Tree Limb and Branch Removal in Framingham

Sometimes you do not need the whole tree pruned. You need one limb gone. The big oak branch over the bedroom, the maple limb scraping the gutter, the broken branch hanging in the pine since the last storm. That is a small job, and we treat it like one, with a fair price and a short visit.

Single limbs over the roof

A heavy limb over a house is the most common call we get for this. Dropping it in one piece would crush the roof, so the climber ties it off, cuts it back in smaller sections from the tip, and lowers each one on a rope. The last cut goes just outside the branch collar, the swelling where the limb meets the trunk. A cut there seals over. A cut flush with the trunk, or a long stub left hanging out, invites decay.

Limbs over roofs also drop leaves and needles into gutters and give squirrels a path to the attic. Taking off one or two limbs often fixes both.

Hangers after a storm

After a nor'easter or a summer storm, it is common to see a broken limb caught in the crown, hanging by a strip of bark or wedged in the branches below. Tree crews call these hangers. They can hang there for weeks and then fall on a calm day with someone underneath. Do not try to pull one down with a rope or shake it loose. Keep people and cars out from under it and call us. We get above it, secure it, and lower it to the ground.

White pines in Saxonville and around Lake Cochituate drop a lot of hangers in ice and wet snow, and so do the big Norway maples in the older neighborhoods. If a storm has left more than a hanger or two, see our storm damage service.

Limbs on wires

If a limb is lying on or touching any wire, stay away from it. That goes for the wire to your house as well as the lines on the poles. Call Eversource and report it. They need to make the line safe before anyone cuts near it.

For limbs that are close to the service wire into your house but not touching it, we can often do the work with care. In some cases we ask the utility to drop the service line for the day. Limbs near the high-voltage lines along the street are the utility's to handle, and we will tell you how to request that.

Other limb jobs we do

• Low branches over the driveway that scrape the car or the plow
• Limbs blocking a solar array, a satellite dish or a window view
• Branches hanging over the fence from a neighbor's tree, cut back to the property line
• A cracked limb you noticed on the ground below the tree

On neighbor trees, Massachusetts law generally lets you cut branches back to your property line, as long as you do not kill or badly damage the tree. We cut from your side and leave the rest alone.

One limb or the whole tree

If one limb is a problem, others may be too. While the climber is up, we will look over the rest of the tree and tell you what we see. If it needs a full pruning, our tree trimming page covers that, and the trimming cost guide gives typical prices. If the limb is just the one, we cut it, chip it and clean up.

Common Questions

Can you remove just one branch?

Yes. Single limb removals are a common job for us. The price depends on the size of the limb, what it hangs over and how hard it is to reach.

Can I cut my neighbor’s branches that hang over my yard?

In Massachusetts you can generally trim branches back to your property line, as long as you do not kill or seriously harm the tree. It is good practice to talk to the neighbor first.

A branch is resting on the wire to my house. What should I do?

Stay away from it and call Eversource. Do not try to move it. Once the utility has made it safe, we can remove the limb.

What is a hanger?

A broken limb stuck up in the tree. It can fall at any time without warning, so keep people out from under it and have it taken down.