Tree Removal in Wilmington, NC

Tree Removal in Wilmington starts with a question most homeowners don't expect: does the city care about this tree? For a typical house lot the answer is often no, but not always. The city's zoning office says residential lots of one acre or less generally don't need a removal permit, unless the tree sits in the public right-of-way, inside a conservation resource setback or protective buffer, or anywhere within a local historic district. On a residential lot over one acre, any tree 4 inches or more in diameter at breast height needs a permit. We check those lines before we price the job, so you are not surprised halfway through.

Historic districts change everything

If your home is in one of Wilmington's local historic districts, the rules tighten sharply. The city requires both a Tree Removal Permit and a Certificate of Appropriateness to take down any tree, on any lot or right-of-way in the district, no matter the lot size. The removal application goes through the city's Development & Permitting Services portal first. The district's streets are lined with big, old canopy trees growing close to porches and rooflines. When we work there, we plan the cuts around the paperwork and around what the house can't afford to have dropped on it.

What Florence taught the city

Hurricane Florence came ashore at Wrightsville Beach on September 14, 2018, and the National Weather Service recorded a 105 mph gust at Wilmington International Airport. The rain gauge there caught 23.02 inches over the storm. Afterward the city reported removing 667 dangerous or leaning trees from public rights-of-way and 14,358 hanging limbs, and collecting about 1.2 million cubic yards of vegetative debris. Many of the trees that failed had been carrying problems for years: decay at old pruning wounds, roots cut by driveway or sewer work, or one-sided crowns from growing beside a house. Those are the same things we look for when a homeowner calls about a tree that worries them.

Debris the city won't take

City yard waste pickup has limits that matter after a removal. Limbs must be no longer than 4 feet and no thicker than 6 inches, piles are capped at about 7 cubic yards, and the city does not collect palm trunks, root balls, stumps, or yard waste created by commercial contractors. In plain terms, wood from a professional tree job is ours to haul. Our written estimate states whether we chip and haul everything, leave cut rounds for firewood, or grind the stump, so you know what will be left at the curb.

Typical jobs around the city

• Removing a pine leaning toward a house after a wet spell has softened the soil
• Taking down a live oak that has split at a co-dominant fork, after confirming whether a permit applies
• Clearing storm-broken limbs hanging over a roof or driveway
• Removing trees from tight backyards where a crane or careful rigging protects fences and neighbors
• Grinding stumps so the lawn or a new planting bed can go in

Getting a price

Call (910) 807-4337 or send the form with a photo or two. We look at the tree in person, talk through permits if one may apply, and give you a written estimate. Get a free estimate