Ring for anything urgent
08 7741 1934. If a tree is down on a roof, blocking a driveway, or hung up in another tree after a front has come through, the phone is the only sensible option. Storm work is triage: the first visit makes the tree safe and the property accessible, and the removal and clean-up follow once nothing is still under load. That is covered in more detail on the emergency and storm response page.
One safety point that is not negotiable. If any part of the tree is touching, resting on or close to power lines, call Western Power on 13 13 51 and keep everyone at a distance. No tree crew touches a line until the network operator has made it safe.
What to include for a quote
For work you can plan, the form below is fine. The difference between an enquiry that gets a useful answer and one that turns into three rounds of phone tag is detail. Include:
- Your suburb, so it goes to someone who covers it. Fremantle, East Fremantle, Bicton, Palmyra, Beaconsfield, Willagee, Spearwood and the rest are on the service areas page.
- What the tree is, if you know. Marri, jarrah, tuart, Norfolk Island pine, Moreton Bay fig, peppermint, or a palm. If it is a palm, say whether it has a smooth trunk with heavy seed heads (Cocos), spiny frond bases and a thick trunk (Canary Island date), or a skirt of dead fronds (Washingtonia) - they are three different jobs and three different prices.
- Rough height, measured against something known. Twice the height of the house, level with the power line, taller than the neighbour's roof. Nobody expects a tape measure.
- What is underneath. A pool, a glasshouse, a colorbond fence, a shed, pavers, a septic lid, the neighbour's patio. This is the single biggest driver of how the tree has to come down.
- How a truck gets in. Front verge, side access and its width, rear laneway, or nothing wider than a gate. On the narrow Fremantle lots this matters more than the size of the tree, which is why the cost guide leads with it.
- Whether power lines run through or near the canopy, and whether you want the stump ground out as part of the job or left in the ground.
A photo taken from the far corner of the yard, showing the whole tree and everything around it, answers half of the above without a word being typed.
What happens next
The enquiry goes to the contractor who covers your suburb, and they ring you back to talk it through and arrange a look at the tree. Nothing is binding until you have a written quote in front of you, and you should confirm at that point whether stump grinding, green waste removal and clean-up are included or extra.
If the tree might be a registered significant tree, or it sits on a verge, sort the approval question first - the permits page covers when the City of Fremantle and the Town of East Fremantle need to be asked. If the real question is whether the tree needs to come out at all, an arborist assessment is a better first spend than a removal quote, and a crown reduction often solves the problem the tree is actually causing.
How the referral works, and what to check before letting anyone start, is set out on the about page.
Frequently asked questions
What information should I have ready when I call about a tree?
Your suburb, what the tree is if you know it, roughly how tall it stands against the house, what sits underneath it, and how a truck and chipper would get to it. A photo from the far corner of the yard showing the whole tree and its surroundings is worth more than any description, so take that before you ring.
Should I call or send a form for storm damage?
Call. If a tree is on a roof, across a driveway or hung up in anything that carries power, a form sitting in an inbox helps nobody. Ring 08 7741 1934. If it is touching or near power lines, contact Western Power first and keep everyone well clear until they have made the line safe.
How quickly will someone get back to me?
Phone is fastest and is the right option for anything urgent. Enquiries sent through the form are followed up as soon as the contractor is off the tools, which in practice means the same day or the next working day. After a big frontal system every crew in the area has a queue, and it is better to be told that than promised otherwise.
Can I get a price without anyone coming out?
For a straightforward palm clean or a small stump, sometimes, from photos and measurements. For a removal, almost never. Access is what sets the price in Fremantle, and access cannot be judged from a photo of the canopy. A site look costs nothing and produces a figure you can hold someone to.