Storm Damage
Storms bring down limbs and whole trees, often onto roofs, fences, driveways and power lines.
Storm damage tree work across Brisbane
Brisbane storms don't give much warning. A grey line builds over the west, the wind swings around, and half an hour later there's a limb across the driveway and half a jacaranda on the shed. Storm damage work is everything that happens next.
Our job is to make the site safe, then clear it properly. That means working out what's loaded, what's hung up and what's still holding before anyone starts a saw. Broken limbs get rigged down instead of dropped. Split trunks come apart in sections. A leaning tree gets assessed before it gets cut, because a tree with a lifted root plate behaves nothing like one with a clean break up top.
Then we clean up. Debris out, chipper running, ground raked and blown down before we shut the gate behind us.
We work for homeowners, body corporates, property managers and strata committees across most of Greater Brisbane. A tree across the common property driveway at a unit block in Upper Mount Gravatt gets the same treatment as a gum over a back deck in Chapel Hill. Look first, plan it, then cut.
Storm work isn't only about the tree that came down. It's about the ones still standing. The wind that took one limb usually loosened a few more, and a hanger sitting up in the canopy will come down eventually. Better it comes down on a rope with the crew watching it, than on a Tuesday afternoon with the kids in the yard. So while we're on site we look over what's left and tell you what we see.
If you're claiming on insurance, we write up what we found and what we did, with photos. If you're in a strata scheme, we know what the committee and the manager need before anyone can approve the spend. We do that paperwork most weeks of the year.
What you're looking at after the wind drops
Most storm calls start with one of a handful of pictures.
A limb hung up in the canopy. It's snapped out but caught on the way down, resting on another branch. The trade calls them hangers. They look settled and they aren't. Rain, a gust or a bird landing wrong is enough to bring one through a roof.
A split fork. Two stems growing from the same point with bark trapped in the union. That join was never strong. Load one side in a squall and the tree tears down the middle, sometimes well into the trunk.
A leaning tree with lifted soil. Have a look at the base from a safe distance. If the ground on one side has heaved into a lip, the root plate has moved. That tree won't settle back.
A tree across the roof, fence or car. Weight sitting on things never built to carry it. Tiles, gutters, solar panels, colorbond.
Branches into the service line. That's the wire running from the street to your house. Very common in older suburbs where a canopy has grown up around the wiring over forty years.
So what causes it? Rarely just wind.
Brisbane's storm season runs from about November to March, and the damage usually needs two ingredients: water, then wind. A wet week saturates the soil. Roots that held fine in dry ground lose their grip, and a gust that wouldn't normally matter puts a mature tree on its side. We see plenty of that on the sloping blocks around Fig Tree Pocket and Kenmore, where fill, retaining walls and cut driveways mean the root system isn't sitting where you'd assume it is.
Species plays into it. Camphor laurels grow fast and the timber is brittle. Poincianas and African tulips carry long horizontal limbs on soft wood. Big gums shed limbs in hot still weather, let alone in a storm. Chinese elms throw co-dominant stems that fail at the union.
Past work matters most of all. A tree that was topped or lopped years ago throws fast regrowth attached near the surface of the old cut, not deep in the wood. It looks healthy enough from the ground. Ten years on those shoots are limbs the size of your leg and the attachment hasn't improved. They go first. A fair bit of what we clean up around Camp Hill and Holland Park is old lopping coming home to roost on post-war houses with big trees planted close to the walls.
Deadwood is the other one. Dead limbs don't bend. They break.
How we run a storm job, step by step
You ring, we listen. Bianca takes the call on 0421 484 940. Tell her what you can see: what's down, what it's resting on, whether you can still get in and out, whether there are wires involved. Photos help more than words. Text or email a few from a safe spot and we can usually tell how big the job is and how fast it needs to move.
We sort by risk. After a big storm the phone runs hot. We don't work first-come-first-served, we work worst-first. A limb hanging over a bedroom or a blocked fire exit at a unit block goes ahead of a branch lying on the lawn. If you're a few days back in the queue, we'll say so rather than string you along.
Site check before anything starts. The crew walks the job. We set an exclusion zone, work out what's under tension and what's taking compression, check for overhead and underground services, check the ground, check access for the truck and chipper. If the drop zone is anywhere near a neighbour, we knock on their door first. On a tight street we sort out where the truck sits so traffic keeps moving.
