Howard Linacre – Arborist

Stellar Job.
Found Howard on Unilocal with great reviews. I called him (he was busy) and was able to meet me. He gave me very competitive bid and he came 2 weeks later with his crew and took down two dead pine trees. He did a clean job and was able to get it done in one day.
We planned for sunny weather but it rained on and off throughout the day. Howard and his crew did a great job considering the conditions. I highly recommend Howard and his tree service company.

Howard and his team did a fantastic job doing fire abatement, tree removal, and tree trimming on our very challenging, steeply sloped property. We were so relieved to finally meet someone with real knowledge of trees, their growth habits, and how to keep them healthy (we noticed that many tree companies are just interested in seeing how many trees they can convince you to pay them to remove). Howard offered good advice on several trees that are suffering in the drought, but which we hope to save. He and his team also know how to *properly* trim and thin out trees, so that they are both healthier and shaped in the desired fashion (there is more to it than just lopping off the ends of branches!). A different company that we had here in the past did not do this kind of work properly, and it sure showed (we still live with several sad-​looking topped trees). Finally, Howard was very patient and clear in explaining the reasoning behind different courses of action — which we appreciated — and he was prompt in getting back to us.

Howard was great. I had a tree on a steep hill that I wanted cut down. Howard came by, took a look and gave me a very reasonable price. Very easy to talk to and very knowledgeable.

I’ve chosen Howard over 2 other tree trimmers because he impressed me with his tree knowledge. I had no idea I had a Monterey pine tree that was sick and had canker disease. The other tree trimmer said it was just «sap» and needed to be shaped. I also had a Blue Atlas cedar tree that needed extreme trimming and a dead tree that needed removal. Don’t recall the name of the dead tree, but it doesn’t matter. Only Howard knew the names of the trees, even the dead one and gave me expert advice on how to take care of them present and future. His pricing was by far the best versus the other tree trimmers that gave me extremely exorbiant pricing and failed when I asked them questions. I chose Howard because a) he is an Aborist, b) he educated me on the trees, and c) pricing was fair and honest. The other tree trimmers were NOT Aborist; they were only in it to make a profit.
The following week, Howard and his team cleaned/​shaped my Monterey pine tree, Blue Atlas cedar and removed the dead tree. They cleaned up their debris of the trees front and backyard within the time frame he quoted me. My husband was very impressed with their work. My Monterey and Blue Atlas trees look a lot healthier, lively and with Howard’s recommendations, I now know how to take care of them. Both tress were professionally pruned and allowed plenty of sunshine to come through. I HIGHLY recommend Howard and his team. I will hire them in the future. Thank you Howard and team for your honest pricing and professional work.

Just as all the other reviews state, Howard was great. He responded promptly to my call and inquiry about getting our rather large and fairly overgrown Blackwood Acacia pruned. He came out and gave me a quote for the work (which was in-​line with other quotes I had received) and was able to get a crew out quickly to complete the work. They worked for about 4 hours to trim the entire tree (it’s a big one :), cleaned up all the branches and leaves and Howard made sure to touch base about what I can expect in terms of regrowth and when the tree would need another prune (not for another 2 years!)
Super knowledgable, kind and obviously enjoys what he does. I’d highly recommend him.

We needed to get some large landscape trees trimmed and our fruit trees pruned. After searching Unilocal and looking at reviews, we called Howard. We lucked out and were able to get scheduled right away. Howard and his crew trimmed our trees and brought our fruit trees back in balance. He also identified some disease affecting our trees which he cut out. He is professional, courteous, easy to communicate with, and his pricing was reasonable for the work required. As a member/​director of the Bay Area Arborist Co-​Op, Howard is skilled in his craft and his work evidences it.

Our huge tree in the front yard was getting too big and out of control. When a huge branch fell on our neighbor’s yard, we decided it was time to get it significantly trimmed. I got Howard’s info from the mother’s club I am in and gave him a call. He returned my call quickly and came out to take a look and give an estimate right away. Initially I was very nervous about how it might turn out and emailed him a few too many times but he reassured me that he promises to do an amazing job and leave it to him.
I have no regrets having Howard trim the tree. He did an amazing job and also trimmed the one next to it and took out a dead bush while he was here when he wasn’t even obligated to do them. He worked beyond what was required which will leave a great impression and likely for me to make referrals to my friends.
He was so nice and if I ever need anything done to any tree or tree-​related, I will call Howard as he stays true to his word.

Howard is great! I had a very special need and Howard had an open mind and came through 100%. I bought a house built in 1940 that had an old telephone pole in my front yard, about 2 feet from the building. How was I going to remove that thing? I called a few tree removal places thinking that they would be the most experienced at something like this. Howard called me back right away and said he would swing by my house later that day to take a look. None of the other tree removal people even called me back! Howard gave me a very reasonable quote and said it wouldn’t be a problem. I scheduled with him for a few days later. He showed up on time with an assistant and they got that telephone pole down in less than 15 minutes. I tipped him even though it was such a short job. I think they didn’t think it would go that fast. I will definitely call Howard again if I have any *real* needs for an Arborist!

my myoporum tree was on its last leg having been infected with thrips. called howard and everything got taken care of in just a few days. he has a great team also. i love the replacement tree he put in for us. A+ all around!

I’ve had Howard come out a couple times– one time because our plum tree wasn’t plumming anymore and the next time to clean up the big tree in the center of the yard.
Both time he does a great job, for a reasonable price and he gets it done in a reasonable time. Usually at the end he’ll point out something else like– «Oh yeah, your *complicated tree name* wasn’t getting enough sun so I did this to fix it». Whatever he does makes the back yard a nicer place.
Oh and we get plums every summer now too!
He’s a good find and an en excellent dude to come get your trees under control.

