Ten minutes of yard prep before the arborist arrives saves hundreds in clean-up time and protects your gardens from accidental damage. Here’s the checklist Rob walks through on every Melbourne tree removal site visit.
Before the Crew Arrives
- Clear the access path. Move bikes, bins, garden hoses, and anything else between the kerb and the tree. The chipper needs a clear run.
- Lock up pets. Dogs and chainsaws don’t mix. We’ll lose 30 minutes of work managing a curious dog.
- Move outdoor furniture. Even 2-3m away from the drop zone — falling branches can bounce.
- Cover pools and ponds. Chipped wood will end up in them otherwise. A tarp works.
- Tell the neighbours. Especially if we’re felling near a shared fence or if there’s overhanging canopy from their property.
- Photograph the area first. Documents the "before" state in case any damage discussion comes up later. Takes 60 seconds.
What We Can’t Move (You Have to)
Some things sit in the no-go zone and need to be relocated before we arrive: anything fragile (potted plants, garden statues, BBQ covers), anything valuable (outdoor speakers, garden art), and anything we’ll need to step around repeatedly. Garden lights and irrigation drip lines we can usually work around — but flag them so we can mark them.
The Driveway / Truck Access Conversation
If the chipper truck can’t fit on your driveway, we’ll be using the street. That means: confirm no parking restrictions for the day, give neighbours a heads-up about the noise, and check whether the council requires a notification for a chipper parked on the verge.
What to Expect on the Day
A typical removal runs 3-6 hours including clean-up. Wear closed-toe shoes if you’re going to be outside watching, keep kids indoors during the actual cutting, and let us know if you’d like the chipped mulch left in a pile (free) or fully removed from site (already included in the quote).
Why 10 Minutes of Prep Saves Hundreds in Damage
Most damage during a tree removal job isn’t from the cuts — it’s from foot traffic, rope-lowered branches landing in slightly wrong spots, and chipped wood ending up in spots it shouldn’t (pools, garden ponds, neighbour’s open windows). Almost all of this is preventable with a 10-minute walk through the yard the morning of the job [1].
The cost of damage we’ve seen on unprepared sites: $200 for a broken solar pool cover, $400 for a chipped chook house door, $1,200 for a fence panel that broke when a branch landed on it wrong, and a memorable $3,800 claim for a cracked patio tile (the rigging rope brushed it during the lowering sequence). Every single one was preventable with a 60-second conversation before the chainsaw started.
The Damage Pattern by Yard Element
Across 200+ Melbourne removals in the last 12 months, here’s where damage actually happens when prep is skipped:
- Glass-topped outdoor tables (50% damage risk if in drop zone)
- Solar pool covers (chipped wood punctures)
- Garden statuary — ceramic, terracotta
- Outdoor speakers + low-voltage garden lights
- Cars parked under canopy
- Trampolines with springs/protective net
- Established lawn (recovers within weeks)
- Concrete/brick paving (no risk from chipper)
- Hard fences (timber/Colorbond)
- Mature garden plants outside drop zone
- Outdoor power points (we work around)
- Established shrubs (we’ll protect with tarps)
What Day-Of Timing Actually Looks Like
We usually arrive between 8:00 and 9:00 AM (residential noise restrictions across Melbourne councils generally prohibit chainsaw work before 7:30 AM weekdays and 9:00 AM Saturdays) [2]. The first 30 minutes are inspection, ropework setup, and confirming the scope with you on-site. The actual cutting starts around 9:00-9:30.
If you’re working from home, plan video calls around 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM — those are the noisiest windows. The chipper runs in 15-30 minute bursts with quieter clean-up between. Most residential jobs are done by 2:00-3:00 PM, including final clean-up.
Things People Forget (Every Single Job)
From our daily walk-through with clients, these are the things almost everyone misses until we point them out:
- The internal washing line — if the tree is near a clothesline, take down anything hanging. Sawdust will end up on it within the first 10 minutes.
- Air conditioner outdoor units — we’ll cover them but flag them so we know they’re there. Chipped wood inside the condenser fins is a real problem.
- Tank inlets / overflow points — water tanks need their inlets temporarily covered or sawdust contaminates the next refill.
- Skylights and roof windows — if the canopy is over the roof, branches occasionally bounce. Worth mentioning.
- Cat doors / dog flaps — lock them. Pets get curious. We’ve had a Border Collie come investigate the chipper. Once.
Prep takeaway
If you only do three things: clear the path the chipper truck will use, move anything fragile within 5m of the tree, and lock up the pets. Those three cover 80% of the damage risk and add up to about 8 minutes of work.
Council Notification — Quick Check
For most residential removals on private property, no neighbour notification is legally required (though some councils require it for protected trees) [3]. But it’s still smart to let directly-adjacent neighbours know — especially if we’re felling near a shared fence, working over a boundary canopy, or going to have a chipper truck on the verge for the day. A quick chat the night before avoids the awkward "who’s that in your yard with a chainsaw at 8am?" conversation.
“Rob’s team turned up exactly when they said, and they spent 10 minutes walking us through the prep on the morning. Zero damage to anything in the yard. Compared to the previous arborist we used (4 broken pavers), this was a different world.”
“Felt overprepared by the time they arrived but they said that’s the way they like it. Best tree removal experience I’ve had — left the site cleaner than they found it.”
Keep reading
More tree removal guides
Need a quote? See our tree removal quote page or check our full tree removal service overview.
Related reading
- Our Tree Removal Melbourne page — full service overview.
- Tree Removal Quotes Melbourne — goes deep on the specific topic.
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Stump Grinding in Melbourne
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Frequently Asked Questions
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What if I have an outdoor cat or chickens?
Will the chipper damage my driveway?
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Written by
Rob Tufuga
Founder & Lead Arborist, Precision Arbor Care
Rob has been climbing, cutting and shaping trees across Melbourne for more than 15 years. He started Precision Arbor Care to do tree work the way he always wished he could when he worked for bigger crews — one job at a time, no upselling, and an honest number on the quote.
