Jason Lewis has been climbing and cutting in south Grand Rapids for over ten years, working out of the Paris Avenue SE yard with a crew carrying 25+ years of combined experience. Crown reduction and thinning is the work he'd rather do than a removal — taking weight and sail off a big maple or oak so it stops worrying you, without taking the tree out of the yard. Family-owned, Black-owned, owner-operated, and rated 5 out of 5 from 13 reviews.
Reduction and thinning are two different jobs
People use the words interchangeably and they shouldn't. Crown reduction shortens the overall height and spread of a tree by cutting limbs back to a lateral branch big enough to take over as the new leader. It's what you want when a silver maple is leaning over the roofline or a limb is crowding the service drop. Crown thinning leaves the shape and size alone and selectively removes interior branches — crossing limbs, rubbing limbs, deadwood, suckers — so wind moves through the canopy instead of pushing against it.
Most of the trees we look at in Grandville, Byron Center, Jenison and Ada need a little of both. We walk the tree with you first, point at what's coming off and why, and put it in the free estimate before anybody starts a saw.
- Thin dense interiors so storm wind passes through instead of loading the canopy
- Remove deadwood and crossing limbs that become the failure point in a storm
- Raise the crown for mower, vehicle or sight-line clearance
- Balance a lopsided canopy that's pulling the whole tree one direction
We will not top your tree
If another outfit quotes you a price to "top" a big shade tree, get a second opinion. Topping means cutting the leaders back to stubs. What grows back is a thicket of fast, weakly-attached shoots that fail in exactly the storms you were trying to protect against, and the wounds left behind rarely close properly. It shortens the life of the tree and guarantees you'll pay for the same tree again in a few years.
Proper reduction cuts back to a living lateral that can carry the flow — a target the tree can actually seal. It costs more in climbing time than a topping job. It's also the only version of this work we sell.
When the problem isn't weight but a weak union — a co-dominant stem with included bark that's already splitting — reduction alone isn't the answer. That's a bracing and cabling conversation. We'll tell you straight: no honest arborist guarantees a tree. Support dramatically reduces the risk of union failure; it doesn't make a tree immortal.
Jason answers the phone at 3 a.m.
The phone is answered around the clock, holidays included — storm response is a core service here, not an upsell. From the Paris Ave SE yard most of the metro is inside 20 minutes in normal conditions, which covers Wyoming, Grandville, Jenison, Hudsonville, Comstock Park, Ada, Caledonia, Alto, Moline, Dorr, Wayland and Marne. On pruning work that means we can usually get eyes on your tree fast and always get back to you within one business day.
Glad I waited for the right professional. Jason was very careful in his approach with my fallen tree after the storm. If not for him I would have definitely damaged my roof. Very happy. — Tom
Marvin Fulbright and Janeen Moore have left reviews too. We're a BBB accredited business, and the estimate is free whether you hire us or not.
Late winter is the window — oaks especially
For most species in Michigan, February and March is the best time to prune. The structure is visible with the leaves off, the cuts seal quickly as the tree wakes up, and there's no disease pressure. Oaks are not optional on this — they should only be pruned in dormancy to avoid oak wilt, which moves through root grafts and beetles and can kill a mature red oak in a single season.
That said, broken limbs, deadwood and anything hanging over a roof get handled whenever you call. Safety pruning doesn't wait for a calendar. We buck the wood to firewood length and stack it where you want at no extra charge, or haul it off — your call.
Tell us which tree is bothering you and we'll come look at it. Free estimate, no pressure: (616) 407-0044or email thegreatestwoodchucker@gmail.com.