Tree Removal in Margate, FL

Tree Removal in Margate is mostly about trees that have simply outgrown their spot. More than three quarters of Margate homes are owner-occupied (77.2%, well above Fort Lauderdale's 54.1%), and nearly 88% of residents were in the same house a year earlier. People stay. The tree that was a sapling when the house was new is now over the roof, under the slab and into the sewer line, and the owner has finally decided it has to go.

Where the name and the lots came from

Jack Marqusee founded Margate in the 1950s, when much of the land was still Everglades or farmland. The name combines the first three letters of his last name with the first four of "gateway," since the town was seen as the gateway to western Broward. It became a town in 1955 and a city in 1961, and building took off after the town designation. Many of the city's homes and yard trees date from those first decades.

What 60-year-old trees do to small lots

Margate packs about 60,000 residents into roughly 8.8 square miles of land. Lots are modest, and the trees planted in the 1960s and 70s were often species that get very large: ficus, black olive, mahogany and similar shade trees. On a narrow side yard there's no room to drop one, so we take them down in sections, lowering each piece clear of the roof, the A/C unit and the fence. Removing the stump matters as much as the tree in many of these yards, because the roots are what's breaking the driveway.

Storm history

After Hurricane Wilma in 2005, an aerial survey found that about 70% of homes and businesses in Margate and five neighboring cities had some degree of damage. Margate's climate is tropical rainforest bordering on tropical monsoon, with frequent heavy summer rain. Big crowns plus wet ground plus a squall line is when we get calls about trees on roofs.

Margate requests we see most

• Removing large shade trees over roofs and carports
• Taking down trees whose roots have cracked driveways or plumbing
• Removing palms leaning over pools and screened patios
• Cleaning up storm-split trees and hanging limbs
• Stump grinding so a new lawn or smaller tree can go in

Picking a better replacement

If you're replanting after a removal, think about what caused the problem. Most of the trees we take out of Margate yards were simply too big for the spot. FPL's guidance is to keep large trees, those that reach 50 feet or more, at least 50 feet from power lines, and medium trees at least 30 feet away. Small trees under 14 feet and shrubs can go right next to lines. FPL also asks for an 8-foot clear zone in front of transformer cabinets and 3 feet on the back and sides. On a small Margate lot, a small native tree in the right place will outlast a big shade tree in the wrong one.

Before you call

Margate has its own tree removal and relocation permit process through the city, so check with City Hall before scheduling a removal. If the tree is a hazard on your single-family lot, Florida Statute 163.045 lets you skip the local permit and fee when you have a signed risk assessment from an ISA-certified arborist or Florida-licensed landscape architect. Either way, our written quote describes the tree and the work clearly enough to support the paperwork. Call (954) 314-3415 or use the form. Get a free estimate