Tree Service in Berkeley Lake, GA

Tree Service in Berkeley Lake is shaped by the lake, the hills around it and a town that has worked hard to keep its woods. Berkeley Lake began as a summer retreat of fishing cottages after Frank Coggins built the dam in 1948 and laid out the subdivision in 1950. Permanent homes followed slowly. Today about 2,054 people live in the city, which sits between Duluth, Peachtree Corners, Johns Creek and the Chattahoochee.

A town that bought its own forest

In 1996 the city purchased about 63 acres of forested land for buffer and greenspace, and it has been a Tree City USA for many years. Most land inside the city limits is already developed, with only two tracts over 10 acres left. That means the trees in residents' yards make up a large share of the canopy, and they tend to be mature hardwoods and pines on slopes running down to the water.

City rules apply to tree removal here, and the city keeps a tree removal page on its website. Before cutting a large tree, check those rules with City Hall, especially on lakefront lots where slopes and the shoreline are involved.

Steep lots and water below

Homes around the 88-acre lake are often built on hillsides with the yard dropping toward the shore. Felling a tree there risks sending it into the water, a dock or the house below. Most lakefront removals are done by climbing and lowering sections on ropes, or, when there is no safe landing zone, with a crane setting pieces on the street side. Wood and brush usually have to come up the hill, so access is part of every estimate.

The 2009 rains

Record rainfall in 2009 damaged the Berkeley Lake dam. Repairs, with FEMA help, were finished in 2013, and the lake returned to full pool in 2014. Heavy rain like that saturates slopes and loosens roots, and the trees on the steepest ground are the first to lean. If a tree near the shore has started tilting or the soil has cracked on its uphill side, call us before the next storm.

Keeping shoreline trees healthy

Trees along the shore help hold the bank and shade the water. When a lakefront owner wants more light, raising and thinning lower limbs usually does more for the view than removing a whole tree, and it leaves the roots holding the slope. We also watch for root damage from dock and wall work, which can kill a shoreline tree slowly over several years.

What we do here

• Selective pruning to open lake views without harming tree health
• Removing dead or leaning trees above docks and homes
• Lifting limbs off roofs and long driveways
• Stump grinding where access allows

Call (770) 758-8959 or send photos through the form for a written estimate.