Crane-Assisted Tree Removal Over Gainesville Homes

Most removals in town are done with ropes. A climber cuts a piece, the ground crew lowers it, and it lands in a drop zone in the yard. That system has two limits. There has to be somewhere for the piece to land, and the tree has to be strong enough to carry the rigging loads. When either one fails, a crane is the answer.

The typical crane job here is a large oak or pine in a backyard completely surrounded by structures: the house on one side, a screened pool enclosure on another, a neighbor's garage behind. Other common reasons are a dead or decayed trunk that no climber should tie into, or a tree already resting on a roof after a storm. The takedown methods page covers the general process. This page is about what changes when a crane joins the job.

1. Setup. The crane parks on the street or the driveway, extends its outriggers and sets them on wide pads to spread the load. The operator levels the machine and checks the reach to the tree.
2. Rigging the piece. A climber, either in the tree or riding a basket, attaches a sling around the section to be removed. The crane takes up the slack so it is holding the weight.
3. The cut. With the crane holding the piece, the climber makes the cut. Nothing falls. The piece simply hangs from the hook.
4. The swing. The operator lifts the piece up and over the house and sets it down in the street or the front yard, where the ground crew unhooks it.
5. Processing. Branches go straight into the chipper. Trunk sections are cut to size and loaded onto the truck.
6. Repeat. The process continues until the trunk is low enough to fell or cut in place.

Because pieces can be much larger than anything a climber could lower by rope, a crane often takes a big tree down in a few hours. That speed is what makes the crane cost worthwhile on many jobs.

A crane parked on a city street is an obstruction of the public right-of-way, and the City of Gainesville requires a permit from Public Works for it. The city's stated goal is to review complete obstruction applications within fourteen business days, and it notes that an application asking to close parking spaces or place a crane in the right-of-way may need an extra seven days. On narrow streets near the university, where parked cars line both curbs, that permit is a real part of the schedule.

In neighborhoods like Florida Park, where the streets are older and narrower, we plan the crane position carefully to keep a lane open. In newer subdivisions such as Mile Run, wider streets and driveways usually give the crane room, though curves and cul-de-sacs can limit reach. County-maintained roads and the roads inside each town have their own rules, and we check them for each address. We handle the permit paperwork as part of the job.

Federal safety rules for cranes near overhead lines are strict. Under OSHA's crane standard, if any part of the crane, its load line or the load could come within 20 feet of a power line rated up to 350 kilovolts, the employer must take specific precautions. The default distance is 20 feet unless the utility confirms the voltage, in which case a table of distances applies: 10 feet for lines up to 50 kilovolts, for example. Residential distribution lines usually fall in that lower band, but the confirmation has to come from the utility.

So the utility, GRU or Clay Electric, is part of the plan well before the crane shows up. Sometimes the answer is a de-energized line for a few hours. Sometimes it is a crane position that keeps the boom well away from the wires. The service drop to your house can be disconnected free of charge through either utility.

A crane is never the default. We compare it with a rigged removal on three points. First, is there a drop zone at all, or would every piece have to be lowered onto something breakable? Second, can the tree carry the loads that rigging puts on it, given its decay and its lean? Third, would the hours saved by big crane picks offset the crane's cost? When two of those three point toward a crane, it usually ends up on the estimate. When none do, ropes are cheaper and just as safe. Either way, the estimate names the method so you know in advance how the tree will come down.

A crane puts a lot of weight on a small area under each outrigger. Alachua County's sandy soils and karst limestone, the same geology behind sinkholes like Devil's Millhopper, mean we look hard at where the outriggers will sit. Septic tanks and drain fields are a real concern on county lots, since they can collapse under a heavy load. Irrigation lines, pavers and older concrete driveways can crack. We use pads to spread the weight and ask you to mark any septic system, irrigation or buried utility lines before crane day.

The crane is quoted as an add-on to the removal price for the size of tree. Because a crane often shortens the job, the total can be closer to a rigged removal than people expect.

Crane jobs often pair with other services. A dead or decayed tree that cannot be climbed is covered on the dead tree removal page. A large oak over a roof is common enough to have its own page on oak tree removal.

What you can do before crane day

• Park your vehicles somewhere else overnight, leaving the drive and the curb out front empty.
• Mark septic lids, drain fields, sprinkler heads and any buried lines you know about.
• Keep pets indoors and let neighbors know a crane will be swinging loads over the yard for a few hours.
• Clear patio furniture, grills and planters from the area where pieces will be set down.

For a crane estimate, we need to see the tree, the space around it and the route from the street. We measure reach and check for wires. You get one written price that includes the crane, permits, crew and cleanup. To learn how a removal near the house is planned, read removing a tree close to your house in Gainesville. For an overview of tree removal in Gainesville, visit the homepage, or book your estimate.