Diversified Tree Company LLC is an owner-operated, Black-owned, family-focused tree crew working out of a yard on Paris Ave SE in south Grand Rapids. Ten-plus years in business, 25+ years of combined crew experience, and a habit of telling people the truth about their trees even when the truth is cheaper than a removal. Below are the questions we get asked most, answered the way we'd answer them standing in your driveway.
Hiring a crew: what to check before anyone climbs
Five things separate a real tree company from a truck with a chainsaw in the bed: general liability and workers' compensation coverage, equipment matched to the job, verifiable local reviews, actual experience with hazardous removals near structures, and a written estimate. If a crew hesitates on any of those, that hesitation is your answer. We're fully insured, BBB accredited, and we'll hand you the certificate of insurance before we start. If a crew can't produce one, their risk quietly becomes your homeowners policy's problem.
Estimates are free, written and itemized — no pressure, no expiring discount games. For straightforward work like stump grinding we can often quote over the phone from photos and a tape measure. We respond 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
Permits, insurance and what happens to the stump
Most of the confusion around a removal isn't about the cutting. It's about paperwork, property lines and what's left in the lawn afterward.
- Permits: trees on your own private property generally don't require one. Street trees in the city right-of-way do require approval, and some neighborhoods and townships have their own ordinances. We run that check as part of every removal estimate.
- Insurance: if a tree fell on a covered structure during a storm, homeowners insurance usually covers removing it from the structure, up to your policy limits. Preventive removal of a standing tree typically isn't covered. We document emergency jobs with photos and an itemized invoice formatted for your claim.
- The stump: a standard removal leaves a low stump. Grinding is a popular add-on — we go 6 to 12 inches below grade, backfill with chips, and leave the spot replant-ready. Booked alongside the removal is the cheapest it will ever be.
- The wood: keep it if you want it. We'll buck the trunk to firewood length and stack it where you point at no extra charge, or haul the whole thing away.
Does a tree need to go at all? Warning signs include a new lean, vertical trunk cracks, lifting soil at the roots, heavy deadwood, fungal growth at the base, or storm-related structural failure. Sometimes the honest recommendation is pruning or a bracing and cabling system instead of removal — support dramatically reduces the risk of a union failing, though no honest arborist will guarantee a tree is saved forever.
One thing we won't do is top a tree. Topping forces weakly-attached regrowth that fails in the next storm and shortens the tree's life. We'll prune it properly instead. For most species in Michigan, late winter — February into March — is the ideal window, and oaks should only be pruned in dormancy to avoid oak wilt.
Jason answers the phone at 3 a.m.
Twenty-four hours a day, every day of the week, including Christmas. That isn't a marketing line bolted onto a business that's really open nine to five — storm response is a core service here, not an upsell. When a limb comes through a roofline at two in the morning, you reach a person. From the Paris Ave SE yard, most of the metro is about 20 minutes away in normal driving conditions.
While you're waiting: keep everyone clear of damaged limbs, never touch anything in contact with a power line — call Consumers Energy first — photograph the damage for your claim, and don't start cutting. Storm-loaded wood stores violent energy and releases it without warning.
"I had 2 trees growing over and around my house. Jason and his crew were professional and got it done." — Marvin Fulbright
Nine services, one crew
Everything we sell, in one list: tree removal, tree trimming and pruning, stump grinding, emergency tree service, lot clearing, bracing and cabling, firewood, snow plowing, and curbside leaf pickup. Residential and commercial, all nine handled by the same crew — no subcontractors showing up in an unmarked truck.
On lot clearing, selective is our default: we flag the keepers with you before anything starts and protect their root zones from equipment compaction. For leaf pickup, don't bag anything — loose piles at the curb are exactly what our equipment wants, and bags actually slow us down. Firewood is seasoned hardwood, pickup at the yard or delivered; call for current stock. And every job ends the same way: limbs chipped, wood stacked or hauled to your preference, lawn raked, driveway blown clean, and a walk of the site with you before we pull out.
We serve Grand Rapids, Wyoming, Grandville, Byron Center, Caledonia, Moline, Jenison, Hudsonville, Dorr, Ada, Wayland, Alto, Marne and Comstock Park. Rated 5 out of 5 from 13 reviews.
"Professional, on time, and cleaned everything up." — Janeen Moore
Still have a question we didn't cover? Call (616) 407-0044 and ask. You'll get a straight answer from the person doing the work.