Trusted Tree Removal Company in Northern VA

In Fairfax County and nearby, the big problems are ash, beech, stressed oaks, tall tulip poplars and Bradford pears. Here’s what goes wrong.

• Ash: Emerald ash borer is already in Fairfax County. Without treatment, infested ash typically dies within 3 years, and it can fail suddenly because the wood turns brittle.
• American beech: It’s one of the county’s most common trees. Beech leaf disease was confirmed here in 2022, and the county calls it nearly 100% fatal. Watch for dark bands between the leaf veins.
• Oaks: In Virginia, bacterial leaf scorch shows up most often on oaks, elms and sycamores, and there’s no cure. Oak decline can also kill an oak slowly over years.
• Tulip poplar: They grow about 90 feet tall, too big for the average home landscape, says Virginia Cooperative Extension. Their branches are moderately weak and can break in ice storms and strong winds.
• Bradford pear: Their branches attach at weak angles, so older trees split apart. Virginia Cooperative Extension says big ones “would essentially self-destruct.”
• Storms: On Sept. 3-4, 2026, winds hit 69 mph around Tysons, and trees fell in McLean, Annandale and Herndon.

Some trees can be saved. We’ll tell you honestly if plant health care makes sense or if removal is the safer call.

In most of Fairfax County, one tree on your own lot needs no permit. Stream buffers, big clearing jobs, some city and town rules, and HOAs can change that, so we help you check before we cut.

• Fairfax County: No permit for single trees on your own lot, with four exceptions:
  • Near a stream: Land along streams and wetlands, often within 100 feet, may be a Resource Protection Area (RPA). Removing trees there needs a county waiver. For dead, dying or diseased trees, the county charges no fee, review takes about 5 business days, and you may need a letter from a Certified Arborist.
  • Clearing over 2,500 square feet needs a county permit.
  • Conservation easements: if your lot has one, tree work there needs a county waiver.
  • Your HOA may have its own rules.
• City of Fairfax: You need a permit for trees over 5 inches thick (measured 4.5 feet up) in stream buffers, on home lots over half an acre, and in all other zones, including townhouse and planned developments. Dead trees count. A tree that’s an immediate threat can come down first, then you apply.
• City of Falls Church: Single-family lots generally aren’t regulated, except on development sites, in stream buffers and for City-listed specimen trees. Commercial and multifamily removals need a permit and a replacement tree.
• Town of Vienna: Tree rules apply when building or adding on disturbs 2,500 square feet or more. Trees on Town land or in the Town right-of-way can’t be removed without the Town’s permission.
• Power lines: Virginia law keeps workers 10 feet from high-voltage lines until they’re made safe. If Dominion is your power company, it will disconnect your service line for free so a tree can come down.

We can guide you on local rules before work begins, and our ISA Certified Arborists can provide the arborist report a permit or waiver may need. Our arborists can write the arborist letters some rules require, like an RPA waiver letter. Most tree contractors don’t have arborists on staff. We have a strong team of them. Read more: Do you need a permit for tree removal in Fairfax County?

You get a free estimate with honest, upfront pricing, a safe removal by a trained crew, and a clean yard when we leave. Every job is backed by our exclusive satisfaction guarantee.

• Free estimate: Our ISA Certified Arborists look at your trees, explain your options and give you a clear price.
• Detailed written quote: Every quote is a clear, detailed written price before work starts. Our customers often mention how detailed our proposals are.
• Safety first: ANSI Z133 safety and ANSI A300 tree care standards on every job.
• Property protected: We plan every cut to protect your house, roof and yard. We plan the work route around septic drainfields. Tell us about anything buried or hidden (septic, sprinklers, an old cistern or well) before we visit, since we can’t see underground.
• Power lines: We coordinate with Dominion or NOVEC when it’s needed. We check whether a tree is within the utility’s minimum approach distance, and depending on your project we can sometimes arrange for Dominion to remove part or all of a tree near its lines at no cost to you.
• Full cleanup and hauling: We pick up every branch and leave a clean yard. Tree removal includes hauling all the wood away, unless your proposal says otherwise.
• Stump grinding (optional): Most stumps are ground 6-12 inches below grade. When we can fit it in, we can usually grind the stump the same day. Keep the chips, or we haul them away. See stump grinding.
• Free wood chips or logs: Request them here.
• 24/7 emergencies: We often answer within minutes, and a crew is usually on the way within 15 minutes, faster than anyone else. See emergency tree removal.
• Financing: Apply in minutes.

We run a fleet of heavy equipment and cranes that can tackle any job. For big trees in tight spots, we take the tree down in small, controlled pieces with ropes and rigging, and we bring in a crane when the job calls for it.

• Cranes lift heavy pieces up and away from your house.
• Bucket trucks reach high limbs. When a dead tree is too weak to climb, we bring in a lift or crane.
• Ropes and rigging lower limbs piece by piece in tight backyards.
• Grapple, Kubota and Bobcat loaders move heavy logs.
• Chippers, chip trucks, stump grinders, dumpsters and 24/7 emergency trucks finish the job.

See our crews and gear at work in the gallery.

“Grant Brothers’ team came out on time, worked hard all day long, and took down a very large, very dangerous tree in a yard filled with fragile landscaping. … Very pleased with their service and the value I received for the money I paid.”

Thomas K., Google review