When a maple splits over your garage at two in the morning, you don't need a quote form — you need somebody with a saw, a rope and the judgment to know which limb to cut first. Jason Lewis has been doing that work in Grand Rapids for over ten years. Diversified Tree Company LLC is owner-operated, family-focused and Black-owned, run out of a yard on Paris Avenue SE, with 25+ years of combined experience on the crew. Storm response is a core service here, not an upsell.
Jason answers the phone at 3 a.m.
The phone is answered around the clock — Monday through Sunday, open 24 hours, including Christmas morning. That is not a voicemail box that gets checked at eight. From the Paris Ave SE yard, most of the metro is within 20 minutes in normal conditions, and after a big blow we work the calls in order of danger: trees on houses and trees on wires first, blocked driveways next, yard debris after that.
Storm damage tree removal is the part of this trade where experience shows. A tree that's already failed is under load in ways a healthy tree never is — bent trunks storing energy, limbs hung up in a neighbor's canopy, root plates half out of the ground. We rig it down in controlled pieces instead of dropping weight on a roof that's already taken one hit.
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.
What storm cleanup actually looks like
Every storm is different, but the sequence rarely changes much:
- We look at what's holding what. Nothing gets cut until we know where the load goes when it releases.
- Anything threatening a roofline, a wire clearance or an exit gets addressed first — that's the part that can't wait for daylight.
- The tree comes down in pieces, rigged and lowered rather than felled, when structures are anywhere near.
- Brush is chipped and hauled. The trunk gets bucked to firewood length and stacked wherever you want it, or taken away.
- If you want the stump gone, we grind 6 to 12 inches below grade, backfill with chips and leave the spot ready to reseed. Deeper on request.
Ice storm tree damage tends to be a slower job than wind damage — the breaks are higher in the canopy, there are more of them, and a lot of what looks fine is cracked at the union. We'll tell you honestly which trees are worth saving with bracing and cabling and which ones have lost too much structure to keep. What we won't do is top a tree. Topping creates weakly attached regrowth that fails in the next storm.
Insurance paperwork, wood and the stump
If a tree came down on a structure during a storm, homeowners insurance usually covers removing it from the structure. We document emergency work for insurance claims — photos, scope, the things adjusters ask for — so you're not trying to reconstruct the night from memory a week later. Preventive removal of a standing tree typically isn't covered, and we'll say so up front rather than let you find out at claim time.
The wood is yours if you want it. We'll buck the trunk to firewood length and stack it where you point at no extra charge. If you'd rather it disappear, it disappears. Estimates are free, and we respond to non-emergency inquiries within one business day.
Nine services, one crew
Storm work is one of nine things we do, and the same crew does all of them: tree removal, tree trimming and pruning, stump grinding, emergency tree service, lot clearing, bracing and cabling, seasoned hardwood firewood, snow plowing, and curbside leaf pickup. Residential and commercial, across Grand Rapids, Wyoming, Grandville, Byron Center, Caledonia, Moline, Jenison, Hudsonville, Dorr, Ada, Wayland, Alto, Marne and Comstock Park.
We're a BBB accredited business rated 5 out of 5 from 13 reviews. If a storm has left you with something you'd rather not stand under, call (616) 407-0044 — day, night, weekend or holiday — or ask for a free estimate and we'll come look.