Arbor Ace Tree Service — Attraction in Clifton

Backstory: I had a tree branch fall and damage my roof. I had called Mike Zelenka at "Arbor Ace Tree Service" for a tree inspection. After looking at the tree, Mike noticed some structural issues with the trunks of the tree. He pointed out how there was actually three trunks and showed me where they joined together and how that would be an issue. Upon further inspection he noticed a cavity where two of the trunks came together and could tell that bugs and other plantlife were living in that area. Mike had presented a couple of recommendations, with the best one being to remove the tree, because, while we could have cabled the trunks together for a little better support, the main problem would still be there.

We decided to go with the recommendation of removing the tree and we're extremely glad we did; the cavity that Mike noticed was much larger on the inside and went all the way down to the base (see image). The tree would have fallen.

We had the inspection occurred on a Friday, and once we decided what to do, Mike was able to get us scheduled on the following Tuesday.

What also impressed me with Mike was, when inspecting the tree, he noticed a rotten limb above my neighbors driveway and then took the time to alert them of the potential danger if and when that limb would come down, not just to their vehicle but to themselves.

Tree Removal Day: Our tree was quite large 50'. To get it down quickly and safely, Mike brought in "Z Tree Experts" to assist with the removal. We had a crane with a claw to grip the limbs, a person in a bucket truck to make the cuts, and a grinding machine for the branches.

The tree was on the edge of our property line and the crews needed access to a neighboring yard for the bucket truck, and the crane was along the street. Wherever the supports for the trucks were extended, sheets of plywood were laid out to protect the area. Mike also made sure it was okay to utilize part of the neighboring yard before coming out.

Both crews were amazing, the coordination between the two was seamless, and the tree was down in the same day. Not only was the service they performed excellent, but also their professionalism while on the job.

After the tree was removed, the crews thoroughly cleaned up the area; and not just my roof and yard, but those of my neighbors as well. After the stump was removed, Mike and his crew took great care to level, soil, and seed the area, and you cannot tell that a tree was there and taken down today.

Working with Mike was great! His knowledge really shows, his communication is excellent and he was very responsive with any questions we had and what needed to be done before the job started. I only dealt with Mike on the details of the tree removal, but I highly recommend both businesses for the work they performed.

Now that the tree is removed, Mike has also given us recommendations of what tree(s) to plant in our yard and we'll be looking to him in the future to...

Absolutely SUPERB tree service company. I cannot recommend them highly enough. We are not newcomers to using such services. We have used several over the many years that we have lived in Essex County, but hands down they provided the best service we have experienced. The firm we had used previously no longer was taking on business and we were nervous about selecting a new firm. We selected Arbor over several other candidates not just because of the excellent reviews but because they were prompt in responding, arrived when they said they would, were highly knowledgeable, and were honest with us. We had a particularly challenging tree to remove: a sixty foot pine tree in the extreme back corner of our 100' deep property with very limited access. But Arbor basically said "Trust us. We employ state-of-the-art equipment that can readily handle the job." We selected them over the other candidates for all the above reasons, even though they were not the least expensive (about middle of the road on their bid). Their operations chief spoke with us several times before the agreed-upon date to do the job, and the owner came out personally the day before to inspect our site. They arrived just when they said they would. And when they said 'state-of-the-art' they weren't doing themselves justice. The new device they used was ASTOUNDING, like something straight out of a Transformers movie. There apparently are VERY few currently being employed nationwide and it was amazing to watch it - and the operator (the owner himself) - work. I think I would have paid to watch the device work (note the photo below). But beyond this, the entire crew was extremely professional and thorough, taking care to protect the driveway where the device was erected, and doing a thorough and constant grounds clean-up. Most importantly, the end result was an exceptionally well-executed operation: no issues, no damage to anything (which I thought would be unavoidable), which is all that one could ask for. Afterwards, we peppered the owner with questions about options for planting new foliage in the tree's place. He was thorough and patient in his recommendations.

Last: we decided to take our pine tree down for safety reasons, not for the aesthetics. But afterwards, Arbor Ace's team did such a phenomenal job at the stump removal, ground leveling and grading and cleanup (actually using the stump shavings to create a new planting bed and also spreading mulch around our overall yard) that our backyard actually looks better.

Sorry for the length of this review, but in a time when finding competent and reliable service is becoming harder and harder to do - Arbor Ace really stood out for us as a truly refreshing exception to the rule, and we thought they...

A big ol' maple tree, which took sick and more or less rotted over the years in my Hasbrouck Hts backyard, buckled at its midpoint in furious wind gusts the other night. In the morning it was bent at a crazy angle, the upper half leaning against an adjoining tree, poised to either crash down on my garage or onto my downslope neighbor's house! I rushed to Google, came upon Arbor Ace's website and was suitably impressed. So I called and Mike answered. Twenty minutes later Mike was standing in my backyard assessing the perilous situation. Less than an hour later he returned with his partner in their big truck, mega chipper in tow, bearing a huge assortment of arboreal pruning and cutting equipment and enough rigging and ropes to scale El Capitain! With access to the dangerously inclined tree too narrow and tight for Arbor Ace's crane or bucket truck to enter either property, Mike took it upon himself to scamper up the adjoining tree and, with his partner (Mike 2) assisting on the ground, they did what had to be done the old-fashioned way. The job took over two strenuous hours: first to truss up the bent section to nullify its potential threat, then, piece by piece, carefully dismember the dead tree from its crown on down while severing the entwined branches supporting its weight. Finally, down to the last connection holding up the entire section, Mike's trusty chainsaw sliced through the final branch. Suddenly freed, the downward force splintered apart the "elbow" bend of the trunk and the detached massive 15-foot quarter-ton section swung down firmly tethered and bumped resoundingly against it's own upright 20-foot rooted trunk! Mission accomplished! With the danger over and dusk approaching, the two Mikes called it a day, assuring me that chipping the remains of that entire tree with total clean-up of the backyard would be accomplished first thing next day. Needless to say these guys are quite adept at their job but, in light of the circumstances, I must add that I sure admired their resourcefulness, their professionalism and most importantly their immediate and ultimately successful response to...