I hired Gabriel's Tree Service to remove most of the bamboo from my back yard in preparation for a fence. I wanted to mention the positive things from the experience.

I found Gabriel on craigslist.org. Seemed like he said the right stuff in his ad, so I called. 615-582-2623. He came over and left me a very competitive quote, later started the work.

Bamboo is probably one of the worst materials to remove for tree people. The roots are covered with dirt, and the silicon embedded in the material is very hard, so it's tough on the chipper. Gabriel had a problem with the way some of the dead bamboo splintered. It caused the output chute on the chipper to clog up. They worked through the problem.

After removing the bamboo, Gabriel used a stump grinder and sweeped the whole area, grinding the bamboo roots, and the stumps up, leaving the whole area ready for grass. This wasn't discussed upfront, but he said that's what needed to be done. No extra charge. Other services wanted to charge me upwards of $1000 for that same grinding.

One of Gabriel's marketing strategies is "Ask About Free Tree Removal". It turns out that in churches, parks, or other areas, he'll remove large dead limbs (widow makers), or maybe the whole tree, to make the area safer for kids. That's an admirable idea, and goes a long way towards spreading a good word about his company.

Long story short, I'd use him again for work that I can't handle with my own chainsaw!