We walk the yard first
Every estimate is in person. We look at the species, the condition of the wood, the lean, what is underneath, how equipment gets in, and whether the tree is yours or the City’s.
About Tree Service Madison
A local tree service with a shop on the Beltline, founded by Quincy Carroll. We take down the trees that have to go, look after the ones worth keeping, and tell you honestly which is which.
A note from Quincy
Why the company works the way it does, in the founder’s words.
Tree care is simple to describe and easy to get wrong. The wrong cut on an oak in June. A stump ground over a gas line nobody checked for. A rushed removal that ends with a crushed fence and no paperwork. Almost every bad story I hear about tree work comes down to somebody skipping a step to save an hour. I built this company around not skipping them.
So we walk the yard before we quote, every time, because two trees the same size can be completely different jobs. We put the quote in writing, with the tree work, the stump, the hauling and the cleanup on separate lines, so you can set it beside anyone else’s and see exactly what each of us is offering. We check whose tree it is before we touch it, because in Madison the one by the curb usually isn’t yours. And we walk the yard again with you before the truck leaves.
We also say no more often than you might expect. No to topping, which ruins a tree. No to working on terrace trees, which belong to the City. No to pruning oaks in summer without the City’s permit. And no to taking down a tree that doesn’t need to come down. Some of our best visits end with a little pruning, or with nothing at all and a suggestion to look again in two years.
If you would like to talk a tree through before deciding anything, call the shop at (608) 571-1326.
Quincy Carroll
Founder, Tree Service Madison
How we work
Six habits. None of them is unusual. Doing all six on every job is.
We put it in writing
An itemized quote: tree work, stump option, hauling and lawn protection on separate lines. A certificate of insurance is sent on request before work starts.
We check the rules
Madison’s oak work permit from April 1 to October 15, terrace ownership, lot lines, and the Diggers Hotline locate that Wisconsin law requires before any stump work.
We follow the standards
Pruning to ANSI A300: no topping, no flush cuts, no spikes on a tree that is staying. Job sites run to the ANSI Z133 safety standard, with a marked drop zone and a ground crew.
We protect the yard
Mats or plywood where machines cross the lawn. Limbs lowered on ropes where there is anything to hit. Your landscaping should look the way it did before we came.
We walk it again
Brush chipped, logs hauled, lawn raked, hard surfaces blown clean, gates latched. Then we walk the yard with you, and the job isn’t finished until you agree it is.
What we won’t do
A tree service is defined as much by the work it turns down as by the work it takes.
- Top a tree. It strips the leaves a tree feeds itself with, invites decay, and produces weak regrowth that is more dangerous than what was removed. Crown reduction does the job properly.
- Climb a living tree on spikes. Spikes are for removals. On a tree that is staying, they leave a ladder of wounds up the trunk.
- Work on a terrace tree. In Madison the tree between the sidewalk and the street belongs to the City. Our terrace tree guide explains who to call.
- Cut an oak in season without the permit. Oak wilt is the reason. The details are in our guide to oak wilt and the oak work permit.
- Grind a stump without a utility locate. Wisconsin law requires a Diggers Hotline ticket three working days ahead. We file it.
- Talk you into a removal. If pruning will do, we will say so. If a tree needs a diagnosis, we will tell you to get an arborist’s written opinion.
- Claim a credential we can’t show you. Wisconsin has no state license for tree work. Ask any company, ours included, for proof of insurance, and for an ISA certification number if they say they hold one.
Where we are, and where we work
One shop, on the Beltline, with most of Dane County inside a short drive.
The shop is at 4269 W Beltline Hwy, 1st Floor, Madison, WI 53711, just off Seminole Highway on the southwest side. Nakoma, Orchard Ridge, Midvale Heights, Meadowood and Dunn’s Marsh are our own neighborhood, and the Fitchburg line is a few hundred yards away.
From there we cover all of Madison, and the communities around it: Fitchburg, Verona, Middleton, Monona, McFarland and Sun Prairie, plus Waunakee, Oregon, Cottage Grove, DeForest, Windsor, Stoughton, Mount Horeb, Cross Plains, Shorewood Hills and Maple Bluff. The full list is on our service areas page.
What we do
Tree removal, tree trimming and pruning, stump grinding, stump removal and emergency tree service. We have also written a set of plain-English tree guides to Madison’s permits, terrace trees, oak wilt and emerald ash borer, because a lot of the calls we get are really questions.
Hours are Monday to Saturday, 7am to 6pm. For directions and a map of the shop, see the contact page.
Questions about the company
Where is Tree Service Madison based?
At 4269 W Beltline Hwy, 1st Floor, Madison, WI 53711, just off Seminole Highway on the southwest side, on the Madison side of the Fitchburg line. We work across Madison and Dane County from there.
What credentials should I ask a tree service for?
Wisconsin has no state license for tree work, so ask for two things. First, a certificate of insurance sent to you by the insurer. Second, if a company says it has an ISA Certified Arborist, the certification number, which you can verify at treesaregood.org.
Do you work on trees between the sidewalk and the street?
No. Those are terrace trees, and in Madison they belong to the City. Urban Forestry prunes and removes them, and nobody else may without a City permit. Report a problem with one at 608-266-4816. We work on the trees inside your lot.
How do I get an estimate?
Call (608) 571-1326 or use the form on this page. We set a time to walk the yard with you, then send an itemized quote in writing. The visit and the quote are free, and there is no obligation.
Request a free estimate
Tell us what you’re looking at and we’ll call to set a time to walk the yard. If a tree is down or hanging, call instead.
Tree Service Madison
4269 W Beltline Hwy, 1st Floor
Madison, WI 53711
4269 W Beltline Hwy, 1st Floor
Madison, WI 53711
Monday to Saturday, 7am to 6pm
Storm calls are triaged by hazard.
Storm calls are triaged by hazard.