Tall overgrown conifers with a dead brown centre covering the front of a brick and timber house — Large conifers crowding the front of a house, with a bare brown centre

Front garden lawn with a low cut stump and sawdust, a wood chipper and houses behind — Front lawn after the work, a low stump, sawdust and a chipper beyond

The first photo shows a large cluster of conifers growing right up against the front of a mock-Tudor style house in Birmingham. Part of the middle has gone bare and brown, and the whole mass sits close to the front door, windows and a low wooden fence. The second photo shows the garden once the tree was down, with a low stump and a chipper parked at the kerb.

Before and after

Before the work, the conifers hid much of the front of the house and pushed up against the fence line. Afterwards the lawn is open again. A cut stump sits close to the ground with a patch of sawdust around it, and a shrub or hedge to the right is left standing. An orange wood chipper is visible beside the fence, parked at the kerb.

What to plan for

Conifers this close to a house are usually taken down in sections, working from the top, so nothing falls on the roof, fence or cars. Brown bare patches inside a conifer rarely recover, because conifers do not regrow from old wood. Stumps can be left low or ground out by arrangement. Check for a Tree Preservation Order or conservation area with the council before any cutting starts.