Services

Gould and Son Tree Service offers a wide range of tree care, landscaping, and rustic construction services including:

Handcrafted logs–Hand peeled logs have a beauty that can’t be reproduced by machine processed wood. We “skip peel” most of our logs, leaving small amounts of cambium (inner bark) to produce a unique rustic look.  All peeling is done with a sharp drawknife or bark spud, giving the wood a wonderful handcrafted appearance.

We specialize in using materials found on-site. You might be surprised how much building material can be found on just a few acres. We harvest trees using very low-impact methods, preserving the beauty of your land. This ultra-local approach can greatly reduce the environmental impact of your next building project.

We can also work with you to obtain logs off-site.  Please get in touch with us to discuss your building plans.

Pruning—proper pruning can improve the health, safety, and appearance of a tree.  Common reasons for pruning include:

• Removing dead, hazardous, or weak limbs
• Eliminating diseased or insect infested branches
• Removing limbs that interfere with yard space, buildings, windows, etc.
• Cutting branches that rub against each other
• Thinning to create better structure, reduce wind resistance, and lessen the potential for storm damage
• Training young trees

 

 

Hazardous removal—ideally, trees would stay healthy forever.  However, disease, defects, aging, and other stresses can lead to trees that are no longer safe.  Using proper rigging techniques, we can carefully remove hazardous trees.  Is your tree inaccessible by bucket trucks, or would you prefer not to have your nicely landscaped yard driven across?  We specialize in low-impact removals in tight spots.  Signs a tree might be hazardous:

• Cavities or rotten wood along the truck or in  major branches
• Mushrooms at the base of the tree
• Cracks or splits in the truck or at branch attachments
• Strong lean
• Damaged roots
• Dieback in the crown (top)

 

Planting—Well cared for trees have many benefits including:

• Increased property values
• Improved aesthetics
• Reduced heating and cooling cost
• Cleaner air, water, and soil
• Tasty homegrown food (from apple or plum trees)

We can help you select species that are well adapted for your location and landscape goals.  After planting a hardy specimen, we will provide the appropriate pruning and care so you’ll have a healthy, attractive addition to your yard for years to come.

Vista improvement—Have a great view that’s just waiting to be set free?  Whether it’s being obscured by a single branch or a whole clump of trees, we can provide you with a new-found sense of openness.

Woodland management—We care for small wooded parcels across Maine.  Whether you want to improve the timber value, wildlife benefits, or aesthetics of your land, we can help.

Damaged, diseased, deformed, or otherwise less vigorous trees will not produce valuable timber and, left unmanaged, can reduce the health of a forest stand.  Likewise, overcrowding will limit the beauty and vigor of your woodland.  Well spaced trees look nice and provide better views!

We specialize in managing small lots by hand.  This environmentally friendly approach wont leave your land with large ruts, damaged trees, or destroyed wildlife habitats.

Trail creation–Do you own beautiful forest land and wish you could access it more easily?  We have experience building durable hiking and skiing trails.  We don’t just cut  random paths in the woods.  We take the time to build water bars, switch backs, log bridges, stone staircases, and other features where necessary to limit erosion and ensure the trails will be around for decades.

If you have existing trails, we can maintain them by building some some of the features mentioned above, as well as clearing blow-downs, and cutting back overgrowth.

 

 

Firewood–We usually have quality hardwood firewood available.   We own acreage with lots of oak, maple, ash, yellow birch, and beech and can deliver near Bangor and Old Town/Orono.  Our firewood is sustainably harvested without using large machinery, so it’s an environmentally friendly way to heat your home or camp.

Seasoned (when available)–cut, split, and delivered within 15 miles for $260 per cord.  May be able to deliver further for an extra fuel surcharge.

Green–cut, and split, and delivered within 15 miles for $200.  We may be able to deliver further.

Kindling and camp wood is available by the bundle.  Bulk rates offered when inventory allows.  We also provide special deals to retailers who would like to stock our quality wood.

Please call or email for availability.

Rock landscaping– Although trees are our specialty, we also enjoy exploring our artistic sensibility through the creation of beautiful rock work.  Scott has years of experience building stone walls, rock garden beds, walkways, and other projects.  Cam honed his stone-working skills building trail staircases in the High Peaks region of the Adirondack mountains of New York.  We have access to an assortment of granite slabs and field stone of all sizes, so projects are limited only by your imagination!

Landscape carpentry– A sample of the projects we’ve done in the past include building retaining walls to keep your trees secure, even near steep slopes;  staircases and walk ways to provide access over rough or wet areas; storage sheds; docks; and decks (we know you want to be able to walk out and survey your beautiful yard!).

Natural building–We acquire a lot of beautiful building material while doing tree work.  Some of it is used for firewood.  Although heating homes and camps is a worthy goal, we wanted to see some of the wood turned into something more permanent.  With Scott’s extensive carpentry background, we decided it made sense to start  offering sustainably built sheds, garden fences, and other rustic structures.  We hand peel, hand hew, and hand shape much of this wood and most of the trees used needed to be removed anyway.  Feel good about owning a lasting, environmentally sound  piece of workmanship!