Storm-Season Ready, Based in Culpeper
Call now for a free on-site estimate.
No Permit for a Tree on Your Own Property
A poplar leader across the driveway after an August storm. A red oak tipping a little farther toward the neighbor's roof each year. An ash standing gray and bare since the borer came through. Piedmont Tree Care Co. rigs it, lowers it in sections, chips the brush and has the truck loaded before supper.
We are based in Culpeper, Virginia, not a Metro DC company with a service-area page. People ask first about permits: for a tree on your own land, the town and county require none. Street trees and sidewalk overhangs have rules, covered below.
A tree on a roof, across a lane or hung in a service drop jumps to the front of the line.
Where We Work
From our Culpeper yard we reach the whole county, including Boston, Catalpa and the farms off Route 3 and Route 229, plus nearby parts of Fauquier, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock. See all the areas we serve →
The red maple heaving the walk, the white pine planted three feet from the foundation, the walnut staining the drive each October. On your own lot, no paperwork applies. Danielle sends the written price and books a date, most often inside a week.
Summer wind and the odd derecho, tropical rain that softens the clay, and winter ice on pine and Leyland limbs. A split, half-uprooted or hung-up tree is a hazard, not a wait-and-see. At night we make it safe and finish at first light.
The emerald ash borer reached Virginia in 2003, and most untreated ash here is dead or dying and brittle. Hollow poplars, red oaks cracked at a tight fork and pasture pines leaning over barns follow. Unsure? Try the Tree Diagnosis tool.
In town, street and alley trees belong to the town, and § 21-12 requires the town manager's consent to cut them. Your own trees must keep overhangs 8 feet up (§ 21-21). If only the overhang bothers you, a trim costs less.
Cost Planning
| Tree size | Typical cost range |
|---|---|
| Small tree (under 30 ft) | $300–$700 |
| Medium (30–60 ft) | $700–$1,500 |
| Large (60 ft+) | $1,500–$3,500 |
| Storm / emergency removal | Priced on-site after the hazard is assessed |
Ranges are typical for Piedmont Virginia based on published industry cost guides; your written estimate reflects your specific tree and site.
Height is the starting point. What moves the price:
Garrett spent five seasons on storm and line-clearance crews before starting the company in 2017. That work teaches where a loaded limb will go, and why the rope goes up first.
The town and county do not license tree crews, so ask. We carry general liability and workers' compensation and bring the certificates to the estimate. No certificate, no 70-foot oak over your house.
The price is on paper before the first cut, with no surprise fees and no same-day pressure. If the tree can stay, we say so.
Town pickup skips logs over 4 feet or 4 inches (§ 20-35), and burning needs a permit (§ 8-3), so it all leaves on our truck. Want oak split for firewood? Just ask.
How It Works
A tree on the house, across the drive or on a service line gets same-week, often same-day help. After a big storm the worst hazards go first, and we tell you your place in line. County noise rules keep saws quiet near homes from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. On a power line? Call the utility too.
Not on your own property. In town, street and alley trees need the town manager's consent. Orange, Madison, Warrenton and Remington keep their own codes; unincorporated areas answer to their county. See our permits guide.
Yes, with care. Limbs in the primary lines are the utility's job. Near a service drop we add rigging and sometimes have the line dropped first. Treat every downed wire as live.
Call or send the form, and we will come look at the tree for free.
Type a town or ZIP, from Brandy Station to Sperryville, and see if our truck gets there.