Answers before you call

HomeAdvisor's 2026 national guide puts most tree removals between $200 and $2,000, with an average of about $750: $150 to $450 for trees up to 30 feet, $450 to $1,200 for 30 to 60 feet, $800 to $1,500 for 60 to 80 feet, and $1,000 to $2,000 over 80 feet. A tree near the house or power lines adds 25 to 50 percent. The price comes down to the tree's height and lean, what sits under it, access, and how much cleanup is involved. Estimates are free, and it is smart to ask for a written estimate before any work begins.

Yes. We connect homeowners on the South Carolina side, including Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Rock Hill, Indian Land, and Lake Wylie, and across the line in North Carolina in Huntersville and the Lake Norman area, with a local tree service. The rules differ by side: South Carolina digging goes through SC811, North Carolina through NC811.

We connect you with a local tree service, who contacts you directly. Always ask to see their license and insurance before work starts.

It depends on where you live. In the City of Tega Cay, a free city permit is required to remove any tree over 4 inches in diameter, measured one foot from the ground. In the Town of Fort Mill, a Land Disturbance Permit is required for clearing that is part of new home construction, development or redevelopment; we could not find a Town permit for one tree on an existing home lot. On Lake Wylie, cutting inside Duke Energy's project boundary needs Duke's written approval. HOA covenants can add their own rules, and the final approval is between you and your city, county, HOA or Duke.

Get everyone to a safe spot away from the damage and stay clear of any downed power lines, which you should always treat as live. Duke Energy says to contact Duke immediately about a downed line and lists 800.769.3766 for reporting outages. Take photos before anything is moved, call your insurer, then call us and we connect you with a local tree service. Please do not try to move storm-damaged wood yourself, since it is often under tension and can spring or roll unpredictably.

Often it will when a tree hits your home or another insured structure. The Insurance Information Institute says a standard policy covers that damage and generally up to about $500 to $1,000 to remove the tree, no matter whose tree it was. If it falls and hits nothing, there is generally no coverage, though some insurers pay when a tree blocks a driveway or a ramp. Photograph the damage before anything is moved, and check your own policy.

Usually, yes, though it takes planning. Many lots in Tega Cay and along Lake Wylie slope toward the water with tight access, so climbing and hand rigging often take the place of large machines, with wood lowered in sections to protect the lawn, dock and shoreline. Ask how the crew plans to approach it at the estimate. Also check the lake line first: Duke Energy requires prior written approval to cut trees, shrubs or other vegetation inside its project boundary.

Stump grinding uses a machine to chip the stump down below grade and leaves the underground roots to decay naturally in the soil, which is faster, cheaper, and much easier on your yard. Full removal pulls the entire root ball out and leaves a large hole. For nearly every residential yard, grinding is the better choice, and it lets you replant, sod, or reclaim the spot.

Cabling and bracing make sense when a mature, otherwise healthy tree has one identifiable structural weakness, like a tight fork splitting into two heavy stems or a crack where a big limb meets the trunk. Hardware cannot fix decay, though: Clemson Extension says water oak trunks often rot by about 50 years of age. HomeAdvisor puts cabling at $200 to $400 on average. Ask the arborist to tell you honestly whether support is the smart call or whether removal is safer.

More urgent than most people think. Loblolly pines are shallow-rooted and grow tall and heavy up top, and in our saturated red clay a dead or leaning pine can uproot in a single wet, windy night. If a pine over your house has started leaning, dropping bark, or losing its needles, it is worth having looked at soon rather than waiting for the next storm to decide for you.

Not automatically, so ask for it in writing. A complete job means chipping the brush, hauling off the logs, and raking and blowing the work area. In the Town of Fort Mill, Town crews pick up limbs a resident cuts and moves to the road, but not debris a contractor leaves at the curb. If you would like to keep the wood for firewood, say so before the work starts.

We connect you with a local tree service, and they set the visit time. When they contact you, ask how soon they can come out, and tell them if a tree is on the house.

Limbs and yard debris that you cut and move to the road yourself are picked up the same day as trash, according to the Town. Items a contractor places at the curb are not removed by Town personnel, so have the tree service haul away the wood from a removal. Fort Mill Public Works: 803-547-7158.

You are, for the service line that runs from the pole to your meter, according to Duke Energy. Duke will turn that line off at no cost before tree work if you or the tree service ask, and it takes tree trimming requests online for trees threatening its main lines. Duke cites OSHA and ANSI Z133: an unqualified person should not work within 10 feet of an overhead line. York Electric Cooperative members should call (803) 684-4248 before trimming or removing a tree near any line.

Buried utilities should be marked before a grinder goes below the surface. SC811 is free and asks for at least three business days of notice before digging, not counting the day you file, weekends or holidays. Ask whether the tree service files the request and waits for the marks.

Duke clears trees from its lines and equipment so it can restore power, but it says it does not clean up tree debris from severe weather. The wood and limbs left behind are the property owner's responsibility.

The South Carolina Forestry Commission lists pitch tubes, small blobs of resin on the bark, as a sign of southern pine beetle attack, and says the beetles go after pines stressed by drought, flooding, fire, mechanical damage or poor nutrition. A pine with those signs standing over a house should be looked at soon. The Forestry Commission can be reached at (803) 896-8800.

Clemson Extension says Bradford pears split in half because of their narrow branch angles, especially in ice and storms and after about 15 years of age, and South Carolina banned their sale starting October 1, 2024. It describes water oaks as more weak-wooded than most oaks, prone to wind, snow and ice damage, with trunks that often rot by about 50 years old.