Blog | Tree Removal Service
A storm can leave a tree split, leaning or lying across the roof in seconds. What you do in the first hour matters more than how fast the cleanup starts: keep people clear, document the damage, and have a trained crew take the tree apart safely. This page covers those steps, what storm-damage tree removal involves, and what it typically costs in Northern Virginia.
Tree on the house, on a car, or touching a wire right now?
Get everyone out of the area first. If a line is down or touching the tree, call your power company (and 911 if anyone is at risk) and stay well back. Then call us and we’ll walk you through what happens next.
Some damage shows up later. A cracked limb can fail days after the storm, and root damage may not show in the canopy until the next growing season. If a big tree near the house took a hard hit, have it inspected even if it looks fine from the ground.
Often it can be saved. If the trunk is sound, the roots held and the damage is limited to broken limbs, corrective pruning removes the torn wood with clean cuts and lets the tree recover, and cabling and bracing can support a weakened limb union. Removal makes sense when the main trunk is split, the root plate has lifted, or the tree now leans toward something it could hit.
Before any tree comes down, we tell you which side of that line it falls on and why. For more detail, see can an uprooted tree be saved? and can a half-dead tree be saved?
A storm-damaged tree is not a normal tree removal. Weight sits in odd places, wood fibres are loaded in ways they were never meant to be, and the tree may be resting on the very thing you want to protect. The work is slower and more deliberate for that reason.
A real job: Fairfax Station, VA
A 50–60 ft beech on the roof
After a severe storm, saturated soil and high winds failed the root plate of a beech that stood about 30 feet from the house, and the whole tree came down on the roof. Because it was resting on the structure, the crew dismantled it in sections, lowering each piece on a Port-a-Wrap rigging device anchored to a healthy neighbouring tree so no extra weight shifted onto the roof. A grapple truck cleared the logs and debris.
(These are general Northern Virginia market ranges for budgeting only — not a G&V quote. Your exact price depends on the tree and the site, which is why we quote on-site.)
What moves the price: the size of the tree, what it’s resting on, how close equipment can get, and whether a crane is needed. A tree lying flat in an open yard is usually simpler than one hung up over a roof. Our fallen tree removal cost guide breaks this down further.
Homeowner policies generally pay for tree removal when a falling tree damages a covered structure: the house, a garage, a fence. A tree that comes down in the yard without hitting anything is often not covered, and most policies cap what they pay for tree removal, so check your own policy and deductible.
We can photograph the damage and give you a written assessment and an itemized estimate to pass to your adjuster. If the tree is an immediate hazard, safety comes first: document it, then have it made safe.
It depends on where you are and where the tree stands. Resource Protection Areas, conservation easements and HOA rules can all apply, even to storm-damaged trees. Our Fairfax County tree removal permit guide covers the county’s rules, and we’ll flag anything on your lot that needs a closer look.
Many storm failures start with a weakness that was there before the storm: a cracked limb union, dead wood, a crown too dense to let wind through, or a lean that crept up over the years. Routine pruning, a health check on big trees near the house, and cabling where a union is weak all reduce the risk. Fast-growing, brittle species such as silver maple and Bradford pear tend to break more readily than slower-growing hardwoods.
Storm damage on your property?
Tell us what came down and what it’s resting on. An arborist will look at it in person and give you a free estimate before any work starts.
Free estimates · Licensed & insured · ISA-credentialed arborists · TCIA member
G&V Tree Service · (703) 569-2570 · Office: 6434 Brandon Ave Suite 204, Springfield, VA 22150
It depends on the storm. After a big one, calls come in all at once, so trees on houses, across driveways and leaning on structures go first. Call (703) 569-2570 and we’ll tell you honestly when a crew can be there.
Not if it’s resting on a building, hung up in another tree or anywhere near a wire. Wood in that position is under tension and can roll or spring when it’s cut. A tree lying flat in open ground is a different situation, but chainsaw work on storm wood is still best left to a trained crew.
Usually when the tree damaged a covered structure such as the house, a garage or a fence. Coverage is often limited when a tree falls without hitting anything, and policies cap what they pay for tree removal. Check your own policy and deductible; photos and a written assessment help the claim.
Often, if the trunk is sound and the roots held. Corrective pruning removes the torn wood with clean cuts. Removal makes sense when the main trunk is split, the root plate has lifted, or the tree now leans toward something it could hit.
Emergency and storm removals in Northern Virginia generally run $2,000 to $5,000, depending on the tree’s size, what it’s resting on, access and whether a crane is needed. We quote on-site, and the estimate is free.
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We strive to keep up with and use modern tree care techniques. Our work is also conducted by tree specialists with decades of experience.
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