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Stillman's Tree Service

941-803-1309

Emergency and Storm Damage Tree Service in Bradenton and Manatee County

941-803-1309
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If a tree is on your house, across your drive, or a limb is hanging over where people walk, call Stillman’s Tree Service at 941-803-1309. If anyone is hurt or a power line is down, call 911 or the utility first, and stay clear of the tree. {AVAILABILITY_STATEMENT} Stillman’s has served Manatee County and north Sarasota County for twenty years, family owned and owner operated, licensed and insured. The order that works is make it safe, document it, then clean up. The estimate is free. This page explains what happens at each step and what it costs.

941-803-1309

What Emergency and Storm Damage Tree Service actually involves

Making the site safe before anything is cut

The first job is not the tree. It is finding what can hurt someone: power lines, a limb hung up in the crown, a trunk bent under load, soil that has lifted. A tree that is pinned or bent holds stored energy, and a cut in the wrong place releases it without warning, which is how people are hurt. Trees in or near power lines are the utility’s to make safe first, and tree work waits for that.

Trees on roofs and structures

A tree on a house is a load the structure was never built for, and taking it off is a matter of order. The weight comes off in stages from the top, in pieces sized to be lowered or lifted clear, because removing the trunk that is holding the rest up can drop the whole load onto the roof. When the tree is too heavy or the access too tight, crane-assisted removal takes the weight of each section. 

Hanging limbs and cracked trunks

A hanger is a broken limb that has caught in the crown and not yet fallen. It can let go with no warning, which is why no one should stand under it and why it is taken down with rigging before the rest of the work starts. A split crotch or a cracked trunk is a union between codominant stems, or a stretch of decayed wood, that has finally let go. The tree may still be standing, but it has lost its structure. Whether it is a removal or a repair depends on how much sound wood is left.

Uprooted trees and the root plate

When a tree goes over, it lifts a plate of roots and soil with it. Once the weight of the crown comes off, that plate can settle or tip back toward the hole it came out of, which is a hazard of its own. A tree that has not fallen but shows heaved soil, lifted turf or fresh cracks at the base has already begun to move on its root plate. Sandy Manatee County soil gives a wide, shallow plate, which is one reason so many trees here go over whole in a hurricane.

Clearing drives and access

A tree across a drive or an entrance is cut into lengths and moved aside so the way is open. Access comes first, and the wood and the cleanup come after. When many people need help at once, work is sequenced by hazards: trees on structures and blocked access ahead of tidy-up.

Documenting damage for insurance

Your insurer will want to see the tree and the damage as they were, so photograph both from a safe distance before anything is moved. The estimate describes the work: where the tree was, what it hit and what is being removed. 

When it is the right answer and when it is not

Emergency service is the right call when the tree is an active hazard:

  • A tree or large limb is on a house, a pool cage, a vehicle or a fence.
  • A fallen tree blocks your drive or the only way in and out.
  • A limb is hanging in the crown over a walk, a drive or a door.
  • A tree has uprooted, or is leaning with heaved soil, lifted turf or cracks at the base.
  • A trunk has split and part of the tree is moving.
941-803-1309

It is not the right call, and we will say so, in these cases:

  • Anyone is hurt, or there is fire, a gas smell or a downed line. Call 911 first.
  • A tree is touching or tangled in a power line. Stay well back and call the utility. Tree work near lines waits until the utility has made them safe.
  • The tree lost leaves or small branches but is standing and stable. That is not an emergency. Many trees recover from a stripped crown, and a routine visit can wait.
  • A palm lost fronds. A palm grows from a single bud at the crown, and if that bud is alive the palm recovers. Palm tree trimming takes off what is dead later.
  • A broken limb on an otherwise sound tree. It can often be pruned back properly, and a tree that can be pruned does not need removing. See tree trimming.
  • The damage is to the roof, the screen enclosure or the interior. Once the tree is off, that is a job for a roofer, a screen contractor and your insurer.
  • A neighbor's tree fell on your property. Who pays depends on the facts and your policy, and that is a question for your insurer. We can remove the tree and describe the work.
  • If the honest answer for your tree is that it can wait, the estimate will say so.
941-803-1309

How the job runs

Call 941-803-1309

Tell us what happened, where the tree is, what it is touching, and whether anyone is hurt or a line is involved. If it is safe to do so, take photos from a distance.

Make it safe

The hazard comes first: the load on the structure, hanging limbs, a pinned trunk, a lifted root plate. Work waits for the utility where lines are involved.

Document it

Photograph the damage before anything moves, and keep the estimate and the invoice for your insurer.

