How quickly can you attend an emergency tree job?

We aim to get to genuinely urgent Perthshire jobs as fast as we can within our working hours of Mon–Sun 8am–6pm, and will always tell you honestly on the phone when we can be there rather than promising something we cannot do. After a major named storm, everyone in the region is calling at once, so we prioritise by risk to people and property.

What should I do before you arrive?

Keep people and pets well clear — at least a tree's height away — move vehicles if it is safe to do so, and do not go under hanging limbs to inspect anything. If a tree is on or near power lines, contact the electricity network operator first; if it is blocking a public road, contact the council or the police.

Do you charge more for emergency work?

Emergency work involves higher risk, more rigging and disrupted scheduling, so pricing reflects that — but we tell you what it will cost before we start the clearance and we do not take a deposit. If we think the job can safely wait and be done at a normal price, we will tell you.

Will my insurance cover storm damage tree work?

That is between you and your insurer, and it varies by policy. What we can do is provide photographs of the failure and a plain written account of what we found and what was done, which is what most insurers ask for. Many policies cover damage caused by a fallen tree more readily than the removal itself.

Can you deal with a tree that has fallen on my house?

Yes. Trees on buildings are dismantled in small rigged sections so no further load goes onto the structure. Do not stay in a room beneath a tree resting on the roof, and let us assess it before anyone moves anything.

What if the tree is near overhead power lines?

Do not go near it and do not let anyone else. Contact the electricity network operator immediately — they deal with trees in contact with lines. We will not work on or near live conductors, and we would rather turn a job down than take that risk.

Do you take the fallen timber away?

Yes. Brash is chipped or loaded and timber is cut down and removed under our SEPA waste carrier registration. If you burn wood and want the cordwood left for seasoning, say so and we will stack it instead — plenty of customers do.

The tree was my neighbour's — who is responsible?

Generally the owner of the land the tree grew on carries the duty of care for it, but liability after a storm depends on whether the tree was visibly defective and whether reasonable steps had been taken. We can document the condition of the failed tree, which is usually what the insurers end up arguing about.

Can you check my other trees while you're here?

Yes, and we usually suggest it. A tree that has lost its neighbours is far more exposed than it was last week. A quick walk-round costs you nothing and often prevents the next call-out.

Which areas do you cover for emergency tree work?

Crieff, Perth, Comrie, Auchterarder, Dundee, Stirling, Callander, Blairgowrie, Pitlochry, Aberfeldy, Killin and the surrounding countryside, from our base at Templemill Farm Cottage in Crieff.

Emergency & Storm-Damage Tree Work

Emergency Tree Work in PerthshireFallen Trees, Hanging Limbs& Storm Damage Made Safe

A fully insured, SEPA-registered crew based in Crieff, on the road Mon–Sun 8am–6pm. We make the site safe first, clear it properly second, and give you a fixed price before the clearance work starts.

Get My Free Estimate Call 07475 783 877

16 verified 5-star reviews · Fully insured climbers · Storm call-outs across Perthshire & Tayside

9+ years back in the trade (since 2017)
Fully insured — Public & Employers' Liability
SEPA-registered waste carrier
Fixed-price quotes — no deposits taken
Workmanship guaranteed on fencing, turf & plants

Overview

What emergency & storm-damage tree work actually involves.

What it is

Emergency tree work is everything that cannot wait for a scheduled quote: a tree down across a driveway or fence, a limb hanging in the canopy after a gale, a split trunk or a root plate lifting, a tree leaning onto a roof, a conifer blocking a farm track. The job is to remove the immediate danger safely, then clear the debris and leave the site usable.

Who it's for

Homeowners after a named storm, farmers and estates with blocked access, letting agents and holiday-let owners who cannot get guests in, businesses with a hazard over a car park, and anyone who has looked up after a windy night and seen something that is clearly not right.

When it's needed

Perthshire's worst tree damage comes with the autumn and winter Atlantic systems, when saturated ground and high wind combine to lift whole root plates — a tree that has stood for eighty years can go over in an hour. But summer branch drop on still, hot days is real too, especially on mature beech and lime. Call as soon as you see it. Hanging limbs do not stabilise; they wait for the next gust.

Why professional help matters

Storm-damaged wood behaves completely differently to a healthy tree. Fibres are under compression and tension in ways you cannot see, a partially uprooted tree can spring back as it is cut, and a hung-up limb can release the moment anything below it is disturbed. This is where serious chainsaw injuries happen. A qualified climber assesses loading before cutting, uses rigging to release tension in stages, and knows when the correct answer is to keep everyone away and bring in more equipment.

If it's left

What happens when this gets put off.

The reason people call us is almost always that the small job is now a bigger one. Here's what's usually happening under the surface.

Injury to people below

A hanging limb — a widow-maker — can come down without warning in a light gust. Anything over a path, a play area, a driveway or a public footway needs treating as live danger and cordoning off until it is dealt with properly.

Escalating damage to buildings

A tree resting on a roof or a wall is still moving. Every hour of wind grinds it further into slates, gutters and harling, turning a containable insurance claim into a structural one.

Blocked access and isolation

On rural Perthshire tracks and single-track approaches around Comrie, Killin and the glens, one tree across the road cuts off a house completely — including for emergency services and oil deliveries.

Insurance and liability exposure

If a tree on your land was visibly defective and it comes down onto a neighbour's property or a road, the duty of care sits with you. Prompt professional attention and evidence of proper work matter after the event as well as during it.

