Tree Removal in Wheaton, IL

Tree Removal in Wheaton is mostly about mature trees on established lots. The city was incorporated as a village in 1859 and as a city in 1890, and the blocks around downtown and the old DuPage County Courthouse have trees that were planted generations ago. Census figures show 71.7% of Wheaton homes are owner-occupied, with a median value of $455,700 and 17.5% of residents aged 65 or older. People here tend to stay, and so do their trees, until a trunk splits, a crown dies back or roots start lifting a driveway.

Estates, marshes and old rail lines

Wheaton holds some unusual landscapes for a suburb. Cantigny, the former Medill and McCormick estate first known as Red Oaks, covers 500 acres on the city's southwest side. Lincoln Marsh is a 135-acre natural area of prairie and wetland. The Illinois Prairie Path, one of the country's first rail trails, cuts through town along the old Chicago Aurora and Elgin right-of-way. Homes backing onto these green corridors often have large volunteer trees along the lot line, such as box elder, cottonwood and silver maple, that grew up untended and now overhang garages and fences.

When a big tree has to go

The signs we look for in older Wheaton yards:

• Dead or leafless sections in the upper crown, especially on oaks and maples
• Cavities or mushrooms at the base, which point to root or trunk decay
• A co-dominant trunk with a crack running down the union
• Ash trees with bark splitting, woodpecker damage and thin canopies
• A lean that has gotten worse, or soil lifting on the far side of the lean
• Limbs resting on the roof or rubbing the service wires to the house

How we take down trees on tight lots

Many Wheaton homes sit on lots where the tree is between the house and the garage, with no room to drop a trunk. In those cases we remove it in pieces: a climber or lift takes off limbs and lowers them on rigging, then the trunk comes down in short sections. If a lean or decay makes climbing unsafe, a crane can lift pieces out over the house. We set the plan during the estimate so you know what will be on your driveway and for how long.

Wet soils near Lincoln Marsh

Soils in low parts of Wheaton stay wet into late spring. Trees there tend to root shallowly, and they are the ones that tip in a strong thunderstorm. Wet ground also means ruts. When the tree is not an emergency, we often book these removals for drier weeks in summer or for frozen ground in winter.

Wood, chips and stumps

We will tell you up front what happens to the wood. Most Wheaton customers have it chipped and hauled; some keep a few rounds of oak or ash for firewood. Stumps can be ground below grade the same day or later. Grinding near sidewalks and driveways needs a utility locate through JULIE, Illinois' 811 service, before the grinder goes in.

Talk to us

Call (630) 864-5605 or use the form and tell us about the tree. We will set up a visit and give you a written estimate. Get a free estimate