Tree Service in Fair Oaks, GA

Tree Service in Fair Oaks should begin with respect for the oaks themselves. The community was named for its many mature native oak trees, and it was built in the early 20th century, before Dobbins Air Reserve Base was built next door. Many of those oaks are now very old, and some are losing ground to age, construction and the airfield. Elite Tree Service Marietta prunes, inspects and, when there's no better option, removes trees in Fair Oaks. When an oak can be kept safely, we tell you how.

Pressure from the airfield

The Wikipedia entry for Fair Oaks notes that its oaks are threatened by nearby Dobbins Air Reserve Base and new FAA flight-path rules. Height limits around runways can require trees to be topped or removed. If you've received a letter about a tree on your lot and an approach path, read it closely and ask the agency that sent it exactly what is required. Sometimes reducing the crown is enough. We can prune to meet a height requirement in a way that leaves a tree in better shape than a flat topping cut.

Pruning old oaks properly

The ANSI A300 pruning standard, which the tree care industry follows, calls for cutting back to a branch collar or a lateral limb at least a third the diameter of the piece removed, and for avoiding heavy cuts on old trees. For an oak that has stood for decades, that means:

• removing deadwood and broken limbs first
• reducing a few overextended limbs over the roof instead of thinning the whole crown
• avoiding large cuts into old wood, which close slowly and can let decay in, and keeping total live-crown removal modest
• looking at the root flare for decay before deciding anything

An old oak pruned lightly every few years usually outlasts one pruned hard all at once.

A small, busy community

Fair Oaks covers about two square miles, with 9,028 residents at the 2020 census, about 4,600 per square mile. The census counted 3,547 housing units and 3,304 households, 36.9% of them with children. Lots are small and houses are close together, so most removals here are done in sections and lowered by rope rather than felled. Mailing addresses say Smyrna or Marietta, but Fair Oaks is unincorporated Cobb County, so county rules apply.

Oaks and the ground around them

An old oak's roots spread well past the drip line, often under the neighbor's yard, the driveway and the street. On a two-square-mile community of small lots, that means one family's trench for a new sewer line or patio can hurt the oak next door. If work is planned near a big oak, keep digging and heavy equipment as far from the trunk as you can, and don't pile soil or gravel over the root zone. Red Piedmont clay compacts easily and recovers slowly, and an oak with crushed roots can take years to show it. When you can't avoid the root zone, call us before the work starts, not after the crown thins.

Getting an estimate

Call (770) 308-8948 or send the form with a photo of the tree. We'll come out, look at the tree from the ground and give you a written estimate. Get a free estimate