Intown Atlanta carries one of the densest tree canopies of any major American city, and a large share of it is water oak that went in over bungalow lots between the 1920s and the 1950s.
Tree services we provide in Atlanta
- Tree removal — hazardous, dead, storm-damaged or in-the-way trees, including crane-assisted and tight-access removals.
- Tree trimming and pruning — crown thinning, deadwooding and clearance from roofs, drives and lines, cut to ISA standards rather than topped.
- Stump grinding — ground below grade with surface roots taken out, cleaned up and the grade restored.
- Storm damage response — trees on structures, blocked driveways, hangers and split leaders.
- Tree health diagnostics — an ISA Certified Arborist diagnoses decline, pests and disease and writes a treatment plan instead of guessing.
- Cabling and bracing — structural support for split trunks, weak unions and heavy horizontal limbs worth saving.
- Lot and land clearing — selective or full clearing for building, drainage or reclaiming overgrown ground.
What makes tree work in Atlanta different
Water oak is the story here. It grows fast, hollows as it ages, and starts shedding limbs somewhere past sixty to eighty years — which is exactly where much of the intown canopy sits now. Access is the other constraint: narrow lots, alleys, on-street parking and overhead Georgia Power distribution mean where the crane and chipper can stand often drives the job plan more than the tree does. The remnants of Hurricane Helene pushed tropical-storm-force wind across Metro Atlanta in September 2024 and brought a great many of them down.
Tree removal permits in Atlanta
Atlanta’s Tree Protection Ordinance protects trees at 6 inches DBH and larger, and pines at 12 inches and larger. Removing a living, non-hazardous protected tree requires a permit and a replacement plan; the property is posted for at least ten calendar days before preliminary approval, and residents or owners within 500 feet can appeal within five working days of the final posting. Dead, dying, diseased or hazardous trees go to the City Arborist on a separate track with no replacement requirement and no public appeal. Where replanting on site is not feasible, recompense is paid into the Tree Trust Fund.
Where we work in Atlanta
We are on jobs across Atlanta regularly, including Grant Park, Kirkwood, Virginia-Highland, Ormewood Park, the West End and Cascade Heights. Atlanta is mostly in Fulton County, with part of the city in DeKalb.
Why Atlanta homeowners call us
- Every job is scoped by an ISA Certified Arborist, not a salesperson — so you get a straight answer on whether a tree has to come down.
- Family-owned and working in Metro Atlanta since 1985, from our yard on Nekoma Street in Marietta.
- Fully licensed and insured, and TrustDale certified.
- Written estimates before any work starts, and no charge for the estimate.
- Open seven days a week, 7am to 11pm, including storm days.
- We clean up. Chips, brush and rounds go with us unless you want the wood.
Atlanta tree service questions
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Atlanta, GA?
Almost certainly, unless the tree is dead or genuinely hazardous. Atlanta protects trees from 6 inches DBH — 12 inches for pines — so most yard trees are covered. A healthy tree means a permit, a replacement plan, a ten-day posting on your property and a five-day window in which a neighbour within 500 feet can appeal. Hazard and dead-tree applications go to the City Arborist without the posting or the appeal. We manage the application either way.
How much does tree removal cost in Atlanta?
Price comes down to height, trunk diameter, what is underneath the tree and how much room we have to work. A straightforward pine in an open back yard is a completely different job from a seventy-foot oak leaning over a roof with no room for a crane. We price on site, in writing, and the estimate is free.
Can you get your equipment into my yard?
Intown, this is the whole job. Narrow lots, alley access, parked cars and overhead distribution lines mean we often work from a crane staged in the street, or climb and rig the tree out in small pieces. We tell you at the estimate which one your tree needs, because the difference shows up in the price.
Free tree service estimate in Atlanta
Tell us what you are looking at and we will come out, put eyes on the tree and give you a written price. Call (770) 974-3964 or request an estimate online. Financing is available, and new customers get 20% off.
