Do I need to be home for tree work?

Usually not for the whole job, but yes for the start of it. Once the scope is agreed in writing, access is secure and there is nothing the crew needs a decision on, plenty of tree work happens with nobody in. What you should not do is leave the first visit to chance. Tree work is irreversible, and "reduce the big one at the back" means one thing in your head and another in a climber's. Be there when the quote is agreed and when the crew first arrives, or at the very least get everything that could be ambiguous written down first.

This guide is general information, not legal advice.

When you should be there

The first visit and the walk-round. Five minutes standing under the tree with the person who is going to cut it prevents almost every dispute we hear about. Point at the actual branches. Agree how much comes off and from where.

Anything irreversible. A removal, a hard reduction, a hedge coming out, a boundary tree. Once it is on the floor, there is no adjusting it.

Where the only way in is through the house. Someone has to let them in, and you want to be there for floor protection, furniture moving and a look at the route. See access through the house.

Where there are keys, codes, gates or alarms. If a side gate is locked and nobody is in, the job does not happen and you may still be charged for the visit.

Pets and children. Dogs and a propped-open gate are a bad combination on a day with a chipper running. Cats should be in, and trampolines, bikes and paddling pools want moving before, not during.

Anything a decision might be needed on. Whether to keep logs, how low to take a stump, whether that extra limb comes off too.

When you do not need to be there

If all of the following are true, most contractors are happy to work with nobody in:

• there is secure side access that does not go through the house
• the scope is agreed in writing and is specific
• you are not expecting decisions on the day
• the waste is being taken away, so there is nothing to be left in the right place
• pets are shut in and the garden is clear
• you can be reached by phone

Plenty of landlords, executors and people at work run jobs this way. Clearances and hedge work are easier to leave unattended than selective pruning, because there is less judgement in them. A crown reduction on a specimen tree is worth taking a morning off for.

What a good contractor confirms in writing first

Before work starts, you should have, on paper or in an email:

• Exactly what is being done to which tree, in plain terms. Not "tidy up the trees", but "reduce the lateral limbs on the rear beech by up to 2m, remove deadwood over 25mm, leave the trunk and main scaffolds".
• What happens to the waste, and whether logs and chippings are being left or taken. See what happens to the wood.
• The stump. Ground out, cut flush or left, and if ground out, how deep.
• The price, whether VAT is included and when it is due, plus the date and roughly how long it will take.
• Public liability insurance, with a current certificate, plus confirmation that anyone climbing or using a chainsaw is trained for it. See do tree surgeons need to be qualified.
• Waste carrier registration if they are taking waste away, which you can check on the Environment Agency public register. See do I need a waste carrier licence.
• Any permissions. If the tree has a tree preservation order or is in a conservation area, the consent or the notice should be in place before the date, and it is worth seeing it.

If a contractor will not put the scope in writing, that is the signal to stop, whether or not you plan to be home.

Neighbour access

Tree work near a boundary often needs a ladder, a rope or a groundworker on the other side. You have no automatic right to go onto a neighbour's land, and going without permission is trespass, so arrange it in advance rather than on the morning.

Ask the neighbour yourself rather than leaving it to the crew. Give them the date, say roughly how long, offer to move their bins and furniture, and confirm who clears up on their side. If they say no, tell the contractor before the quote is confirmed, because it can change the method and the price. Where the work is cutting back growth that overhangs your garden, cutting a neighbour's overhanging branches covers the rules, including the fact that the cuttings still belong to them.

What to expect on the day

Noise and hours. A chipper is the loudest thing in a domestic garden, and it runs for hours, so warn the neighbours. Many councils set approved hours for noisy works audible at the boundary, commonly around 8am to 6pm on weekdays and 8am to 1pm on Saturday, with none on Sundays and bank holidays; check your own council's page rather than assuming. Most domestic jobs take a half day to a full day, and a large removal with poor access can run to two.

Where they park. A crew usually needs the van plus a chipper on a tow bar, which is a long unit. If your road is tight, expect them to want the drive or a space directly outside.

Mess. There will be sawdust, chip and leaf litter, and a lawn that has been walked on. A good crew rakes and blows down before leaving.

Wildlife stops. If a nest in use or a bat roost turns up, work stops there. Active nests are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and all bat species and their roosts are protected in their own right. See wildlife and bats in tree work.

Your own preparation. Clear the garden, unlock the gate, move the cars, shut the cat in. How to prepare for a clearance crew applies just as well to tree work.

Payment and paperwork

A few sensible habits, whether or not you are home:

• No large cash up front. A deposit on a big job is normal, particularly where a crane or a road closure is being booked. A demand for most of the money in cash before anyone climbs anything is not.
• Pay on completion, against an invoice, and keep the option of bank transfer. You want a receipt with a business name and address on it.
• Do not pay for work you have not seen. If you are out, agree that payment follows the photos.
• Know your cancellation rights. Where a contract for services is agreed with you in person somewhere that is not the trader's business premises, which covers a quote signed at your kitchen table, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 generally give a 14 day cancellation period, and if the trader does not tell you about that right the period can extend. If you want work to start inside those 14 days you have to ask expressly and in a durable form such as an email, and you would pay for what had been done if you then cancelled.

Photos matter more than presence. Take dated pictures of each tree from two or three angles before the crew arrives, and the same angles afterwards. Ask them to photograph anything you cannot see from the ground, such as the cuts in the upper crown. What to photograph for a tree quote has the shot list.

Getting it booked

We are an introducer. We pass your enquiry to one vetted local tree surgeon covering your area, and they confirm a fixed price and a date with you directly. Start with Birmingham tree surgeon prices, tree removal and the tree removal cost guide, or crown reduction and the crown reduction cost guide if the tree is staying.