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Reasons to Grind a Stump

Besides being unattractive, stumps can cause quite a few problems:

  • Damage to lawn mower blades and farming equipment
  • Trip hazard, limit or prevent the use of your lawn for fun activities like sports or gatherings
  • Damage to your or your neighbor’s home or business caused by growing roots, including damage to foundations and underground pipes
  • Odd appearance of stumps still growing shoots.
  • New shoots and trees from the roots of stumps, sometimes many feet away.
  • Prevent construction and landscape projects
  • Facilitate the growth of fungus in your lawn
  • Serve as termite mansions. Termites love rotting wood.

Alternatives

Stump removal

Stump removal is the pulling of a stump out of the ground. It most often involves heavy industrial machinery, which can easily damage your property, and so is not suitable for most home and business applications. Also, this heavy equipment is very expensive to purchase and maintain – costs which get passed to you. This is why people most often choose stump grinding, which is almost always safer and more budget-friendly. Only very small stumps (around 4 inches or less) can be removed with specialized hand tools and some elbow grease.

 

Grind It Yourself

I admire a person with a can-do attitude. I like to solve problems and work on things myself, too. However, consider the problems with the following DIY options:

  • Rent a small grinder: When last I checked on 9/24/2021, one of the leading home improvement stores with an orange logo (which I like) charged $123/day for a 13hp grinder + $20/day for the little trailer to put it on, plus tax. They are NOT self-propelled. Moving a 250 lb grinder up any incline, including the chip mound you make while grinding, is extremely difficult to do, and not possible for many without the help of a strong buddy or two. Got steps leading to your stump? No way. I speak from experience when I say that using a push stump grinder is an exhausting nightmare, unless you have very level ground, sharp grinding teeth (not likely on a rental), just a small stump or two, and plenty of patience. It will take longer and use more energy than you think. Also, you need a face shield as wood chips will be flying.
  • Buy a small grinder: A used 2015 of the model you can rent at the store above was selling for $1,100 on 9/24/2021. That’s very likely to cost more than hiring a professional for the small jobs those machines can be used for, and all the above issues associated with push grinders still apply.
  • Rent a self-propelled grinder: Ah, much better… but much more expensive: $316 to $327 a day for a 25 hp unit with included trailer, out the door. Depending upon the size of your project, that could very well cost more than a professional to come do it for you. Also, many folks would feel uncomfortable learning to handle such dangerous and heavy-duty equipment. These machines are no joke. Here’s an article about a young woman pinned under a grinder.
 
Dig it out
Unless it’s a tiny stump and you use specialized tools, this is a hugely labor-intensive job that scales with the size of the stump.  Whether you’re using mattocks, shovels, jacks, your truck and/or chains, this is an exhausting process that takes a lot of time. Roots can be extensive and go down deep, and the stumps can easily be hundreds of pounds. Also, you may strike utility lines like electrical and sewer. It’s a common occurrence for people to give up partway and call a professional grinder to finish the job. Save yourself the big hassle and give us a call.
 

Stump Poisoning

It takes months to years to poison, kill, and fully decay a stump, and during the process your stump gets progressively uglier. Stump poison may pose a health risk to kids, pets, and other plants. The main ingredient in many herbicides has a somewhat sweet smell, which attracts pets and bugs.

 

Repurpose the Stump

Why not just turn it into a chair or a pedestal for a flowerpot?  While this can be cute, it almost never looks as beautiful as a well-designed garden. Oftentimes a stump chair looks awkward where it is, as in a flower bed or in the middle of a lawn or next to bushes. And of course, you can’t move it around.

 

Leave it there

Now, is that really why you’re here? See REASONS TO GRIND A STUMP above and the home page’s LET’S MAKE YOUR PROPERTY MORE BEAUTIFUL! section. I’ve never heard a person say, “I’m glad I left that stump there”, but I’ve heard many say they were so glad the stump is gone!

Areas Served

Upstate South Carolina, Greenville County, Spartanburg County, Anderson County, Laurens County, Union County, Pickens County, Greenville, Simpsonville, Mauldin, Spartanburg, Anderson, Allendale, Arcadia, Arial, Belton, Berea, Boiling Springs, Brookhaven, Cashville, Centerville, Central, Central, Chick Springs, Clemson, Clinton, Conestee, Cross Keys, Drayton, Duncan, Dunean, Easley, Enoree, Five Forks, Fountain Inn, Gantt, Glenn Springs, Golden Grove, Greer, Hickory Tavern, Homeland Park, Honea Path, Laurens, Liberty, Lyman, Macedonia, McKelvey Crossroads, Moore, Mt. Zion, Norris, Northlake, Ora, Overbrook, Parker, Pauline, Pelzer, Pendleton, Pickens, Piedmont, Powdersville, Princeton, Reideville, Roebuck, Rosewood, Sans Souci, Six Mile, Starr, Taylors, Traveler’s Rest, Valley Falls, Wade Hampton, Ware Place, Welcome, Wellford, Whispering Pines, White Horse, White Plains, Williamston, Woodberry, Woodruff, Woodville, Youngs, and more.