Common mistakes we're called in to fix

Attempting to cut a wind-thrown tree that is still under tension — the trunk can snap back or roll instantly.
Working under a hung-up limb rather than releasing it from a safe position with rigging.
Using a ladder against a damaged tree, where the structure holding the ladder is the thing that has already failed.
Clearing debris before the remaining tree is assessed — the second failure often follows the first.
Letting an uninsured 'man with a chainsaw' take on storm work at your address, where liability lands on you.

Our process

Step by step, so nothing surprises you.

01

Call and rapid assessment

Ring Andrew directly on 07475 783 877. We ask what has failed, what is under it and whether anyone is at risk, and give you honest advice on the phone — including telling you to keep clear and call the power network operator or the council if that is the right first step.
02

Attend and make safe

We aim to get eyes on urgent Perthshire jobs quickly within our Mon–Sun 8am–6pm working hours. On arrival we set an exclusion zone, assess loading and stability, and remove the immediate danger first.
03

Controlled dismantling

Sections are released and lowered under rigging rather than dropped, protecting whatever is beneath — roofs, fences, greenhouses, vehicles, planting.
04

Clearance and site left safe

Timber is cut down, brash chipped or loaded, and the area cleared. All waste leaves under our SEPA waste carrier registration. Where a stump or a damaged neighbouring tree remains, we tell you what still needs doing.
05

Written price and insurance support

Clearance and follow-up works are confirmed at a fixed written price before we carry them out, and we can provide photographs and a written description of the failure for an insurance claim.

Why book us

Specific outcomes — not vague promises.

Local and actually reachable

Based in Crieff, working across Perthshire and Tayside seven days a week, 8am–6pm — not a national call-centre passing your job to a stranger.

Fully insured for high-risk work

Public and Employers' Liability cover in place, which matters enormously when work is happening over your roof.

Rigging, not guesswork

Qualified climbers taking damaged timber apart in controlled sections instead of hoping a felling cut goes the right way.

Site cleared, not just made safe

The brash and timber go with us. You are not left with a mountain of wood to deal with once the danger has passed.

Evidence for your insurer

Photographs and a plain written account of what failed and what was done, ready to go with a claim.

Honest about what can wait

If something is stable and can be dealt with next week at a lower price, we will say so rather than charge emergency rates.

In detail

Emergency & Storm-Damage Tree Work — the full picture.

Perthshire and Tayside take a particular kind of beating. Atlantic depressions come in from the west and funnel up Strathearn and the Tay valley, and the region's mature parkland and estate trees — beech, lime, sycamore, Scots pine and enormous Victorian conifers — are exactly the species and the age class most vulnerable to wind throw. Add ground that is often saturated from October onwards and you have the conditions that produced widespread damage in recent named storms. Understanding how trees fail here is most of the job.

Methods & materials

Wind throw and lifted root plates

The classic Perthshire failure: a whole tree over, root plate lifted vertically, sometimes taking a fence or a wall with it. The plate is a huge stored load — cutting the trunk in the wrong order can drop it back into the hole with enormous force. We stabilise, section from the top down, and release the plate last and deliberately.

Hung-up and partially detached limbs

A limb torn out but caught in the canopy is the single most dangerous thing in a storm-damaged garden. It is released from above by a climber working from a secure anchor in a sound part of the tree — or from a neighbouring tree — never by working underneath it.

Split forks and included bark

Mature limes, beeches and horse chestnuts frequently carry weak, tight forks with bark trapped in the union. Under load these split down the trunk. Sometimes the tree can be saved by reducing the end weight on the remaining limbs; often, once the split runs into the main stem, removal is the only honest answer. We tell you which one you are looking at.

Trees on buildings, vehicles and power lines

Anything on a structure is taken apart in small, rigged sections to avoid adding load. Anything touching, near or possibly contacting electricity lines is not our call to make — you must contact the network operator, and we will not put a saw near it until the line is confirmed safe. We would rather tell you that than take the job.

Assessing what is left standing

Once the failed tree is dealt with, its neighbours have suddenly lost the shelter they grew up with. A tree that was protected inside a group is now exposed and far more likely to go in the next gale. We look at what remains and give you a straight view on what needs reducing, monitoring or removing before winter.

Variations we cover

Storm call-out and make-safe

The immediate response: danger removed, site cordoned, access reopened. Priced for the work actually done, with clearance quoted separately once the situation is stable.

Full clearance after a failure

Sectioning, chipping and removing a fallen tree, including reinstating what it damaged — we can replace the fence run or the hedge line it took out as part of the same job.

Rural access and farm tracks

Trees down across single-track roads, estate drives and field access around Comrie, Killin, Callander and the glens. Speed matters here because the whole property is cut off.

Preventative work before winter

The cheapest emergency is the one that never happens. Autumn deadwooding, crown reduction on over-extended limbs and removal of visibly failing trees costs a fraction of an emergency response and the damage that comes with it.

Commercial and duty-of-care response

Car parks, holiday parks, schools and let properties, where an unsafe tree is a liability under the Occupiers' Liability (Scotland) Act. We attend, make safe, and provide written records of what was found and done.

Residential vs commercial

For homeowners the priority is usually getting the car out, the roof protected and the garden usable again. For farms, estates, letting agents and businesses it is access, liability and documentation — reopening a track, evidencing that a hazard was dealt with promptly, and having paperwork for insurers and duty-of-care files. Both get the same insured crew and the same SEPA-registered disposal.

Storm call-outs across Perthshire and Tayside — Crieff, Perth, Dundee, Stirling and the rural glens between.

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FAQs

Straight answers to the questions we're asked most.

Can't see yours? Give Andrew a call on 07475 783 877.

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Ready to book?

A fixed price for your emergency & storm-damage tree work — usually within 24 hours.

Free site visit. No deposit. Fully insured. Waste taken away under our SEPA licence. Workmanship guaranteed.