Tree Service in Doraville, GA

Much of the Tree Service work in Doraville is in neighborhoods built after World War II. Doraville was a small farming community into the 1940s, with 472 residents in 1950. Then General Motors built its assembly plant here, and the population reached 6,160 by 1964. Northwoods was annexed in 1949 and Oakcliff in 1958. The bungalows, mid-century ranches and split-levels from that boom are now 60 to 75 years old, and so are many of the trees around them.

What 70-year-old yard trees need

Trees planted, or spared, when those neighborhoods were laid out have had decades to grow over roofs, sewer laterals and driveways. Common problems we see on lots of this age:

• Large water oaks and red oaks with dead limbs high in the crown
• Pines that have grown well above the house and lean toward the street
• Root damage from driveway, sewer or sidewalk work done over the years
• Trees growing into the overhead service drop to the house

Many of these trees can stay with good pruning: deadwood removal, weight reduction on long limbs and clearance over the roof. Others are past it, and taking them down before a storm is safer than waiting.

Crooked Creek

Crooked Creek, a Chattahoochee tributary, runs through the city. Lots along it stay damp, and trees on soft creek soils are more likely to tip in long rains. If you are near the creek, check your survey or the county map for a stream buffer before planning removals, since work inside buffers is usually regulated.

After the plant

The GM Doraville Assembly Plant closed in 2009 and was demolished in 2015, and the site is being redeveloped. The surrounding neighborhoods have stayed residential, and many households have been here a long time: Census figures show 91.2% of residents lived in the same house a year earlier. Long-term owners tend to have long-term trees, and a pruning visit every few years keeps them in shape.

Power lines

Older neighborhoods often have overhead lines along the street and to each house. Do not climb or cut near a line. Georgia Power's guidance is that no one should climb trees near power lines, and downed lines should be treated as energized. Call the utility first if a tree is touching wires.

Water oaks at the end of their run

Water oaks were widely planted in postwar neighborhoods because they grow fast. They are also relatively short-lived for an oak, and older ones commonly develop internal decay, dead limbs and cracks where big limbs meet the trunk. Mushrooms at the base, oozing wounds or large dead limbs in the top are signs to get one looked at. Removing a declining water oak in calm weather is far easier than cleaning up after one fails.

Call (770) 758-8959 or send the form with photos. We will look at your trees and give you a written estimate.