Tree & Stump Removal
in Mount Pleasant & Charleston

There's no price list here, on purpose: no two pieces of ground are the same. Josiah walks it and gives you a straight number. What it comes down to:

• Size of the tree. Height and trunk thickness decide how much work it is to bring down and cut up.
• What's underneath it. Open ground is one job. A roof, a fence or a driveway underneath is a slower one.
• Stumps. How many, how big, and whether they're ground or pulled.
• Access. Whether equipment can reach the tree, or everything is carried out by hand.
• Haul-off. Whether the wood leaves the property or stays as firewood.

A lean toward the house, storm damage, or a tree that has simply outgrown where it was planted. Worth dealing with before hurricane season rather than after.

Taking it down, cleaning up every limb, and grinding or pulling the stump depending on what the ground is for next.

Stumps left behind from old removals, or a whole lot of them after clearing. They are a mowing hazard, and they stop you using the ground.

Grinding them below the surface where you'll plant or lay sod, or pulling the stump and root ball with the excavator where the ground will be dug or built on, then backfilling the hole.

Hurricane season and summer storms. A tree lying on open ground is one job; one resting on the house or the fence is a more careful one.

Cutting up what's down, taking down anything left standing that isn't safe, dealing with the stumps, and hauling it all off.

Often, yes. On a single-family lot the Town protects most trees 16 inches or more across, measured 4.5 feet off the ground (Zoning Code Table 156.702-2), and any live oak of 24 inches or more is a historic tree. Pines are exempt below 24 inches, and so are sweet gum, Leyland cypress, Chinese tallow and a handful of other species. Fines can land on the homeowner and on whoever does the cutting (§156.709), so it is worth checking before anything comes down. The Town has the final word: trees@tompsc.com or (843) 884-1229.

Each town sets its own line. The City of Charleston, which covers West Ashley, Daniel Island and parts of James and Johns Island, regulates grand trees of 24 inches and up, not counting pines and sweet gums. The Town of James Island draws the line at 18 inches, Isle of Palms reviews most trees over 8 inches, and Sullivan's Island protects trees from 6 inches. These change, so the town is always the one to confirm with.

A dead, diseased or hazardous tree can usually be approved for removal, sometimes with an arborist's letter, and after a declared emergency Mount Pleasant can waive the process for fallen and severely damaged trees (§156.704). Take photos before anything is cut: you may be asked to document it afterwards.