Part H · the register

A Parkway Tree Over a Kirkwood Roof May Not Be Yours to Cut

A tree in the strip between a Kirkwood sidewalk and the street may belong to the city, so ask before the roof crew trims or removes it.

A large tree in the strip of grass between a Kirkwood sidewalk and the street can reach over the roof of the house behind it. When the roof comes off, that limb is in the way of the crew, the dumpster, and the material truck. The question that catches homeowners is who has the right to cut it. In many St. Louis County cities the parkway tree is maintained by the city rather than the homeowner, so a limb a roofer wants gone may need a city decision before anyone picks up a saw.

Town roofing: who owns the tree

Start with the strip itself. The parkway is usually the space between the sidewalk and the curb, and it is often handled differently from the lawn behind the sidewalk. A tree rooted there may stand on public ground even though it shades your roof. Do not assume it is yours because it is outside your fence or your front walk. Call the city's public works office and ask who maintains the tree and whether a limb can be trimmed for a roofing project. The answer decides whether the roofer can plan the work or has to wait.

Limbs over the house are a separate question. A branch that lies over your own roof, on your own lot, is yours to have trimmed, but it still needs a plan. Cutting a limb that reaches the roof edge can drop debris onto the shingles, into the gutters, and onto cars parked below. Cut material also needs a place to go, and the crew needs a clear path from the street to the house. Ask the roofer whether limb removal is part of the job or whether you will hire a tree service yourself.

Mature canopy changes the roof in other ways. Leaves and seed pods collect in valleys and clog gutters within weeks of a fall storm. A shaded north or east slope can stay damp longer, and that matters in a St. Louis winter, when the freeze and thaw cycle works on wet shingles and on ice at the eave. These are reasons to settle the tree question early, not reasons to cut a healthy tree without a decision.

Check the city before the crew arrives

Three checks are worth making before you agree to a start date. First, identify the owner of each tree that overhangs the work area, including trees on the parkway, on a neighbor's lot, and on your own. Second, ask the city whether a notice or approval is needed before a parkway tree is trimmed or removed. Third, confirm whether the tree work and the roofing work will happen on the same day or on separate days. A roofer can schedule around a limb that is already gone. A roofer cannot schedule around a city crew that has not yet been called.

Kirkwood's building permit desk handles the roof permit itself, which is a different question from who manages a public tree. Keep the two questions apart. A roof permit does not authorize cutting a tree you do not own, and a decision about a city tree does not replace the roof permit. If a neighbor's tree is the one overhanging your roof, the neighbor's consent and the tree's ownership both need to be settled before the crew stages anything in that yard.

Timing the tree work

Tree work belongs before the tear-off, not in the middle of it. If a limb is still over the roof when the old shingles come off, the crew will work around it, and the debris from the cut will land on bare deck and open underlayment. Ask for the tree work to be finished, and the cut wood cleared, before the first shingle is removed. If the tree is on city ground and the city schedule is slow, ask the roofer how the job will proceed in the meantime, and whether the start date will move.

What it costs

A tree-related line in a roof bid usually covers one of three things: trimming a limb that blocks the work, protecting the tree and its root zone from the crew and equipment, or cleaning up debris from the trimming. Each is a different cost, and each should be written as its own line. A bid that says tree work is included, without naming the limbs, the tree, or who pays for disposal, leaves you guessing about the final bill.

If the tree belongs to the city, you may not be able to hire a contractor to remove it, and any city work will run on the city's schedule and terms. Ask what the city charges, if anything, and whether that charge is separate from your roofing contract. Do not accept a number for tree removal from a roofer who has not confirmed who owns the tree.

Gutter cleaning and leaf debris after the job are also worth a line item. Ask whether the crew will clean the gutters and valleys before they leave, and whether that cleaning is included or billed as an extra. The answer changes how much debris reaches the downspouts in the first fall after the new roof goes on.

What to ask

• Who maintains the parkway tree that overhangs the roof, the city or the homeowner?
• Does the city need to be notified or give approval before a limb is trimmed?
• Is limb trimming in the bid, and does the bid name each limb?
• Who hauls away the cut wood and branches, and is that hauling in the price?
• How will the root zone be protected from the dumpster, the material truck, and foot traffic?
• Will the crew clean the gutters and valleys of tree debris before they leave?
• Is the tree work finished before the tear-off starts, or does it come after the new roof is set?

Get the answers in writing. A roofer who puts a clear scope in writing, with photos and measurements of the overhanging limbs, gives you something you can check against the work as it happens. Keys Roofing puts a written scope with photos and measurements in the homeowner's hands, and you can reach the office at (314) 220-2333 to talk through a Kirkwood roof before a start date is set.