Details of project and what different providers charge will affect cost. Talk to several, hire somebody that appears legit and professional, with full insurance coverage and training.

Does not sound expensive to me. Of course, I could and probably would drop a 25 ft. tree myself. What we don't know is whether or not there are targets in the way-structures, playsets, other items in the yard that would be in the way. Otherwise, a 25-ft. tree is what we would refer to as a drop and chip. In other words, the machinery we have could likely chip up a small tree like that whole. So maybe I'm not the best guy to be telling you this, since I've done tree work all my life. This sounds easy. And easy is usually not expensive. Have a friend with a saw?

You really need to call a couple tree companies where an expert can tell you. We've have several removed and it's not a one-size-fits-all answer.

Access and disposal are big factors.

call at least 3 services.. insure they are insured ... and take the cheapest ...

no need for a certified tree surgeon .... just dude with chainsaw and insurance ...

perhaps a pic will get out opinion if your assumption is right ...

bottom line.. location.. location.. location ... of which, you dont mention yours ...

ken

We've had trees removed in both urban and rural properties in the northeast. The prices were very, very different. You really need local pricing specific to your site. Rural area, easy access, slow time of year might be a few hundred dollars. Tight urban site, no way to bring in equipment, no place to drop the tree so it has to be cut into small pieces and hand carried out and it might be a few thousand. In our experience pros had zero interest in the wood.

We've had trees removed for a couple hundred, 4-digits and even 5-digits. The last being covered by insurance, thankfully.

What type of tree? I had a large white oak growing beside the house removed back in 2014 for free, they just wanted the wood.

that is the first time i EVER heard of standing wood having any value other than in a logging situation .... there usually simply is not enough wood for the remover to profit ...

and i would think that no 25 foot tree has any value ...

surely ask ... but dont expect anything for it...

ken

That is true, you will most likely have to pay for it's removal. That was a HUGE oak. Apparently it was worth it, because it had a poison oak vine as thick as my arm growing up it.

A 25 foot tree isn't THAT big. If power lines were not involved I'd remove it myself. My big trees have dropped branches larger than that lol. I wouldn't think the cost would be THAT bad.

Then again in a tight enough spot......I'm picturing a dead dogwood or redbud. Still make sure whoever you hire is insured. No need for a monkey with a chainsaw to chop off his leg and sue you.

It would be expensive, at least in my area. If it was mine (assuming it wasn't near any structure) I would get out the axe, and chop it down.

I'd use a saw.

We had one that fell on the house, very tall, large,lots of branches... 2,000 to remove. Have two being cut down this week, both very tall, very old, cost 1500. for both of them. Depends on tree, area etc. just like others have said.

I'd use a saw also. I haven't chopped down a tree with an ax since I was a kid.

Very, very seldom does a tree service want the wood. They will charge extra to haul it away. The cheapest route is to just have them put it on the ground, and at only 25 ft., they can probably cut it into rounds at no additional cost. If you don't want the wood, put it on the curb.

I would have it chipped and keep the chips for mulch....and hope they have almost a truck full of chips from previous jobs that day. Schedule your job for the afternoon. :-)

Mike

I had two 20-25' dead trees removed from backyard for just under $500, IIRC. It was a reputable small company. The owner came out and gave a written estimate. They had a minimum. Later as scheduled, 3 guys came out - they were awesome. They brought a chipper, they cleaned up thoroughly. I did not request stump grind - the stumps are still in the ground but that is fine for those spots.

I think they were here for 3 hours. The trees did not have large canopies.

what's the diameter of the tree? I had a 50' beech tree taken (it was diseased at the base) down between two houses (if it fell either way would cause major damage on either house's roof/deck/porch.

We made sure they were insured. A guy offered me 200 bucks less but was not insured. cost was $695...the diameter of the base looks like at least 2 feet across.

we had them chip it up and grind the stump...extra 200 for grinding... it was a decent price when talking to our neighbors, we also had other work done.

location matters....it was a delicate spot and no access for machinery to get there. Guys had to drag all the pieces out.

There are other ways to deal with a stump than grinding. Teeka0801, $200 would have bought a lot of topsoil to cover the stump . Think raised bed. Of course, you wouldn't want to put a lawn over the buried stump, but in a garden bed it's no problem with groundcovers and a mulch.

You can always do what I do sometimes on my property. All it takes is a shovelful of soil, some rocks, and a dash of Sedums. The groundcover is a hardy Geranium about a foot high.

Mike

That looks beautiful. I will try that in the other stumps I have on the property.

I had to have them remove this one because I wanted to plant something in the near future to block the neighbor's deck. Worked out well, I cleared out all the ground up stump and there was a deep, at least 18" maybe 2' of depth of a hole ready for a planting!

Unless this 25 foot tree the OP has is a metasequoia with the lower limbs left on there will probably not be much of a stump. Using a shovel, maybe my hose, and a chainsaw I would get it to ground level and pour some dirt on it.

This probably doesn't apply to a 25 footer, but I learned that a DEAD tree can cost much more than a live one because it's so dangerous (or impossible) to climb. We had a dead elm that was priced at 900 to take down. Just a bare but very tall stick, with what looked like plenty of room to drop. We opted not to do it, and the tree fell -- just where the expert predicted, on our shed - when it snapped in half. We had another dead ash tree that we attempted to take down, and it too snapped. So what we've learned is that dead trees do not respond to the usual methods of guiding a tree's fall - the location of the cut and the pull of the ropes. They are cowboys!

That is so true, kitasei. Great point. In dead sticks there is no fiber left in the wood, so no holding power in the notch and no directional control. Talk about cowboys, we once had demo by one of these super-logger-arborist training outfits-real high end supposedly. So anyway, we go out in the woods and they want to show us how to fell a stub against a lean. I believe their techniques could have worked but inexplicably they chose a standing dead trunk. As you can imagine, all the tricky notch work and rope rigging in the world couldn't make that dead tower of powder behave. And as it fell the wrong way, the guy scrambled back and grabbed his saw!! Thereby breaking the first rule of such endeavors....they'll make you another saw. Incredible lesson in a few things not to ever do!

The oddest 'tree removal' situation I know of around here was a mature Agave americana that bloomed and then, being monocarpic, died. The stalk was 20-25' or so and had a diameter of about 2' at the base. Apparently they use these stalks to make surfboards, so a surfer dude heard about this and asked my friend (in whose garden this resided) if he could have it. He got on a ladder and 'climbed' the stalk and fell off into the leaves. I will leave the rest to your imagination.