After a windstorm tears through your yard, you're left with a pile of branches stacked against the garage or scattered across the lawn. I bring my chipper and clear it in a few hours. You keep the chips as mulch for your beds and around established trees, or I haul them away. It solves the problem fast, and the mulch matters more here than almost anywhere because it holds moisture through a dry August when the clay soil is hard as concrete.
What wood chipping actually is
Wood chipping is the process of feeding branches, limbs and woody debris through a machine that grinds them into small, uniform chips. The chipper I use is mounted on a truck and powered by a diesel engine. I feed material in by hand or with a small hydraulic arm, depending on the size and weight of what you have. The chips come out the chute into a pile or directly into a trailer. The whole operation is loud and takes focus, but it's fast. A typical residential pile of storm debris takes me a few hours to process. The chips are about the size of your thumbnail and have a fresh wood smell. They're not sawdust and they're not mulch from a garden centre, but they work exactly like mulch once they settle on your beds.
Why it matters in the Regina area
Without chipping, you face a choice: burn the branches (if your municipality allows it, and even then the smoke bothers neighbours), haul them to a landfill yourself in multiple trips, or stack them in a corner of the yard where they sit for years. Chipping solves all three problems at once. The chips I produce stay on your property as mulch, which is especially valuable here in Saskatchewan. Our summers are dry, and the clay soil under most yards in Regina drains poorly and heats up fast. A layer of chips around your trees and shrubs acts like a blanket, keeping the soil cooler and holding moisture so your plants don't suffer as much during a hot August. It also suppresses weeds and breaks down over time, improving the soil structure. If you don't want to keep the chips, I take them with me. Either way, your yard is clean and clear by the end of the day.
When to do wood chipping?
Windstorms happen most summers in the Regina area, and that's when I get the most calls. Heavy snow or ice in spring can also load branches onto trees, and when it melts or the wind picks up, they come down. You'll know you need chipping when you have a pile of branches that's too big to fit in your green bin, or when it's scattered across the yard in pieces longer than a metre. Some clients call me after a storm passes within a day or two, while the debris is still fresh and hasn't started to rot. Others wait until they've had time to think about it, and I'm happy to come out weeks later. The wood chips work just as well. If you're planning major tree work, like a removal or heavy pruning, let me know in advance and I'll bring the chipper as part of the job. That way, nothing goes to waste.
How I work in Lakeview
Call me at (306) 993-9692 and describe what you have. I'll ask where the pile is, roughly how big it is, and whether you want to keep the chips or have me haul them. I'll give you a free estimate over the phone or arrange a quick site visit if I need to see it. On the day of the work, I arrive with my truck and chipper. I'll park it in your driveway or yard depending on what fits through your gate and where the debris is stacked. I feed the material in by hand, working steadily until it's all gone. Depending on the size of the pile, this takes anywhere from a couple of hours to most of a day. The chips go into a pile on your property or into a trailer if you want them removed. Once I'm done, I sweep up any scattered debris and leave your yard clean. The chipper is loud, so I usually work during daylight hours and finish before early evening.
The different cases
Most of my chipping work falls into a few categories. The most common is storm cleanup, where wind has knocked branches off trees or snapped smaller trees entirely. I chip everything that's broken, and the homeowner keeps the mulch. The second is cleanup after I've done tree pruning or removal work on the property. I bring the chipper as part of the job so you don't have to deal with a pile of cuttings. The third is when someone has stacked branches over months or years and finally wants the yard back. I've chipped piles that have been sitting since the previous summer, and the wood is still usable. The fourth is when a contractor or landscaper has left debris on a residential property and you need it gone fast. I can also chip branches you've brought from elsewhere, though I focus mainly on what's already on your land. If you have a huge volume, like from a major tree removal or land clearing, let me know the scope and I'll tell you whether it's a job for my chipper or whether it needs a different approach.
