One homeowner didn't get quite what they bargained for when they called for a tree cutting company to remove two dead trees from their property.
"Tree cutting company trashed my yard while cutting and moving equipment," they explained in a Reddit post about the incident. "Trying to think on how to proceed."
According to the Redditor, their yard wasn't in peak condition to start with. In a comment, they said the grass was "dormant and not the best looking."
However, after the tree company was done with it, the landscaping was on a whole other level. The original poster attached photos of the damage, showing that the ground had been torn up by truck and trailer tires, leaving it compacted, uneven, and muddy, with a mess of twigs on top.
"Their original plan was still to wait till late in the week to allow the yard to dry more before attempting to pull out their trailer," the original poster said. But the plan changed without notice while the ground was still muddy. "Came home from work today to the trailer being gone," they wrote.
Commenters were outraged at the level of damage to the lawn and even to nearby brickwork. "This is appalling," one commenter said. "I would be completely ashamed if this is how I left a client's yard or site. They need to fix this and make it right."
Many commenters advised that the original poster should pursue the company and possibly even refuse to pay until the damage is taken care of. One commenter was worried for the remaining living tree. "[Leveling] doesn't really fix it," they said. "They've destroyed the soil structure and compacted the h*** out it. If that tree in your photo is to remain, it's going to have a very rough go of it."
That would be a problem, not just because mature trees add value to property, but also because they help clean the air and remove carbon pollution. The more trees are mistreated and damaged — including this oak tree that was cut into by mistake — the worse off the whole world is.
Still, this could be an opportunity for the original poster to do something good for the planet. Adding native plants instead of returning to a turf grass lawn would mean a lower-maintenance yard that's better for the environment.
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