We check the rules. Brisbane has protected vegetation rules and they still apply after a storm, though genuine emergency make-safe work is treated differently. We check where your tree sits before we cut. That check is part of the job, not an add-on.
You get a price before we start. We quote on site, or off clear photos when the job is straightforward. The quote covers the work we've described, and we tell you what would change it: access, size, how the tree is sitting, how much waste there is. Nothing new appears once the truck's in the driveway.
Make safe first. If something is an immediate danger, that comes down before anything else. Hangers out of the canopy, weight off the roof, driveway cleared. Sometimes that's the whole visit and we book the rest of the work in for later that week.
Then the main works. A climber goes up on ropes, or the EWP goes in. An EWP is an elevating work platform, the boom lift you've seen on the back of a truck. It keeps the crew out of a damaged tree, which counts for a lot when the wood is already cracked. Limbs get rigged: tied off, cut, then lowered on a rope through a friction device instead of dropped. It's slower. It's also why the fence and the garden beds usually come through the day untouched.
Clean-up. Brush goes through the chipper. Timber gets cut down and loaded out, or stacked to season if you want the firewood. We rake, blow down the paths and driveway, then walk the site with you before we leave. Clean-up is the part customers mention most in our reviews, so we don't rush it.
Paperwork. Need a written report for an insurer, a body corporate or a property manager? We put together what we found, what we did and why, with photos. Ask when you book so the crew shoots the right pictures on the day.
Gear and the standards behind it
Storm work isn't a booked prune. The wood is already damaged, the loads are unpredictable and half the time the tree is leaning on something expensive. The gear has to suit that.
Climbing. Ropes, saddles, lanyards and friction devices for the crew working aloft, with fall protection gear to AS/NZS 1891. A climber gets into positions no machine can reach, which matters on narrow blocks and steep back yards where the only way in is over a retaining wall.
EWP. When a tree is badly damaged we'd rather not put a climber into it. The boom lift puts the operator alongside the work with the machine carrying the weight. We work to AS 2550.10 for the safe use of elevating work platforms.
Rigging. Lowering devices, blocks, slings and rigging rope. This is the part that protects your property. A limb over a roof gets slung, tied off, cut and then lowered under control to a groundie on the rope. Nothing free-falls unless there's clear ground under it and a reason to.
Saws and PPE. Helmets with visors and earmuffs, cut-resistant trousers, protective boots, gloves. Chainsaw work follows AS 2727 for safe working practice. Storm limbs are under tension and they move when the bar goes in, so the crew cuts them in a set order rather than the fastest order.
Chipper and tipper. Brush goes through the chipper on site and out with us. Chips can stay as mulch on the garden beds if you want them, and plenty of people do.
Pruning standard. Where a tree is worth keeping, remedial pruning follows AS 4373, the Australian Standard for pruning of amenity trees. Cuts placed at the branch collar, no topping, no stubs left to rot back into the stem. A cheap storm tidy-up that tops a tree just sets up the next failure.
Power lines. Queensland's electrical safety rules set exclusion zones around live conductors, and vegetation work inside those zones belongs to an authorised line crew. We'll tell you that on the phone rather than turn up and shrug. Once the lines are made safe, we come back and finish the tree.
Documentation. Strata managers and property managers usually want our paperwork before the crew arrives. Ask and we'll send it through with the quote.
When it's urgent: storm call-outs and make-safe work
Straight up: we're not a 24-hour call centre and we won't pretend otherwise. Cutting a loaded limb by torchlight is how people get hurt. Where we can, we work in daylight. For a genuine emergency during storm season we'll do what we can outside normal hours, weekends included, and we'll be honest on the phone about when a crew can actually get there.
Here's what helps while you wait.
Keep everyone well back. For a leaning tree, stay at least as far away as the tree is tall. Move the cars off the driveway and out from under the canopy. No ladders. No having a go with the chainsaw on a limb that's under tension, because it will move the moment you cut it, and it won't move where you expect.
If there are wires anywhere in it, treat the lot as live. That includes the fence, the wet grass and the tree itself. Get people away, ring 000 if anyone is in danger, and report the lines to Energex. Then ring us and we'll work in behind them.
