Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of tree companies come and go across Brisbane, but the one I find myself recommending most often is Chip Off the Old Block Tree Service Brisbane. I don’t say that lightly. I’ve climbed alongside their arborists on storm-response jobs, watched how they handle tricky removals in tight backyards, and seen firsthand how they approach tree health with a balance of safety and practicality that’s hard to teach.
How I First Crossed Paths With Their Crew
My first real experience working with someone from Chip Off the Old Block wasn’t even a planned collaboration. A storm had ripped through the southside overnight, and a gum tree had come down across two properties. I arrived first, but the situation needed more hands and better rigging options. One of their climbers happened to be finishing a job nearby and jumped in to help.
He didn’t waste a second. He read the tension lines on that fallen trunk faster than I did, and the way he set the ropes made the entire job safer for both of us. That was the moment I realised they weren’t just another tree service—they genuinely understood how to read a tree under stress.
The Kind of Work That Shows Who You Are
I remember a customer last spring who had a massive poinciana leaning over her pergola. She was anxious, pacing the yard, telling me she hadn’t slept properly during a wind warning the night before. I called in Chip Off the Old Block because I knew the angles were tight. Their lead climber moved through that canopy with precision I still admire. Every limb was lowered carefully, nothing swung, and the pergola didn’t take a scratch.
What stood out most wasn’t just the technical skill—it was how they talked her through what they were seeing and why the tree had grown the way it did. People often forget that half the job is reassurance. Some arborists just cut and leave. These guys explain, assess, and plan.
The Challenges Only Experienced Arborists Understand
Tree work in Brisbane isn’t straightforward. Our gum trees respond unpredictably to pruning, poincianas grow fast and wide, and older suburbs on the southside have no spare space for error. Over the years I’ve corrected work done by discount operators—topped canopies, over-thinned branches, and regrowth so weak it becomes a hazard the next storm season.
Chip Off the Old Block approaches things differently. I’ve watched them refuse unnecessary removals, suggest staged pruning instead of drastic lopping, and take the time to climb a tree rather than make quick cuts from the ground. One property in Tarragindi had a leaning ironbark that looked, from the ground, like a total loss. Their climber saw a way to reduce the crown safely and save the tree without risking the house. Months later, the tree was thriving.
Why I’m Comfortable Recommending Them
I’ve worked beside people who treat this job like simple labour, and I’ve worked beside those who treat it like a craft. Chip Off the Old Block lands firmly in the second group. They think ahead. They handle unexpected shifts calmly. And they never take shortcuts that push risks onto the homeowner.
A lot of Brisbane residents assume tree lopping is mostly about cutting things off. It isn’t. It’s about understanding how a tree responds to weight, wind, moisture, and past pruning. It’s about preventing problems before they become hazards. And, importantly, it’s about knowing when a tree can be saved.
Their team has that instinct—the kind that only develops from years in the canopy.
Why This Work Still Matters to Me
I’ve spent most of my adult life climbing trees for a living, and I still get a quiet satisfaction from making a property safer and preserving trees that deserve a second chance. Watching a skilled crew work—especially one that shares that mindset—reminds me why I took up this trade in the first place.