Joseph McIlvaine Tree & Lawn Service Inc

We used last summer for much bigger job and was more than satisfied with the work and the price. A Pear tree in out back yard lost a HUGE portion in recent storm and we called Mclvaine to come trim up and dispose. They got us in the next day and the same service we have come to expect.

Initial call for estimate request made last week of June 2020, which was caused by June 3rd storm. Got estimate few days later and setup appointment for first week of August 2020. Did not mind the long wait due to positive reviews here. A day before the appointment, they called and had to cancel due to emergencies from storms yesterday. Did not agree with this as we waited, in queue, for 6 weeks, only to be canceled a day before the appointment. I understand emergencies, but our appointment was caused by weather damage too, and waited patiently for 6 weeks to have our tree taken care of, which may cause more issue and possible damage on my neighbors if storms hits us again. When asked on next schedule, they will give me a call again once they have a schedule. This is very unprofessional, especially treating a new customer, who was willing to wait this long, only to be cancelled on the last minute. Would not recommend this business due to their unprofessional work practices.

I bought a house and had the previous home owner remove a tree on the side of the house before settlement. They hired this company. They ended up hitting the side of the house when they took the tree down and put holes in my siding. At settlement I received a letter from this company stating they will fix the damage they caused. This was in November. Mutliple phone calls later and my siding still has holes in it. I joined this site to help potential customers avoid this company. I am now filling out a civil complaint against this company so I can get reimbursed for the repair. Very unethical company here.

Good. They did great job cut my tree down. Great service. They are so nice. I would refer my friends and family.

unknown

The crew was out early on the scheduled day by 10 minutes.  They were efficient, it took 2 days to remove and grind all of the limbs.  It was not an easy job, it was 90 degrees and humid both days.   The ground was soft compared to the weight of the trucks, we have some ruts in the ground,  impressions from the limbs hitting the ground, but that is to be expected.   We have used them several times in the past, they are prompt and efficient and we will certainly use them again in the future.

We have used his company in the past and have always been very pleased with the service, quality of work and professionalism. This was a very small job to trim a tree. This was the first time we have ever had a problem. It took numerous calls to secure an appointment. We waited all day and they never came or called. We had to call to reschedule. This time they came and completed the work to our Hoping this was just a fluke, we still recommend them and will use them again.

I was not pleased. When they came to trim the trees, they said they were there to take off a branch. I said that I wanted the tree trimmed. They said that they do not do that. I was not happy with the quality of the work.

I asked and received a quote while they were working on a neighbor's stump grinding.  They came out the following week and removed a tree that was leaning very dangerously in the back of the house.  Tree was approximately 8-10" diameter and couldn't be fallen directly without hitting the house.  Came out (I was at work), cut down, removed tree and all debris.  Except for the tree being gone, couldn't even tell they were there....Great service...

We contacted 5 companies for estimates. Joe was one of 3 companies that showed up to give an estimate and the only one who arrived on time. Joe walked around the property, reviewed all the work that needed to be done, asked questions, offered options (stump grinding, trimming a neighbor's tree hanging over our yard) and gave an itemized estimate with detailed descriptions of what  had been discussed. Joe also had the best price. We hired Joe and picked a date for the work to be done. A small team came out, arriving 15 minutes before the scheduled time. They were professional, efficient and told us immediately when they accidentally broke a small portion of our fence. Within an hour they had replaced the broken portion of the fence and we couldn't tell anything had happened. They did such a thorough job there was barely any sawdust!  I would definately recommend Joe Mc Ilvaine and plan to hire them again next spring for a total yard make-over.

Proposal only

I called the company and left a message that I would like an estimate for some work I needed done.  They called me back the same day and I told them exactly what was needed.  I wasn't home when they came out to do the estimate but they left me a detailed description of what they would do and the total price.  I called and we set up a date for the work to be done and of course it rained so hard they couldn't keep the date.  Again I wasn't home when they came to do the work, but they did exactly what I wanted done and cleaned up the mess.  They left the trunk of the cherry tree for a couple of days until a truck came to pick up the trunk, which was fine with me.

It was not a good experience with them. He showed up at my house to do the job but he didn’t even have right equipments to do the job. I gave my little ladder to them to do the job. The two guys didn’t even speak English. I have two front bushes. I basically wanted the one bush trimmed to look very good and take that and make the other one its twin. He really had no concept of what the job was. He didn’t have the right equipment. His workers didn’t even speak English and that didn’t help out. The guy I spoke to on phone was a really good guy. I had a great conversation with him. I was looking to get the bushes trimmed to make two evergreen bushes look identical. The price was good. The work that they did was not bad but it wasn’t what I was looking for. That wasn’t the best. It wasn’t a disaster but it could have been better. He was a good guy but maybe it was a bad communication. I would probably not use them in the future.

