Answers

1. Do not think about doing it yourself.

2. Check with a treee removal professional

3. Check with the city in which you live and inquire if there are any restrictions on the size of tree that can be removed.

4. Get two or three prices

5. Check the location of the utities and clearly mark them.

6. Day of work, if they are on your property they have to put cardboard under the their truck to catch oil leaks

7. Double check on what is "leave the work area clean" get this part very clear.

Philip Anderson

HDR Remodeling

Berkeley Ca

Tree removal is not normally a part of what we do at Blackdog Builders, but I thought I would look up some information for you and offer some advise. First of all, if the tree is too close to your house where the branches are reaching over your roof, you may need to replace your roof more often due to debris or branches. This is a bigger problem of course with pine and it's sap, but an oak tree will produce acorns and will also shed leaves every fall. This may damage your roof, and if you have a gutter system, it will need to be regularly cleaned. 

After some research, it seems that oak is one of the more expensive species of trees to remove because it is a hardwood and usually grows very tall. The following is provided by treeremoval.com:

"Oak is one of the strongest, toughest woods out there. For that reason, tree removal services often charge a premium to tackle them. Oak trees are also very tall. The average height of a healthy oak tree is 60 feet. You can refer to the price guide above to see that you will pay between $200 and $1,000 to have an oak tree removed. Due to the fact that oak is such a solid, thick wood, your total price will probably fall on the higher end of the scale. Make sure you have a really good reason to have it removed before spending that kind of money!"

I highly recommend getting the opinion of a local arborist.  If you have trouble finding one check with your local tree nursery or Botanical Garden for a referral.  We have used one before and it was the best $100 we could have spend considering the situation.

Talk with your local tree nursery or a state university agricultural extension office.  (Iowa State University has an excellent one.)  I love willows, but if the damage is too severe, you may need to begin again.