law 121-05 regulates woodlands of 0.5 hectares and up and Regional Greenlands, which can apply in Halton Hills, Milton, and rural Burlington.
Where we provide this service
Frequently asked questions
Why does complex tree removal start at $3,000? +
Because the floor for doing this work properly is high. Starting at $3,000 reflects the minimum realistic version of an 80 foot plus removal: a full crew for at least a day, serious rigging, a large volume of wood processed and moved, and the planning time that keeps a ten tonne tree from becoming an insurance claim. The price moves up from there with crane or lift days, difficult access, dangerous wood condition, multi-day staging, full disposal, and permit scope. We itemize all of it in a written quote after a planning visit, so you can see exactly what you are paying for. If a quote for a tree like this arrives without anyone visiting your property, treat it with suspicion, because the site conditions are the price.
Do all removals this size need a crane? +
No. Plenty of 80 foot plus trees come down with conventional climbing and rigging when the wood is sound and there is room to work. A crane becomes the right tool when the tree cannot be climbed safely, when everything below the canopy is a target, or when a crane pick is simply faster and safer than hours of technical rigging over a house. Sometimes a large lift is the middle answer. The honest framing is that equipment is a method decision we make for safety and efficiency, and we explain the reasoning in the quote. When a crane is involved we coordinate the booking, the placement, and any approvals needed for it to set up, and that all appears in the written scope.
Do I need a permit, and does a hazardous tree change that? +
Assume a permit is required in any west GTA municipality with a private tree bylaw, because a tree this size exceeds every local threshold. The hazardous condition matters though. Brampton's bylaw exempts hazardous trees and trees within 2 metres of an occupied building. Vaughan's By-law 177-2025, which covers Woodbridge, runs a simplified permit stream for dead, hazardous, or EAB-killed trees that does not require an arborist report. Toronto's rules still apply on ravine-protected land at any tree size. Milton and Halton Hills generally have no private tree permit for residential lots, though Halton Region By-law 121-05 covers woodlands of 0.5 hectares and up. We confirm the exact requirement, prepare the documentation, and sequence the work so a dangerous tree is dealt with as fast as the rules allow.
How fast can you respond to a dangerous tree? +
For genuinely hazardous situations, a tree failing over a house, hung-up storm damage, a large dead tree that has started to go, we provide same-day response during business hours. Call and describe what you see, and send photos if it is safe to take them. Outside business hours, leave a voicemail with your address and what is happening, and we return calls as soon as we open. If a tree is in contact with hydro lines, call your utility first, that part is theirs before it can be ours. For hazardous but stable trees we typically triage within days, and where a permit applies we pursue whatever hazard exemption or simplified stream your municipality offers so the paperwork does not leave a dangerous tree standing longer than necessary.
Will heavy equipment wreck my property? +
Protecting the property is part of the plan, not an afterthought. Cranes and lifts work from outriggers on matting, usually positioned on the driveway or street rather than the lawn. Wood routes are covered with mats or plywood, landing zones are chosen to spare gardens, and on multi-day jobs the site is secured and tidy at the end of every day. A removal at this scale still leaves temporary evidence, compressed grass along wood routes, some sawdust, marks where tonnes of wood were staged. That recovers. What does not happen on a properly run job is cracked driveways, broken services, or crushed landscaping, and the planning visit is where we walk the routes with you and agree on what needs the most care.
How long does a complex removal take from first call to finished? +
The removal itself typically runs one to three days on site. The lead-up is where the calendar lives. A planning visit usually happens within days of your call. Permit processing time varies by municipality and season, and crane availability adds scheduling constraints of its own, so a planned removal of a big tree is realistically a few weeks from call to completion. Winter is often the best season for this work: schedules are lighter, frozen ground carries equipment better, and the bare canopy makes rigging cleaner. Storm periods in summer and early winter fill the schedule with emergency work, which can stretch routine bookings. A genuinely dangerous tree skips the queue entirely, with same-day response during business hours.