The storm has passed and the tree is still standing. That is not the same as the tree being fine. KAP Tree Service does post-storm tree inspection in Davie after squalls and named storms, looking for the failures that show up two weeks later, not just the ones in the street.
Call (754) 291-6477 for a free estimate
Walk it from the ground first
Stay away from downed lines. Call FPL at 1-800-4OUTAGE and 911 if a line is on the ground. Do not inspect a tree with a metal pole under a service drop. Once the wires are clear, look for a new lean, heaved soil at the flare, cracks in the trunk, hung-up (“widow maker”) limbs, and a crown that shifted.
Take pictures. Insurance and a second pair of eyes both like a photo from the day after, not from memory in October.
What can wait, what cannot
A split trunk over the bedroom cannot wait. A lot of small twigs on the lawn can. A palm with a folded crown may still push a spear; give it time before you cut it down. A coconut with nuts still in the head can wait for a de-nut if nothing is on the roof. A live oak with a cracked crotch over the drive is a removal or a big reduction, not a DIY pole-saw afternoon.
If the tree is on the house, stop and use the other post on this blog about that situation. This page is for the trees that did not fall.
Hidden damage
Root plates rock in saturated soil and then sit back down. The tree looks straight and is no longer attached the way it was. If the ground is raised or the grass is torn in a crescent, treat it as unstable. Interior cracks show up as sap, staining, or a new hollow note when you tap. We climb when it is safe; we do not free-climb a tree that is still moving.
Neighborhoods in Sunrise with older oaks see this after a west wind. The tree that was “always fine” was fine until the soil let go.
Cleanup without making it worse
Do not top the survivors “so the next storm misses them.” That is the hurricane cut we will not do. Clean dead and hanging wood. Reduce end-weight on laterals that opened. Leave the living interior. Haul the debris so it is not a projectile next time and so the Town does not cite a pile in the swale.
For what to do before the season, how to prepare trees for hurricane season is the pair to this post. This one is the after.
We do not promise 24/7
If you call the number below, you get a person who can tell you whether we can get there and what to do until then. After a named storm the whole county is in line. The dangerous tree goes first. The aesthetic cleanup waits its turn.
Working the list with a crew
When we walk after a storm we flag: trees that have to come down, trees that need hanging wood out, trees that can wait for the next cycle, and trees that need a utility first. You get that in plain language, not a binder. If the budget only covers the dangerous ones, we do those and leave you a list for later. That is better than topping everything “so it’s safe.”
Chipper space, dump hours, and HOA rules still exist after a hurricane. Some associations want the pile gone the same day. Some towns run debris sites with their own rules about what they will take. We haul what we generate. We are not the Town’s vegetative-waste contractor.
If your neighbor’s tree is in your yard, photograph the root plate and the line. We can cut it off your house. Who pays is between you, them, and the policies. We will not referee it in the street.
Photograph the electric meter and the service drop too. If the mast is bent, that is an electrician, not a tree crew. We can get wood off it once it is safe. We cannot straighten a mast.
Keep kids off piled brush. Snakes and nails show up in the same pile. If you must move debris to open a door, move it from the house outward, not from under a hanging limb. The hanging limb is the inspection.
If you want us on the property, have the gate code, the HOA rule if there is one, and a clear photo of the whole tree or hedge from the side that faces the house. That is enough to start. We will tell you if we need to walk it before we price. No dollar figures on this page, no 24-hour promise we cannot keep, and no topping.
Davie is the yard we work from. Nearby cities are on the same trucks, not a different company. If the job is on the other side of the county line, say the city when you call so we bring the right permit conversation, not the Davie one.
Call KAP Tree Service at (754) 291-6477 for a free estimate
