Tree Removal and Landscaping
in Grass Valley, CA
Israel Ortega and his crew take down oaks and pines that are too close to the house, grind the stumps, chip the brush and haul every bit of it off your property. Free on-site estimates across Nevada County and the foothills.
The quoted price is the final priceGet a free estimate
Israel comes out, walks the property with you and writes a price on the spot. No charge, and no obligation to book while he is standing there.
- Quoted in writing on site - hauling, cleanup and stump included in the number
- Insured and bonded - certificate sent before the crew arrives
- Reachable seven days a week, 8am to 6pm, emergencies moved up
Or text a photo of the tree to 530-441-0122 - it is usually the fastest way to get an answer.
Tree down on your house, driveway or fence?
Storm and wind damage moves to the front of the schedule. Call and describe what you are looking at - we will tell you straight whether it can wait until morning or whether we need to come now.
Tree work and landscaping across Nevada County
One crew, one quote, one company on the property. You are not coordinating a tree cutter, a stump guy and a hauler.
Tree Removal
Oaks, pines and cedars taken down in pieces from the top, roped clear of the roof, the fence and the power line. Large and hazardous trees included.
See tree removal
Tree Trimming
Clearing limbs off the roof, raising the canopy over a driveway, taking weight off a leaning branch. Cut at the collar so the wound closes properly.
See tree trimming
Stump Removal
Ground out below grade so you can mow over it, plant on it or pour on it. No mower-killer left in the lawn and no rot feeding termites next to the house.
See stump removal
Brush Clearing
Scrub oak, manzanita, blackberry, poison oak and years of dead ladder fuel taken back off the house. Chipped on site or hauled out.
See brush clearing
Shrub Trimming
Hedges, foundation plantings and overgrown ornamentals shaped back to something you actually want to look at, without shearing them into boxes.
See shrub trimming
Fruit Tree Pruning
Winter pruning on apples, pears, plums and citrus. Opened up for light and air, height kept where you can reach the fruit without a ladder.
See fruit tree pruning
Landscaping
Gravel and flagstone paths, river rock beds, steel edging, drip lines, planting and sprinkler repair. Often the second half of a tree job.
See landscapingNot sure which one you need?
Text a photo of the tree to 530-441-0122. Israel will tell you what it needs and roughly what it takes - before anyone comes out.
Text a photo nowFive things that go wrong with tree work
Almost every bad tree-service story is one of these five. Here is how we keep each one from happening on your property.
The bill grows after the work starts
You get a low number to win the job, then the hauling is extra, the stump is extra, the cleanup is extra. By the end you have paid more than the honest bid you turned down.
The tree lands on something
A crew with a saw and no climber has one option: drop it whole and hope. That works in an open field. It does not work with a roof, a fence, a septic lid or a service drop underneath.
You are left with the mess
The tree is down and the yard is a debris field - rounds too heavy to move, brush piled on the lawn, chips all over the driveway and ruts where the truck sat.
The crew is not actually covered
Tree work puts people up a rope with a running saw. If someone gets hurt on your property and there is no coverage behind them, that can come back on you as the homeowner.
Bad cuts quietly kill the tree
Topping a tree, cutting flush to the trunk or stripping the interior growth all look like a trim on the day. Two seasons later you have weak regrowth, decay at the cuts and a bigger problem.
What that adds up to
Israel has customers on year three, four and five - on acreage, on steep ground, on trees ten feet off the house. They are not repeat customers because tree removal is fun. They are repeat because nothing on this list happened.
The wood leaves with us
A big oak is several tons of wood. Whoever cuts it has to move it, and plenty of outfits solve that by leaving it stacked in your yard and calling the job done.
- Brush goes through the chipper on site, so it leaves as chips instead of as twenty trailer loads.
- Rounds get loaded into the dump trailer and hauled off the property the same day where access allows.
- Want the firewood? Say so up front and we will buck it to length and stack it where you want it.
- Chips can stay as mulch on beds and paths if that is useful to you - free, and it saves a trip.
- Then the ground gets raked and the driveway blown off before the trucks pull out.
This is what "in pieces" looks like
No crane, no drop zone, no holding your breath. A climber ties in, works from the top down and lowers each section on a line. Everything under the tree - roof, deck, fence, irrigation - stays exactly where it was.
- Works in tight side yards and on steep ground where a bucket truck cannot reach
- The right call for trees over a roof, a fence line or a power drop
- No heavy equipment tracking across your lawn to get set up
Sectional removal, Nevada County
Clearing for defensible space
California asks for 100 feet of defensible space around homes in state responsibility areas, and up here the insurance company usually asks too. Most of the calls we get start with a letter or an inspection.
- Limbing up so a grass fire cannot climb the lower branches into the canopy
- Ladder fuel and dead wood out - the scrub, the deadfall and the years of needle litter
- Limbs pulled back off the roof and away from the chimney and the deck
- Dead and dying trees removed before the next wind storm chooses where they land
- Acreage handled in stages - we set a realistic target per day and work to it
We cannot promise you an insurance outcome. We can clear what the inspector is standing there looking at, and do it before fire season instead of during it.
