The difference between a contract and a one-off call-out
A one-off call-out starts with a problem: a branch has broken, a tree has died, the neighbours are complaining. We come out, sort that one thing and leave. The following year the same happens with another tree, and every time it has to start again from scratch with an inspection, approvals and justifying the invoice.
A contract starts from the other end. First every tree is inspected, then what is wrong with them is written up, and then the work is spread across the years. From that point on it is known each year what will be done and why.
What a contract usually covers
- A survey of every tree. We walk the grounds and inspect each tree — the base of the trunk, the root zone, the trunk, the branch unions and the crown, along with what lies within the tree's fall zone.
- A condition register. A schedule giving each tree's species, location, current condition and notes on what was found. It is a document that can be kept on file and shown to others.
- A year-by-year schedule of works. What has to be done now, what this year, what next season and what in five years' time. Not every job is urgent, and there is no point doing the ones that are not all in a single year.
- Inspection intervals. We agree how often we come out to check. Less often for young, healthy trees; more often for old trees beside paths and car parks. After each visit we update the register.
- Priority response after a storm. If something has happened on the site after a storm, contract sites are at the front of the queue. To be straight about it: we come out the same day wherever that is possible, but it depends on the time of day, the weather and how many call-outs there are at that moment. On the day of a storm nobody can name an exact hour — anyone who does is not telling the truth.
The work itself is then the same as we always do: crown care, deadwood removal, removal of dangerous trees, stump grinding. We take the branches and wood chip away.
Why planned work is cheaper and calmer
Three practical reasons, rather than persuasion:
Work in the right season costs less
Planned work can be scheduled for the most favourable time — winter, when the leaves are off, the structure of the tree is clearly visible and frozen ground lets machinery drive on without ruining the lawn. Emergency work happens when it has to happen, not when it would be convenient, and that shows in the price.
The budget can be planned in advance
If it is known that four trees need attention next year and one has to come down in two years' time, the sum can be put into the budget in good time. Unexpected costs are a problem for a managing agent even when the sum itself is not large.
Problems are caught while they are still small
This is the main one. A dead branch taken out in good time is a small pruning job. The same branch five years later has landed on a car. Decay caught early sometimes allows a tree to be kept by reducing the weight of the crown; the same decay later means the tree has to come down.
Most of the trees that end up having to be removed did not have to be removed at all — it is simply that nobody had looked at them for ten years. A tree that is monitored is far more likely to stay standing.
Who a contract suits
- Managing agents and residents' associations — particularly where several buildings with old courtyard trees are in their care.
- Offices and business parks, where people and cars are under the trees every day.
- Local authorities and public institutions — schools, nurseries, recreation grounds, cemeteries and avenues, where the grounds are open to the public.
- Private owners with a large garden containing many old trees. This is not a service for businesses only.
How it ties in with the rest of the work on commercial sites is described under commercial tree care.
When a contract is not needed
We say this plainly: if you have a garden with two trees, you do not need a contract. Two trees can be inspected in a single visit, and then you call us out when something changes. A contract makes sense where there are so many trees that you can no longer keep them all in your head, or where an organisation is responsible for the grounds and decisions have to be justified in writing. If you are not sure which side of that line you are on, start with a one-off tree assessment — after that we will both be able to see.
What the price depends on
The price of a contract is set by the number and size of the trees, the size of the site, how often the surveys take place and how much work there genuinely is each year. The work itself we quote for separately, year by year — that varies, while the survey element usually does not. It is also affected by whether machinery can get onto the site and whether the work has to be done outside normal hours. The factors are explained on our prices page. We start the conversation with a survey, because without one there is nothing to base a contract on.