Jason Lewis runs Diversified Tree Company LLC out of a yard on Paris Avenue in south Grand Rapids. He is an owner-operator, which means the person who walks your property and writes the number is the same person swinging in the tree the following week. Ten-plus years of that, with a crew carrying and a habit of saying no to work that would hurt a tree — no topping, no guarantees nobody can keep.
What we actually clear around a West Michigan house
Let's be straight about the term. "Fire defensible space" is a western-states program — zoned clearance rings around a house in wildfire country. West Michigan isn't that, and we don't sell a defensible-space package. What people here are usually asking for when they use those words is real, and we do it every week: get the dead and leaning trees away from the roofline, pull the brush and volunteer growth back off the house and the outbuildings, and open up the clutter along a fence line or a back lot.
That work lives under three of our services — Lot Clearing, Tree Removal and Tree Trimming & Pruning. Selective clearing is our default. We walk the property with you first, flag the trees that stay, and protect their root zones from equipment compaction instead of driving a machine over everything. Brush, trunks and debris are hauled off and responsibly disposed of, or bucked to firewood length and stacked wherever you want it on the property at no extra charge.
- Dead, diseased or storm-damaged trees standing within reach of the house, garage or power drop
- Brush, scrub and volunteer saplings choking a fence line, shed or back acre
- Full-lot or partial clearing for construction, an addition, or years of overgrowth
- Low stumps left behind, ground 6–12 inches below grade and backfilled with the chips
Nine services, one crew
Everything we do, and nothing we don't. One phone number, one crew, residential and commercial, from a single-tree removal to a plowed parking lot in February.
- Tree Removal — hazardous, diseased, dead or oversized trees, including large removals near structures with rigging
- Tree Trimming & Pruning — canopy health, storm-risk reduction, clearance from rooflines and power lines
- Stump Grinding — below grade, chips hauled, the spot left replant-ready
- Emergency Tree Service — storm response with insurance-claim documentation
- Lot Clearing — full-lot and partial, debris responsibly disposed
- Bracing & Cabling — structural support for split-prone trees worth keeping
- Firewood — seasoned hardwood, pickup at the Paris Ave yard or delivered
- Snow Plowing — seasonal residential and commercial driveways, lots and walkways
- Curbside Leaf Pickup — rake it to the curb loose, we collect and haul it
Jason answers the phone at 3 a.m.
The phone is answered Monday through Sunday, 24 hours. That isn't a marketing line — storm response is a core service here, not an upsell, and a limb through a roof on Christmas Eve gets the same answer as a Tuesday morning estimate. From the Paris Ave SE yard, most of the metro is inside 20 minutes in normal conditions. Estimates are free and we respond within one business day.
We're a family-owned, Black-owned, BBB accredited business rated 5 out of 5 from 13 reviews. Here's one of them:
Glad I waited for the right professional. Jason was very careful in his approach with my fallen after the storm. If not for him I would have definitely damaged my roof. Very happy
We serve Grand Rapids, Wyoming, Grandville, Byron Center, Caledonia, Moline, Jenison, Hudsonville, Dorr, Ada, Wayland, Alto, Marne and Comstock Park.
Permits, insurance and what happens to the stump
Three things come up on nearly every clearing estimate. Permits: trees on private property generally don't need one, but street trees in the right-of-way do and some neighborhoods have their own rules — we check as part of the estimate. Insurance: if a tree came down on a structure in a storm, homeowners insurance usually covers getting it off; removing a standing tree before it falls typically isn't covered. Stumps: standard removal leaves a low stump, and grinding is the add-on most people take. Call (616) 407-0044 or ask for a free estimate and we'll come look.