I wanted to cement my front yard and needed a tree with a sizeable stump removed quickly and properly. Found Howard from great reviews on Unilocal.
Howard was easy to communicate with and got back to me quickly. I’m one to research prices to death when buying something to ensure I get the best deal. But honestly, I didn’t bother getting any other estimates after meeting with and talking to Howard because he was friendly, straight forward, and gave me a very fair price. He was able to start the work right away, gave a perfect estimate on project completion, and allowed my contractors to continue work around him.
Howard and his team worked several hours straight cutting away my big tree and grinding the gigantic, stubborn stump. They hauled everything away, and left the place spotless. I highly recommend Howard and his team for all types of tree projects. They are pros at what they do and make you feel like you made a pretty darn good decision in choosing them. Thank you!

Very happy with this company, work was done within a few weeks of talking with Howard.
Had a 45 foot palm tree removed, job was done in about 3 hours (had 5 men) all area cleaned up and removed the wood and palms from the property within the the 3 hour period.
Price was great and talked to me about everything he was going to do, and it was all done just like he said.
When you call him he gets right back to you. I would use him again if need be.
you will not be sorry with his work and his price

Honest, Knowledgeable, and Helpful! +!
I have 4 large pine trees in my backyard, and was worried that they may tip over in the futre Howard came by and gave me an honest opinion if i needed to cut these trees down or not. He took the time to examine the trees to make sure there were no diseases, and gave his professional opinion on the health and risk of the trees. He was honest about the whole situation, and didn’t mind talking himself out of the business. His pricing was also reasonable compared to some other sketchy Arborist I found on Unilocal.
+1 to Howard!

Needed a tree removed asap. Howard called when he said he would. Showed up on time. Estimated the time the project would take to the minute. On budget. And he threw in removing some shrubs we had cut down previously and pruned my Japanese maple for free. Nice guy! Totally recommend him.

Reliable-​Yes. Answer’s phone-​Yes. Courteous-​Yes. It’s amazing how It can be so difficult to call someone for services and never have your phone call returned. I called 3 tree removers and ONLY Howard returned my call. Needless to say, he was the one I went with.
Granted I had a little lilac tree in my backyard that I had to get removed since we are remodeling our whole backyard, it was a little job but Howard didn’t make me feel that this «job» was just too small for him to do, and I appreciated that.
He was very thorough, offered me a great reasonable price and asked me when I wanted to have the tree removed and said it wouldn’t take him more than 1.5 hours to have it removed. I asked him if he could remove my tree that Saturday and the rest was history.
He called the day of, advised me he was on his way and brought a helper to expedite efforts. The tree was removed and he left the site cleaning up any debris and making the site «clean.» He was very enjoyable to speak with, and he knew what he was doing. I even managed to get his advise on some new trees that I was getting, asked him about a couple of trees in my front yard and yes, I will be having him remove a couple of trees in the spring.
Howard was very reliable and excellent in his pricing, truly one to keep!

Howard was a total pro. I found him on Unilocal and even though he had a family emergency and was out of the area, he emailed and returned my call right away. He showed up on time and gave us a bid. I got a second bid but chose Howard because of the great reviews and the fact that he’s licensed, a professional, knew the proper name of our tree and works regularly with the city.
Throughout the whole process, his communication was excellent. He showed up with his crew on time, was efficient with the work, used a lot of safety equipment and made our tree look beautiful, brought it down out of the wires and gave it a beautiful shape. He and his crew also did a great job cleaning up. We are really happy with the work done and would recommend his work highly. Thanks Howard!

I had Howard come out to take a look at my yard and overgrown trees. He arrived on time gave me a very reasonable estimate and we scheduled a date on the spot.
He came and worked continuously for 3.5 hours and had another person with him hauling the branches to and cutting to the truck. All his work was done by hand, no electric or gas powered equipment was used. I can honestly say this was the best tree pruning I have ever had. All the trees and plants look wonderful. The place was spotless when they left. I highly recommend him for any tree needs you might have.

Howard is knowledgeable, courteous, and prompt. He trimmed the tree that was growing from my neighbor’s yard that was blocking my view of the City. (My neighbor gave me permission, of course!). I recommended him to my step-​dad, who is a no-​nonsense, bottom-​line kind of guy. That was 5 years ago. My step-​dad still uses him to this day on his home renovation projects.

So we did reconsult Howard for our remaining 2 trees. One pine, he pruned quite handsomely, the other diseased and sad looking tree he removed. Over the course of the day, through no fault of Howard or crew’s, a seeming act of god caused some minor damage to the property. Within 30 seconds of the event, Howard was on the phone contacting the corresponding fix-​it person to resolve the problem. Not only that, but Howard suggested we withhold part of his payment until the problem had been fixed. How refreshingly professional!
Result: 1 beautifully pruned tree, 1 absent diseased tree, no longer looming menacingly over the neighbor’s roof, 1 brand new window, and 2 thrilled tree-​climbing kittens. All adding up to 2 very satisfied humans.

Howard is a skilled arborist and cool guy. We used him twice (along with a small crew) for trimming two large Monterey Pines (probably ~ 70 feet tall) at our former condo building near the Castro in San Francisco. The second time especially was quite artfully done — I think he’s honed his craft over the past year or two, and I’d never seen our trees looking so good. His quotes seem reasonable as well, although admittedly I don’t have broad experience with this sort of work.
He also did some tree removal at our new house in Bernal Heights — not his specialty, but the work was terrific, and he even removed a pesky, ugly laundry pole for a nominal additional fee. On top of all this, he’s a pleasure to work with, easygoing yet very professional and efficient — the post-​work cleanup has been spotless each time. I give him a major thumbs-​up for any sort of work involving trees.