Take photos from somewhere safe. Your insurer will want them, and they help us quote before we've even left the yard.
If it's a unit block or a commercial site, cone or tape the area and let the residents know. We can do that when we arrive, but the hours in between are when someone walks under it.
On our end, the first visit is often a make-safe rather than the full job. We take the danger out, clear access, and come back with the EWP or a bigger crew to finish. That keeps the worst jobs moving instead of tying up a crew all day on one property while three other people are stuck in their own driveway. Ring 0421 484 940 and tell Bianca exactly what you're looking at.
Why people ring the Acclaim crew after a storm
Our Google reviews keep saying the same thing. The word that comes up most often is professional, and the second is the clean-up. That's the business in a nutshell: turn up when we said we would, follow the plan, leave the place tidy.
Acclaim Tree Care started out in the Kenmore area and built its name on body corporate, strata, residential and commercial work. Troy Moncur runs it now as a family business with qualified arborists, trained staff and ongoing training. The crew works through Brisbane storm seasons, which is the only real way to learn how a wet-season gum behaves once the soil lets go.
A few things we do differently to a bloke with a ute and a saw.
We tell you when a tree can be saved. Storms take limbs off trees that still have years in them. If a proper remedial prune will do the job, we'll say so instead of quoting you a removal.
We tell you when it isn't our job. Live lines belong to an authorised line crew. That comes out of our mouths first, not after we've been paid.
We check council rules before we cut, storm or no storm. That's the difference between an arborist and a lopper.
We price it up front. Access, tree size, how it's sitting, how much waste comes out: those are what move the number, and you'll know it before we start.
And we work with the street in mind. Neighbours get a knock, traffic gets managed, the footpath gets swept. Body corporates keep calling us back because the residents don't end up complaining.
Got a limb down, a tree on the roof or a leaner you don't like the look of? Ring the Acclaim crew on 0421 484 940, or send photos through acclaimtreecare.com.au and we'll tell you what we're dealing with.
Frequently asked questions
Can you come out straight after a storm?
We do our best. After a big storm the phone runs hot, so we sort jobs by risk rather than by who rang first. A limb hanging over a bedroom or a blocked driveway goes ahead of a branch sitting on the lawn. Ring 0421 484 940 and tell Bianca exactly what you're looking at, and send photos if you can get them safely.
What if the tree is on power lines?
Don't go near it and don't let anyone else near it either. Treat the tree, the fence and the wet ground as live. Work on or close to live lines needs an authorised line crew, not a tree crew. Ring 000 if anyone is in danger, report the lines to Energex, and we'll handle the rest of the tree once everything is made safe.
What does storm damage work cost?
It depends on access, the size of the tree, how it's sitting and how much waste comes out. A tree resting on a roof takes far more rigging than one lying on an open lawn. We quote on site or from clear photos, and the price is agreed before we start. Call 0421 484 940 for a quote.
Will you provide a report for my insurer or strata manager?
Yes. We write up what we found, what we did and why, with photos. Strata managers and body corporates make up a big part of our work, so we know the format and the detail they need. Ask for the report when you book so the crew takes the right photos on the day.
Do I need council approval to remove a storm-damaged tree?
Sometimes. Brisbane's protected vegetation rules still apply after a storm, though genuine emergency make-safe work is treated differently. We check where your tree sits before we cut and explain it to you. That check is part of the job.
A big limb came out but the tree looks alright. Does the whole thing have to go?
Not always. Plenty of trees lose a limb and carry on fine with a proper remedial prune to AS 4373. It comes down to where the failure happened, whether the trunk is involved and how the root plate looks. If your tree can be kept, we'll tell you. If it can't, we'll explain what we're seeing.
Do you take the mess away?
Yes, that's part of the job. Brush goes through the chipper, timber gets cut down and loaded out, and we rake and blow down the paths and driveway before we go. If you'd like the chips left as mulch on your garden beds or the timber stacked for firewood, just say so on the day.
What should I do while I'm waiting for the crew?
Keep everyone back, at least as far as the tree is tall if it's leaning. Move cars out from under the canopy. Skip the ladder and skip the DIY chainsaw work, because storm limbs are under tension and move when you cut them. Take photos from a safe spot for your insurer, and if it's a unit block, cone or tape the area and let the residents know.
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