Central Indiana buys its springs with wind. When the storm leaves a tree on the fence or a limb through the shed, the order of operations matters.
Get a Free Estimate Call (317) 406-4920Storm-damaged wood is loaded like a spring. Split crotches, hung limbs — the old-timers call them widow-makers for a reason — and root-lifted leaners can move violently when cut wrong. The first visit is about removing stored energy: getting the hanger down in controlled pieces, relieving the leaner, cutting the fence free without letting the trunk roll. Cleanup is the second job. Please don't send a family member up a ladder into storm wood to save a day of waiting; that trade-off fills emergency rooms every spring.
Tree-on-structure claims go smoother when the work is documented, so we photograph the scene before touching it, keep the invoice itemized — hazard mitigation separate from debris removal, because adjusters treat them differently — and describe cause honestly. Worth knowing: most homeowner policies cover removal when a tree strikes a covered structure; debris cleanup with no strike is often on you. Which is one more argument for the pre-season prune, the cheapest insurance in this entire trade.
Every major blow brings out-of-state chasers with fresh magnets on their trucks. Some are competent; plenty aren't insured for tree work at all. The two questions that sort them: proof of liability and workers' comp for tree work specifically, and a written scope with a number on it. Anyone who balks at either can practice on someone else's roof. We're local, we're here in January, and our estimates are signed.
Nearly every storm call has a tell beforehand: deadwood over the driveway, a codominant stem with a seam, the ash that didn't leaf out. A pre-season walk-around with a pruning quote costs nothing, takes twenty minutes, and reliably beats the emergency version of the same work by a factor of three. Book it in March; thank yourself in June.