What goes in after the tree comes out
Take a big tree off a property and you are left with a bare patch, a broken irrigation line and a yard that no longer makes sense. That is where most of our landscaping starts.
- Pathways in decomposed granite, gravel or flagstone, built over a proper base so they do not sink and rut
- River rock beds and steel edging that hold a clean line against the house instead of migrating into the lawn
- Drip irrigation and sprinkler repair - including the lines that get cut or crushed when a tree comes down
- Planting and trellis work to get privacy and shade back where the tree used to give it
What your neighbors say about Israel and the crew
Every one of these is a real review on our Google and Facebook pages. Two words come up over and over: competitive, and clean.
"I have used Israel and his crew for 3 years now and there is a reason why I keep coming back. When he was busy one year and I did not get on his schedule, I had to use a competitor and what a difference. The other guy nickel and dimed me charging me extras for work that Israel includes in his price. Israel's base price is the final price."
"Israel and his team were great. They took down several large oaks very close to the house without a problem. Very quick and efficient. Even took out the stumps. Very competitive. Highly recommend."
"Isreal Ortega of Terra Heights Tree Experts was highly recommended by two friends, and I now echo their praise. He provided a fair, competitive bid and prioritized my urgent job, by removing a distressed tree VERY near my house. He did all of my work with safety and precision."
"Israel and his crew were great. Showed up on time and completed the project in a very professional manner. Cleaned everything up and left no mess. Would definitely recommend him to anyone needing tree work."
"Terra Heights did quite a bit of work for us. Our sprinkler system had been uprooted by a downed tree. They fixed the sprinklers, cleaned up the tree, trimmed other trees that were in danger of falling, and cleaned up the area. We were very impressed with the job."
"Israel and his crew's professionalism, efficiency, experience and knowledge was evident right away, from estimate to clean up. They accomplished more work in a shorter period of time than I have experienced with other companies. This crew hustles. Best tree guys I've hired!"
Three steps, no runaround
Call or text with your address
530-441-0122, any day between 8am and 6pm. A photo of the tree helps more than a paragraph describing it - text one over and we can usually tell you right away what it needs.
Israel walks the property with you
He looks at access, what is under the tree, where the wood goes out and what the stump involves - then writes you a price for the whole job. Free, and no pressure to sign anything while he is standing there.
We show up when we said and finish it
The crew works the day out, cleans up behind itself and hauls the debris. You pay the number on the quote. On bigger acreage we set a target for each day and tell you where we got to.
Grass Valley and the surrounding foothills
Out past these towns, on acreage, or somewhere with rough access? Call and ask - we work a wide radius out of Grass Valley and we would rather tell you yes or no than have you guess.
Questions we get before every job
Do you charge for an estimate?
No. Israel comes out, walks the property with you and gives you a written price on the spot at no cost. Call or text 530-441-0122 to get on the schedule.
What does tree removal cost in Grass Valley?
Price comes down to five things: how big the tree is, what is underneath it, whether we can get equipment to it, how much wood and brush has to leave the property, and whether the stump is coming out too.
A 30-foot pine in an open field and a 60-foot oak leaning over a roof are completely different jobs. That is why we price on site instead of guessing over the phone - and why the number we write down is the number you pay.
Are you insured and bonded?
Yes, insured and bonded. Ask and we will send the certificate before the crew shows up. If a cutter cannot produce one, that risk lands on you as the homeowner - so ask everyone who bids, not just us.
Can you take down a tree right next to my house or power lines?
That is most of what we do. Instead of dropping the tree whole, a climber goes up on ropes and takes it apart from the top down, rigging each piece to the ground on a line. Nothing swings into the roof, the fence or the service drop.
Do you haul the wood and brush away?
Yes, and it is in the quote, not added later. The chipper and dump trailer come with the crew. Brush gets chipped, the wood gets loaded out and the ground gets raked before we leave. If you want the rounds kept for firewood, say so up front and we will buck and stack them instead.
Do you do emergency and storm work?
Yes. If a tree is down on your house, driveway or fence, or a limb is hanging over something you care about, call 530-441-0122. We are reachable 8am to 6pm seven days a week and urgent hazards go to the front of the schedule.
Do you do landscaping as well as tree work?
Yes - pathways, river rock beds, steel edging, drip irrigation, planting and shrub work. A lot of our landscaping starts as a tree job, because once a big tree is gone the yard around it usually needs rebuilding.
How far out is your schedule?
It moves with the season - spring and pre-fire-season clearing are the busiest stretches, and storm weeks fill up fast. Emergencies get worked in. For everything else, call early rather than late; the customers who get the date they want are the ones who called before they needed it.
Let's take a look at that tree
Call or text 530-441-0122 with your address and what you are dealing with. Israel will come out, price the whole job in writing, and that will be the price.