Family Owned • Est. 2020 • Fully Insured • We Beat Written Quotes
Family Owned • Est. 2020 • Fully Insured • We Beat Written Quotes
Marietta runs from the Historic Square out to East Cobb subdivisions and west toward Lost Mountain. We’re based about 15 minutes away in Smyrna, and our crew has worked these yards for years.
The red clay around the Square holds water differently than the sandy loam near Sandy Plains. Older lots near Glover Park have mature willow oaks and water oaks whose root systems have pushed against foundations and driveways for decades.
East Cobb subdivisions are loaded with Bradford pears hitting their 15-to-20-year failure window; West Cobb has bigger lots with more pines that snap in straight-line winds. Whether it’s routine tree trimming or a full removal, we’ve handled just about every situation Marietta yards can produce. Tree Service Smyrna is a family-owned, fully insured crew founded by Rudy Perez in 2020.
You don’t work a territory for five years without learning what fails and why. Spring and summer storms roll through the corridor and take out the weak ones first. Bradford pears split at the crotch, Leyland cypress rows turn brown and die in sections. By fall, homeowners are calling about dead pines; by winter, the calls shift to clearing lots for new construction. Winter is when we do the most pruning, since dormant trees are easier to work on.
Walk the blocks around the Historic Marietta Square and you’ll see tulip poplars, willow oaks, and water oaks that predate the homes around them, grown around original brick foundations and old sewer lines. Cutting one down is a full-day job with a crane half the time.
But sometimes the right call is to save the tree. A dead limb over the house is a trimming job, not a removal, and a trunk crack that hasn’t moved in years might be stable enough to cable and monitor. We’ve talked homeowners out of removing a perfectly good willow oak because a neighbor said it “looked dangerous.” It just needed a crown reduction, the kind of care that keeps an old Marietta shade oak standing for another few decades. That kind of call on an old Marietta tree comes from years of doing this work in these same neighborhoods, not from a chart.
East Cobb is where we do the most Bradford pear removals. Those trees were planted by the thousands in subdivisions built in the late ’90s and early 2000s, and they split right down the middle at 15 to 20 years old. It’s not a question of if, it’s when. Bradford pear removal is one of our most common East Cobb calls; once one side splits off, it’s done.
If yours is still standing, have it looked at before storm season. Removing a Bradford pear before it fails costs a fraction of what it costs after it lands on your roof. The other constant East Cobb call is Leyland cypress turning brown, usually drought stress, poor spacing, and root competition from planting them too close together. Sometimes individual plants can be saved; sometimes the whole row has to come out.
West Cobb is a different animal. Out toward Lost Mountain and Powder Springs Road, the lots get bigger with more pines, more hardwoods, and more room between houses. A 70-foot pine takes a different approach than a 30-foot Bradford pear in an East Cobb front yard, so we bring in bigger rigs, more climbers, and sometimes a crane. Land clearing out here is common too, since people are building on acreage that's been wooded for decades.
Sandy Plains mixes older homes with the same mature-oak issues near the Square and newer builds where compacted construction soil stresses trees “saved” during the build but never protected. Glover Park sees a lot of foot and vehicle traffic that stresses root systems too. Regular care in these high-traffic spots extends the life of mature oaks that would otherwise decline from compaction. If yours is thinning out, have someone look at it.
Sometimes a tree is done: dead, dying, leaning, or just in the way. Tree removal is the core of what we do, from small ornamentals to 80-foot oaks, and the process depends on size, access, and what's underneath it.
Trimming is where we save more trees than we cut. Done right, it prevents the kind of failure that leads to a 2 AM emergency call. Topping is a false economy. Costs less today, costs more in five years when the regrowth comes back weak and prone to breaking. We don't top trees. We do crown reductions and structural pruning that actually makes the tree safer.
Once the tree is down, you've got a stump and root flare sitting in the yard. Stump grinding below grade with our grinding service means you can put sod or a new tree right over it. We go deep enough that it stays gone.
Building a home, adding a pool, or putting in a driveway sometimes means clearing a section of woods. We handle it from a few trees up to full lot prep, without tearing up the soil structure you'll need later. Heavy equipment on wet clay turns a clearing job into a mud problem fast.
Not every weak tree needs to come down. If the canopy is healthy but the structure has a weak point, tree cabling can hold it together. Steel cables high in the canopy support unions that are splitting or will split, especially common on older oaks with co-dominant trunks.
Spring and summer here means thunderstorms, and thunderstorms mean trees on houses, cars, and power lines. We're available 24/7 for emergency tree service. Storm work means ropes, rigging, and sometimes a crane to get a leaning tree off safely. Call (470) 994-5343 if you have a tree on a structure.
Not every leaning tree needs a truck out tonight. A tree on the roof, blocking your driveway, or hanging over power lines jumps to the front of the line, same day if we can swing it. A tree that's down in the back corner of the yard with nothing under it can wait for a normal appointment, and we'll tell you that instead of running up an after-hours bill you didn't need.
Pricing depends on the tree, the access, and the risk. Here’s what we typically see:
A tree hanging over a house costs more than one in an open field. Every job is different. We’ll give you a free estimate before any work starts.
