Glasgow's Storm Damage Specialists Since 2005
Storm Damage Recovery for Domestic Properties Glasgow
✓ Trading since 2005✓ BS3998 standard✓ Fully insured✓ Free quotes
Trading Since 2005
BS3998 Standard
Fully Insured
Free, No-Obligation Quotes
Introduction
Storms like Storm Arwen and Storm Isha have shown how exposed Glasgow's gardens can be to high winds, and a tree that's been lifted or snapped in weather like that rarely looks as simple to deal with as it did before the storm hit. What looks like a straightforward fallen trunk can still be holding tension in the root plate or canopy, which is why storm-damaged trees are treated as a distinct, higher-risk job rather than routine tree removal. Glasgow Trees has been clearing and making safe wind-damaged trees on Glasgow properties since 2005, working to British Standard BS3998 with a fully insured team and free, no-obligation quotes.
What a Domestic Storm Callout Includes
- Emergency stability assessment of the storm-damaged tree and the ground around it
- Removal of partially windblown (leaning, root-lifted) and fully uprooted trees using winch and rigging systems
- Removal of hanging or broken branches left under tension in the canopy
- Root plate and stump extraction, so the area is safe to walk on afterwards
- Full debris clearance, with timber and brash removed or recycled
- Ground reinstatement - backfilling and levelling where the root ball has lifted the soil
- Photographic and written documentation of the damage to support a home insurance claim
- A quick check on neighbouring trees affected by the same storm
Not Included / Costed Separately
- Repairs to roofs, fences, walls or vehicles struck by the tree - that's building or motor trade work, though we'll hand over documentation your insurer or repairer will ask for
- Work on a neighbour's tree that has fallen onto your property - this needs instruction from whoever owns that tree, even once it's resting in your garden
- Any Tree Preservation Order or conservation area consent application - we'll flag if a tree looks protected, but the application itself sits with the council, not with us
- Crane hire or other specialist access equipment for a handful of exceptionally tight sites - most jobs are handled with our own winch and rigging kit, but where that's not enough it's costed separately
- Replanting or wider garden landscaping once the ground is level - we're happy to suggest wind-resistant species, but planting is a separate quote
Storm Damage Types Compared: Risk, Cost and Method
| Damage Type | Typical Risk Level | Typical Cost | How It's Removed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partially windblown (leaning, roots lifted) | Highest - stored tension can release suddenly | £600-£1,200 | Winch-controlled, taken down in sections |
| Fully uprooted (windthrow) | High, but more predictable once confirmed stable | £300-£800 | Extracted directly, root ball and all |
| Emergency/out-of-hours callout | Raised by urgency and site conditions | £600-£2,000 | Priority mobilisation to make the site safe first |
| Additional trees from the same storm | Lower per tree once access and rigging are set up | £250-£600 per extra tree | Removed in sequence during the same site visit |
Reading a Storm-Damaged Tree, Not Just Cutting It Up
Storm damage recovery isn't the same job as felling a tree that's simply overgrown or diseased - a leaning trunk with a lifted root plate can still be holding enough tension to move again once someone starts cutting, so the call on whether to winch it down in sections or extract it whole matters as much as the cutting itself. Glasgow Trees has been trading since 2005, through the same two decades that brought Storm Arwen and Storm Isha to the west of Scotland, and NPTC Professional Tree Inspection qualification held within the team is used for exactly this kind of judgement call: whether a windblown tree's root system is stable enough to leave, or unsafe to approach without rigging first. The team is fully insured and every removal is carried out to British Standard BS3998, with a free, no-obligation quote before any work starts - useful when a storm has already cost you enough without a second opinion costing you too.
Storm Callouts Across Glasgow's Exposed and Sheltered Gardens
Glasgow Trees answers storm callouts across Glasgow City first, then out along the M8, M74, M77, M80 and A82 corridors into East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, selected parts of South Lanarkshire, and as far as Stirling and Falkirk's Bo'ness. Wind damage isn't spread evenly across that area - gardens on higher ground, such as Bearsden, Milngavie, Newton Mearns and Eaglesham, tend to take the brunt of a storm before it reaches the more sheltered back courts nearer the city centre, and mature trees on the lower, often waterlogged ground either side of the Kelvin and the White Cart are more likely to have shallow root plates that give way first. Glasgow's tree canopy covers around 15% of the city, above the UK's 10% urban average, which is part of why storm callouts here so often involve large, mature specimens rather than young street trees. Glasgow Trees has also been involved in restoration work at Pollok Country Park, home to the city's tallest Sitka spruce at over 33 metres - a useful reminder of how much big, mature timber is standing across Glasgow's parks and gardens and needs checking after a bad blow.
Frequently Asked Questions
How quickly can Glasgow Trees get to a storm-damaged tree?
Storm callouts are treated as a priority rather than booked into the normal diary alongside routine pruning and hedge work. Once you get in touch, the first step is usually a phone assessment of how dangerous the tree looks - close to a path, driveway or neighbouring garden - so the site visit can be brought forward for anything that sounds genuinely unsafe. If several properties on the same street have been hit by the same storm, it also makes sense to plan visits in sequence while the rigging and winch kit is already on site.
Will my home insurance cover the cost of removing a storm-damaged tree?
That depends on your policy, so it's worth checking the storm and accidental damage sections rather than assuming it's covered. What Glasgow Trees can do is take photographs and write up what happened to the tree and the ground around it before any work starts, which gives your insurer or loss adjuster something to work from when you make a claim.
Is a leaning or partially uprooted tree actually dangerous, or can it wait?
A tree with a lifted root plate can look stable and still shift again without warning, because the weight of the canopy is no longer sitting where the roots expect it to be. That's different from a tree that's fully down and resting on the ground, which tends to be more predictable to deal with. Anything leaning, cracked at the base, or with roots visibly lifted out of the soil should be treated as a hazard until a stability check has been done, especially if it's near a path, driveway or a neighbouring garden.
Can a windblown tree be saved, or does it always have to come down?
Not always - it depends on how much of the root plate is still in contact with the soil and how much the tree has moved. Occasionally a partially lifted tree with roots still mostly intact can be reset and staked, but a lot of storm-damaged trees have torn roots or a split trunk that make them unsafe to leave standing, whatever they look like from the house. NPTC Professional Tree Inspection training is used to make that call on-site rather than guessing from a photo.
Do you remove the stump and roots, or just cut up the tree?
Both, as standard for storm work. Because a windblown tree often lifts a section of the root plate and surrounding soil as it goes over, leaving the stump in place would leave a trip hazard and a raised, uneven patch of garden. The stump and root plate are extracted and the ground is backfilled and levelled so the area's safe to walk on and easier to replant later if you want to.
A neighbour's tree came down in my garden during the storm - can you remove it?
Not without instruction from whoever owns that tree, even though it's now resting on your property. Ownership of a fallen tree stays with the tree it came from, not the garden it lands in, so we'd need the neighbour, or their insurer, to authorise the work. We're happy to talk both parties through what needs to happen so it doesn't turn into a standoff over who calls first.
Will you fix the fence, roof or car the tree damaged?
No - that's building or motor trade work rather than tree work, so it sits outside what we do. We will hand over the photographs and written report from the tree side of things, which your roofer, fencer or motor insurer will usually ask to see before they start their own repair.
What areas do you cover for storm damage callouts?
Glasgow Trees covers Greater Glasgow along with Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire, working across eight council areas that sit along the M8, M74, M77, M80 and A82 corridors. If a storm has affected more than one property on the same road or estate, say so when you get in touch, since it can be more efficient to deal with several gardens in one visit.
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