Five trees, a steep slope, power lines and a glass handrail below: an insurance job in Vaucluse
Vaucluse · 2024 · Homes & estates
The challenge
A Vaucluse homeowner's insurance claim included removing five trees: four willow myrtles and a macadamia. Almost everything about the site made it hard:
Very steep land in a narrow strip between the garage and the side boundary.
Limited access, so there was no easy way to bring equipment close.
Overhead power lines running past the trees.
Directly below: the neighbour's glass handrail and the owner's marble pathway. A falling branch could break either.
A wall right beside one stump, with waterproofing and services running along it.
What we did
Priced it to the claim. William met the insurer's builder on site and priced the work to match what the insurer had agreed to pay for.
Protected what was below. The builder covered the garage with plywood and protected the glass handrail and the marble pathway before we started.
Climbed instead of using machinery. With the steep slope and limited access, the crew climbed each tree and cut it down in small pieces by hand over two days, working clear of the power lines.
Nothing was dropped. Every branch and every section of trunk was tied off and lowered on ropes, so nothing fell onto the glass, the marble or the slope.
Took care at the wall. We had the stumps ground out. For the last stump, beside the wall, we came back and ground it out carefully. We kept clear of the services and left the roots closest to the wall in place, so the waterproofing wasn't damaged.
The result
All five trees came out with no damage to the garage, the glass handrail or the marble pathway. The insurance claim is now closed, and we were called back to plant the new replacement trees.
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