we've got some plans for the yard this summer. first we want to get a tree removal service to take out 4 200-300ft trees and grind their stumps down. Do you guys have any recommendations for a company? how much did you pay for getting trees removed/

also, we want to put up a fence in our backyard. Our neighbords have already fenced in the sides of our yard with their own fencing, so all we want to do is put up a fence in the back. Do you think i would need a permit to do this? i searched the town of cary's website and the only thing i could find was a permit necessary for putting up a fence around a backyard pool

[Edited on May 26, 2008 at 1:22 AM. Reason : ]

5/26/2008 1:20:45 AM

first of all, your estimate of the height of the trees you want removed is grossly inaccurate. secondly, if these are the only trees in your yard, I would highly recommend leaving at least 2 of them. They will provide shade to your house which will keep your electric bill lower in the summer, and the amount of water vapor and oxygen they release is not insignificant. big trees are good for the health of your yard as well as yourself.

5/26/2008 1:56:14 AM

Do you want a fence to keep people in or to keep people out?

5/26/2008 2:02:59 AM

You should be able to build a fence without any interference from the city (I.E. no permits). If you have a homeowner's association, that's different.

Just go and get some 4x4's, some quickcrete, some 2x4's and some fence boards and go to town. I'd leave the trees unless your yard is full of them. At least enough to keep 2/3 of your yard shaded (if possible).

5/26/2008 2:41:00 AM

holy shit, do you live in Sequoia National Park? i mean 30 story trees! wow!

5/26/2008 4:43:46 AM

^

[Edited on May 26, 2008 at 8:08 AM. Reason : mother fuckin redwoods in this dude's back yard]

5/26/2008 8:07:46 AM

be careful if you tie in to someone else's fence. if one board crosses your property line into theirs, you have an encroachment and it will come up when its time to sell.

5/26/2008 8:23:20 AM

yeah i guess 200-300 was a pretty bad guess.

no, these are not the only trees in our yard, we've got two others, but the ones we're looking to remove produce a crapload of pine needles that make the yard and deck really ugly.

we're wanting to put up a fence to help block noise pollution from the street behind the yard. not to mention, we're pretty much the only yard on our side of the street that isn't fenced in the back, so i guess it'll "flow" better. and the town of cary will probably send us a letter within the next few years saying that all yards off major roads needs to follow some "beautification" bylaw or some deal.

[Edited on May 26, 2008 at 12:00 PM. Reason : ]

5/26/2008 11:58:36 AM

Beards in Cary removed a tree from my yard last summer. It cost about 500 but I did not have them grind the stump. I was very pleased with them.

5/26/2008 4:17:07 PM

You can produce some crazy powerful explosives from bundling the metal sparklers... if you go searching You Tube you'll find tutorials. Just drill into the stumps and blast em up real good. You might put if off until July 4 to lessen the likelyhood of intervening authorities.

5/26/2008 8:00:41 PM

Make sure you do at least call the city to find out if there are any mandatory setbacks or such. Also, be sure you know where the property line ends and the public right of way begins.

5/26/2008 9:21:28 PM

Quote :

"be careful if you tie in to someone else's fence. if one board crosses your property line into theirs, you have an encroachment and it will come up when its time to sell."

this is something i've wondered about, when having shared fences. I know you're supposed to put a set-back a couple feet onto your own property. But what if the neighboring propery wants the fence too? If you put a set back of 3 feet on your property on a shared border, then your neighbor adds builds a fence on his back property line, then he will have to cross into your property to join the fence, plus his yard is effectively 3 feet wider now because the shared fence is into your own property.
is there some kind of agreement you can come up with with your neighbor or the city to put a shared fence directly on the property line?

5/26/2008 10:36:58 PM

just make sure your neighbor builds their fence first

5/26/2008 10:39:37 PM

If the neighbors' fences are already there, I don't see a problem with having a connecting fence in the back. Then again, I would be slightly irritated if I built a fence, spent the money, then my neighbor gets to use it and only has to build a connector in the back.

5/27/2008 9:58:10 AM

I used Archie's Tree service with great succes. He was very professional and neat. Was very careful and cleaned the site afterwards. Even threw in some minor sevices for a nominal fee. The price was exactly the same as the estimate, so no suprises at the end.

Though def. think about removing trees, it takes a long time to grow them back! We had to have a huge tree removed because it was infested with termites, otherwise I wouldn't take down a big tree.

5/28/2008 3:47:38 PM

i would recommend getting estimates from multiple companies as far as getting the trees removed.

one of my professors was trying to get a stump removed from her front yard and the difference in the highest and lowest quote was ~$500

[Edited on May 28, 2008 at 4:51 PM. Reason : trees/stumps... whatev]

5/28/2008 4:50:04 PM

Quote :

"Then again, I would be slightly irritated if I built a fence, spent the money, then my neighbor gets to use it and only has to build a connector in the back."

yeah, but you got to control the fence appearance which depending on your neighbor could be very bad if you let him/her build it

5/28/2008 4:53:10 PM

All you need to do is rake the yard and blow the deck off and your problem is solved with the trees. Saves you a thousand dollars for tree removal. Also if you were to replace it with grass you will have a bare spot until fall b/c this isn't the time to plant grass. You can scratch my comment if the fence will be going through where the trees currently stand.

5/28/2008 8:45:22 PM

if someone ties into your fence and the fence is directly on the property line but clearly belongs to you (your fence is white, theirs is unfinished wood and ties in) then a surveyor would just note it as a tie in to the existing fence. but if you build it a foot w/in your property line and you give them permission to tie in to your fence (bc they should definitely ask) then they are encroaching onto your property. they have not made their yard wider, they have taken part of your property. you can do an easement agreement showing the land that's "shared" due to the fence that defines who maintains the land, the fence on the other property, etc. that would be recorded in the county where the property is located so that whenever the property is sold, that would already be of record and the owner wouldn't run into an issue.

5/29/2008 9:20:24 AM

Unless your yard is a forest, trees will improve the land value for the reasons mentioned thus far. The pine needles may be a pain in the ass, but IMO that's not a great reason to cut down a source of shade.

If the tree was dying or you were worried it would fall in the next ice storm on your house, now thats a different story altogether...

5/30/2008 9:23:36 PM

It is always good advice to hire a land surveyor if you are building a fence anywhere near your property line. I have seen so many issues arise from this scenario it's laughable. You need to be absolutely sure you know where the line is. Once you know that give yourself a 1-2ft buffer. Technically concrete underground is an encroachment if you neighbor wants to push the issue. Same with the tie-in.

6/2/2008 12:10:03 AM

man wtf...you aint got no motherfucking 200-300 foot trees

6/2/2008 12:11:33 AM

^

6/2/2008 11:33:28 AM

Quote :

"holy shit, do you live in Sequoia National Park?"

that made me lawl at work.

6/2/2008 11:43:36 AM

can't you actually sell trees? I have this very large oak that I want to have removed but i was thinking about just selling it.

6/2/2008 2:58:54 PM

specter and friend, winter 2003

6/2/2008 3:14:42 PM