Tree Service Guide
Stump grinding vs stump removal
No, they are different jobs. Grinding takes the stump down below the grass and leaves the roots. Removal digs the whole thing out. What the spot is for decides which one you need.
Spinells stump grinder next to a large stump in a front yard
What stump grinding is
A grinder comes up to the stump and chews it into chips, down below the level of the lawn. The roots stay in the ground and rot over the years. The chips get raked out, topsoil goes in, and seed goes on top if you want grass there. In a few weeks you cannot tell a tree was there.
This is most of the stump work we do, and it is the last step of most tree removals.
What stump removal is
Removal means digging the stump and the main roots out of the ground, usually with an excavator. It leaves a much bigger hole, tears up more of the yard, and takes longer. It is the right call when something is going in that spot that cannot sit on roots: a foundation, a pool, a paved driveway, or a new tree planted exactly there.
Which one do you need?
For a lawn, a garden bed, or a spot you just want flat and green, grinding does it. For a build or a pavement, say what the spot is for. We grind deeper when you plan to build or pave, and on land clearing jobs the stumps come out so the ground can be worked and the mini-excavator can do the site prep.
Jesse checks the spot on the estimate, including stumps close to a fence or foundation, and tells you what is possible. We do one stump or a dozen, with a removal or on its own, and the crew rakes the spot out and hauls the extra chips away.
Get a Free Estimate
Jesse comes out, looks at the job, and gives you a price on the spot.
Questions
No. The roots stay and rot on their own over several years. Most trees do not send up new growth once the stump is ground. A few kinds send up shoots for a while; mow them and they give up.
Grass can go on right away over topsoil. A new tree in the same spot does better a bit to one side, or with the old roots dug out, because the ground under the old stump is full of chips and roots.
Yes, on paths and beds, once they have aged. Fresh chips pull nitrogen from the soil as they break down, so keep them off new grass. That is why the hole gets topsoil, not chips, under new seed.
More from Spinells
Tree Removal
Dead, leaning, hazardous, or unwanted trees, taken down and hauled away. Same crew, same cleanup, every job.
Stump Grinding
We handle the stump grinding for you after a tree removal. Leave the stump as is, or have it ground out below grade with topsoil and new grass over the top.
Land Clearing
Lots and overgrown land cleared for yards, driveways, and building sites. Trees, brush, and stumps come out. The ground is left ready for the next step.
Tree service by town
Wallingford, Meriden, Cheshire, North Haven, Hamden, Durham, Middlefield, Southington, Middletown, Berlin.