Clear the tree

The tree comes down in sections from the top, or by crane where the weight or the access calls for it, and blocked drives are opened. Stillman's is family owned and owner operated, and the crew works to the plan agreed with you.

Clean up

Wood, brush and debris are handled as agreed, and the stump can be dealt with afterward through stump grinding.

How long a job takes depends on the tree, the access and how many calls came in at once, and the estimate says what to expect for yours. Large trees on structures, crane work, and several trees take longer.

What it costs

Most emergency and storm damage tree jobs in Manatee County fall between $150 and $2,500. Where yours lands depends on the job:

Where the tree is

A tree on the ground in open yard costs less than one on a roof or a pool cage.

Size and weight

A larger tree means more sections and more material to move.

Crane work

Crane-assisted removal is quoted separately from the range above.

Access

A tree behind a narrow gate or over a screen enclosure slows the work.

Condition

Several stumps in one visit are usually priced better per stump than a single one.

Number of trees and the volume of debris

Several trees, or a yard full of limbs, change the total.

Cleanup and stump

What you want hauled, left or ground is priced separately from getting the tree off.

A single limb on open ground sits toward $150. A large tree on a roof with limited access sits toward $2,500. The estimate is free and gives you the price before work starts. After a storm, ask anyone who quotes you for their certificate of insurance, and be cautious of anyone who knocks on your door and asks for payment up front. Stillman’s carries General Liability and Workers Compensation, and the certificate is available on request.

Whether your insurer pays for any of it depends on your policy and the damage. Ask them before you assume either way.

Permits

Emergency work does not always follow the same permit rules as planned work, and the rules differ between Manatee County, Sarasota County and the City of Bradenton. Local governments sometimes change how they handle tree work after a major storm, so check the current page for your jurisdiction: Manatee County tree permits, Sarasota County tree permits and City of Bradenton tree permits.

Florida Statute 163.045 limits what a local government can require for tree work on residential property when documentation shows the tree poses an unacceptable risk. It is not a way around every permit for every tree. Stillman’s can sign that documentation, and the estimate costs nothing. How it works is on the Florida Statute 163.045 page.

Contact Us

Where we work

Stillman’s works from its yard at 2509 9th St W in Bradenton and serves 28 communities within about 15 miles, across Manatee County and north Sarasota County. Hurricane season runs June through November, and it shapes the year here. On the island towns, salt and wind work on trees all year, and inland, sandy soil and a shallow root plate decide which trees go over. Emergency and storm damage tree service pages are live for {TOWN_1}, {TOWN_2} and {TOWN_3}: Emergency Tree Service in {TOWN_1}, Emergency Tree Service in {TOWN_2} and Emergency Tree Service in {TOWN_3}. For planned work, see tree removal.

941-803-1309

Emergency and Storm Damage Tree Service FAQ

What should I do first when a tree falls on my house?

Get everyone out if the structure is not safe. Call 911 if anyone is hurt or there is fire, a gas smell or a downed line, and call the utility about lines. Stay away from the tree, then call Stillman’s at 941-803-1309.

{AVAILABILITY_STATEMENT}

{RESPONSE_TIME_STATEMENT} Response depends on the hazard and on how many calls come in at once. We will not quote a time we cannot keep.

Yes. Stillman’s does not charge to look at a tree or to give you a price. You get the price before work starts.

Stay well back, treat every line as live, and call the utility and 911. Tree work near lines waits until the utility has made them safe.

Photograph the tree and the damage as they are, from a safe distance, before anything is moved. Include the whole tree, where it landed and what it hit. Keep the estimate and the invoice. Whether the removal is covered depends on your policy, so ask your insurer.

It can be. Heaved soil, lifted turf or fresh cracks at the base mean the root plate has started to move, and the tree should be treated as a hazard. Keep clear and call. A tree that is standing and has not changed since the storm is a free estimate, not an emergency.

Yes. The weight comes off in sections from the top, and crane-assisted removal takes the weight of each section where the tree is too heavy or the access too tight. Roof repair and tarping are a roofer’s job.

Usually not. Many trees recover from a stripped crown, and a palm recovers if its single growing bud is alive. The estimate is free and will tell you whether it needs work or time.

Yes. Stillman’s Tree Service is licensed and insured, carrying General Liability and Workers Compensation, and the certificate of insurance is available on request. Ask anyone who quotes you after a storm for theirs.

Get a free estimate

Call Stillman’s Tree Service at 941-803-1309 and tell us where the tree is, what it is touching and whether anyone is at risk. The estimate is free, it comes before any work, and if the tree can wait, that is what we will tell you. Stillman’s Tree Service, 2509 9th St W, Bradenton, FL 34205. Family owned and owner operated for twenty years, licensed and insured.

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