Removal pricing comes down to size, access, and risk: a 30-foot ornamental with clear access is straightforward, an 80-foot oak over a house takes rigging and sometimes a crane. Trimming is priced by scope. Grinding runs $75 to $400 per stump. What’s underneath matters too: a clear lawn is one thing, a pool or driveway changes the rigging.
This is the question we get more than almost any other. General information below, not legal advice.
You can trim branches and roots that cross onto your property up to the line. If a trunk sits entirely on your neighbor's lot, it's their tree even if branches hang over your yard. Storm damage to your house is typically covered by your own insurance regardless of whose tree it was. Not sure whose tree it is? Get a survey before you cut.
Never try to trim or remove a tree near a power line yourself. Call the utility company. They maintain clearance up to the weatherhead on service drops; below that, it's yours, and we'll coordinate if a limb's on the line.
It goes both ways. If a tree on your property falls in a storm and damages your neighbor's fence or roof, that's typically their homeowners insurance, the same way storm damage from their tree is yours. Negligence changes that. If you knew a tree was dead or leaning and did nothing about it, and it comes down and causes damage, the story changes. We see this most in the older Marietta neighborhoods near the Square, where a dying willow oak on a shared fence line is everybody's problem eventually. A quick safety check now is cheaper than a claim later, and we're happy to look at a tree even if you're not sure it's yours to worry about.
Most homeowners don’t look up at their trees until something falls. By then it’s too late. If you see any of these signs, it’s time to have someone look at it.
This checklist is what we look at when we come to your yard. Knowing what to watch for gets you on the phone sooner, and sooner is usually cheaper.
Living in a subdivision with an HOA usually means rules about tree removal. Some require approval above a certain diameter, some require replacement trees.
East Cobb has some of the strictest covenants in Marietta. Check yours first. We've seen homeowners fined for cutting a tree without approval, even a dead one. We provide the documentation you need: photos and a written assessment.
West Cobb and Sandy Plains tend to have looser covenants, but not always. Some newer subdivisions off Sandy Plains Road have strict preservation rules. Don't assume. Check first.
Inside Marietta city limits, an Urban Tree Protection ordinance through the Urban Forestry Division applies; unincorporated Cobb County follows a separate ordinance through Community Development.
Marietta's ordinance typically applies to trees above a certain diameter, and removing a protected one may need a permit and replacement plan. Our permit guide for Cobb County covers the basics. We'll confirm what applies when we come out.
Different rules apply here. Permit requirements outside city limits are something we deal with on almost every job. We'll walk you through it.
The storm corridor through Marietta runs late spring through early fall: straight-line winds, microbursts, the occasional tornado path. The trees that fail first always had pre-existing problems. A healthy oak takes 60 mph winds; a pine with root rot goes over at 30. The storm doesn’t cause the failure. It reveals it. That’s why we tell people to deal with problem trees before storm season. After is more expensive, more dangerous, and you’re competing with every other homeowner for a crew’s time.
If a crew drops a limb on your house and they’re not covered, that repair comes out of your pocket, not ours. We carry full coverage. We also give you an honest read: if the tree doesn’t need to come down, we’ll tell you. The crew that shows up works for us.
See the pricing breakdown above: $300 to $2,500 for most removals depending on size, access, and risk.
Most single-tree removals take half a day to a full day, depending on size, access, and whether we need a crane. Storm cleanup and bigger clearing jobs run longer. For bigger yards around Marietta, especially ones with mature oak trees, we build in extra time to do it right. We’ll walk you through the timeframe and the price before any work starts, same as with any tree service call.
You can generally trim branches and roots that cross onto your property up to the line, and if a trunk is entirely on your neighbor’s land, it’s their tree. Storm damage to your house is typically covered by your own homeowners insurance regardless of where the tree came from. This is general information, not legal advice.
An arborist studies tree health and care; a tree service is the crew that does the physical work. Some tree services keep arborists on staff. We focus on the work, and we’ll tell you honestly whether your tree needs a specialist’s input or just a good pruning.
Late fall through winter. Trees are dormant, access is easier without the full canopy, and crews are less busy. Storm season drives demand up, and prices follow.
Some programs and nonprofits offer assistance for hazardous-tree removal, but availability varies. We don’t run a free program, but we offer discounts for seniors on fixed incomes. Call (470) 994-5343 and we’ll work with you.
Depends on where you live. We’ll figure out what applies to your lot.
Sudden leaning, vertical trunk cracks, fungal growth at the base, or soil heaving around the root plate. These are signs of structural failure. Call someone before the next storm.
We beat any written quote from a licensed, insured competitor. Bring us their price. We’re not the cheapest crew in town. We’re the crew that does it right and stands behind the work.
Roughly 15 minutes from the Square puts us close to everything in between. Not sure if we cover your street? Give us a call.
Got a tree that needs care in Marietta, GA? Give us a call. We’ll come out, take a look, and give you an honest read. No pressure, no upsell.
Call (470) 994-5343 or reach out through our contact page. We’ll get on the schedule.
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