About Hamilton Tree Service
Hamilton Tree Service, Inc. is a tree service based in Martinez, California, working across the Bay Area.
We take on removal, pruning, stump work, land clearing and fuels-reduction clearing — for homeowners, and on ongoing programs for HOAs, municipalities, government and commercial sites. We run our own crews, climbers and equipment, including crane work, and we process what comes off the job into mulch rather than sending it to landfill.
Our history
Dex Hamilton started the business in 1957. His son, Grant Hamilton, became a partner in 1994 and took over the business in 2000.
How we work
We are set up around equipment rather than around labor. A large removal done by hand means a crew carrying the tree out of the yard piece by piece, over the lawn and past the fence. We would rather the machine carried it.
That decides most of what a job looks like: fewer people on site, the heavy work done by the crane and the loader, and the material off the property in hours rather than days.
- Cranes lift sections up and out over a roof, a pool or a boundary, instead of lowering them through it
- Aerial lifts where a climber would otherwise be working at height for hours
- Grapple-fed chippers, so the material is handled by the machine rather than by hand
- Tracked loaders and a telescopic tool carrier to move material off site quickly
- Ground protection mats under the machinery, so the lawn and the drive survive the job
- Fewer passes across the property: less dragging, less foot traffic, less to put right afterwards
What happens to the material
Nothing that comes off a job is thrown away. Brush and smaller wood are ground and screened into mulch, logs worth milling go to a local sawyer to become slabs, mantels and benches, and what suits neither is burned as fuel at a co-generation plant rather than buried.
It is also why we own grinding and screening equipment at all: processing the material is cheaper than paying to dispose of it, and it is the reason a load of chip leaving your driveway comes back as mulch.
Safety and training
Tree work is dangerous work, and the way it stays safe is training that is scheduled rather than improvised. Ours is a mix of in-house and contracted training, and it covers the things that hurt people in this trade:
- Aerial rescue, ropes and climbing
- Chainsaw safety, and felling, limbing and bucking
- Chipper and grinder safety
- Electrical awareness
- First aid and CPR, refreshed annually
- Hazardous tree analysis
- Heat illness prevention, and injury and illness prevention
- Personal protective equipment, and proper lifting
- Job site briefing, equipment set-up and traffic control
- Daily vehicle inspections and tailgate safety meetings
- Substance abuse prevention, including random testing
After a safety incident, the whole company reviews what happened and retrains on it.
Who we work for
Homeowners, and organizations with more trees than anyone can keep in their head:
- Cities, government agencies and utilities
- Homeowners associations and apartment complexes
- Business parks and corporate campuses
- Golf courses, parks and cemeteries
- Estates, wineries and private property
- Contractors, as a subcontractor
In the community
We give time, equipment and money to organizations around us — among them the Bay Area Rescue Mission, the Contra Costa Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding Together, Shelter Inc., Hospice Tree, the John Muir House, the Lindsay Museum, Markham Arboretum, Sustainable Contra Costa, and local schools, churches and scout troops. If you know someone we can help, tell us.
Licensing and insurance
- CA State Contractors License
- 699865 | C61-D49 & C27
- DIR Registration
- 1000044188
- CAL FIRE Licensed Timber Operator
- A012407
- ISA Certified Arborist
- TRAQ — Tree Risk Assessment Qualified
- Qualified Applicator License (QAL)
- Combined insurance coverage
- $10 million
Common questions
- How long have you been in business?
- Since 1957, when Dex Hamilton started the business. His son, Grant Hamilton, became a partner in 1994 and took over the business in 2000.
- Where do you work?
- Our yard is at 4949 Pacheco Blvd. in Martinez, CA, and we work across the Bay Area — for homeowners, and for HOAs, municipalities, government and commercial sites.
- What licenses and insurance do you carry?
- CA State Contractors License 699865 | C61-D49 & C27; DIR Registration 1000044188; CAL FIRE Licensed Timber Operator A012407; ISA Certified Arborist (TRAQ — Tree Risk Assessment Qualified); Qualified Applicator License (QAL). Combined insurance coverage: $10 million.
- What happens to the wood and brush?
- It is ground, screened and turned into mulch rather than sent to landfill. Logs worth milling go to a local sawyer, and material that suits neither is used as fuel at a co-generation plant.
- Do you charge for an estimate?
- No, estimates are free. Tell us what you're looking at, by phone or through the estimate form, and we'll come and have a look.
- How are EcoMulch and Rex Mechanical connected to you?
- They are our sister companies: EcoMulch produces our mulch, and Rex Mechanical maintains and repairs our fleet.
Our sister companies
Two companies behind the work: one turns what we cut into mulch, the other keeps our trucks and equipment running.
Produces our mulch
EcoMulch
Makes mulch from local tree work, ours included, and sells it with soil, compost and rock, for pickup in Martinez or delivery to your driveway.
Visit ecomulch.org (opens in a new tab)Maintains and repairs our fleet
Rex Mechanical
Heavy equipment repair, welding, hydraulics and fabrication, in its shop in Concord or on site across Northern California.
Visit rex-mechanical.com (opens in a new tab)
Work with us
See what we’re hiring for and apply online.