It took them about a week to come out.  They cleaned up after that.  We got quotes from several companies and their price was reasonably low.  I don't have any complaints.  My wife got in touch with them and I interacted with them personally.  We didn't even have to be there and supervise everything.  It was a pretty straightforward job.  They did a pretty good job with removing the stump as well.  They took care of the invoicing and everything.  It was all done pretty smoothly.  I think they have done plenty of work in our neighborhood.  That's how we got to know about them.

WOW!!! This company is the best! The owner, Joe McIlvaine,  came by and gave me a detailed quote for everything that I needed done. I decided to go with this contractor because of a few reasons...1. He's been in business for 23 years and it shows. 2. He had a Certified Arborist on staff, so I knew that my trees wouldn't be butchered. 3. I loved that he explained everything in detail. 4. The price was fair and I had a 10% coupon. (I loved that I was dealing with the owner, rather then an estimator who earns commission.)
I signed the work order and the job started the next day. The crew came early and had a bucket truck and chipper. This was an amazing sight to see this tree pin-oak come down. I was nervous because the tree was right next to my neighbors yard, as well as some maple trees of mine. Not one thing was damaged! The crew also swept up before they left for the day.
They came the next day to take down the pine tree and clear out the sycamores. Again...this was fun to watch. One of the men climbed the trees and jumped from limb to limb, taking out any branches that were dangerous. There was so many vines on the one sycamore, that the top of the tree fell off! It turned out that that sycamore was just about dead and now has to come down.
They came the next day to trim the holly, ground the stumps and put top soil where the stumps had been. The crew was polite and efficient.
The was a fabulous experience and I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND Joe McIlvaine tree service to anyone. They truly are incredible!

The guys came on time, went right to work and finished at the end of the long day. They were very meticulis on making the trees(especially the pine) look right in proportion to the height that was left. The clean up was great, also.

Their equipment smashed an old septic tank that hadn't been used in years and they didn't tell me what had happened. When I found out about it, the owner said someone would come back out to fix it, but I never saw them again. At this point they have refused to resolve the issue. The owner was willing to come back and throw dirt on the hole in the septic tank, but that wouldn't have fixed the sinkhole that had been created. After no response to my many phone calls I reported this company to the Better Business Bureau, hoping for some sort of resolution. They informed me that after three letters to this company, they would not respond. I tried several times to resolve this and I now have to hire someone else to repair the damage.

I called the comapny, gave a brief description of what I needed ... someone to tell me if a tree I had in my back yard could be pruined. Mr. McIlvaine came to my house, looked at the tree and knew instantly that it had a pin-oak blight that was killing trees all over the east coast. He said he could prune it but that he'd be called back in ac ouple years to take it down. I had already noticed the damage but did not know what was causing it. I told him to take it down and to do some other work as well. The whole project was completed because I live in a rowhouse with limited access to the back yard ... much of it through my basement. Thank goodness my basement is more of a cellar than a rec room. The work was done on the day agreed to.

Fast estimate. Estimator comes out and looks. In our case we did not even have to be home for that, because he was able to do his thing and leave the estimate in our mailbox. Price was excellent, so I called and scheduled the job. Crew came a few days later and ground the stumps. One stump had an Aqua PA waterline access pipe (or clean-out or whatever you would call it) right up against it. The crew leader was nice enough to grind as close as practical. He could have just refused to grind at all, but instead he did the best possible job with it. Chips were left at hole as agreed. One stump generates a surprising volume of chips. Again, you may not even have to be home when they come, because it seems like they could complete most jobs whether the homeowner is present or not. That is my guess, ask them whether it matters. Bottom line, excellent job, and frankly, the price is unbeatably low, especially when you consider (a) their cost to send a truck, machine, and two guys for several hours, (b) what some other companies would charge for stump-grinding, and (c) that DIY does not even compete with this company, because are you really going to spend your time and money to go rent the machine, hitch it up (if your car even has a hitch), tow it home, do the job, rake and blow the chips, and take the machine back? McIlvaine is the way to go.

Showed up timely. Stacked cut wood properly.

Everything was fine but there was delay of the removal of the stub. I had read some of the reports, and others were about to complain and then they showed. They wait till they get a grouping of stubs to remove before they get all the stub out. Which it was fine with us. It was a very good price. It was professional and they cleaned up.

They came in and removed the trees really quick, there was some wet weather and they hesitated a bit to bring the trucks to get the stumps out but when it dried up they got them out. They were very careful about our home and yard.

Excellent. Fast estimate, good price beating the other estimate. Called and scheduled removal. Crew arrived as scheduled and worked independently. Successfully worked around power lines. At end of day the trunk pieces were still here and I worried that no one would come back for them, but first thing next morning they came and got them. Excellent job all around.

THEY WERE WELL BELOW 2 OTHER QUOTES THAT I RECEIVED. THEY CLEANED UP EVERYTHING AND GOT THE JOB DONE SOONER THAN ANY OF THE OTHERS QUOTED.