Stump Grinding

The stump might not bother you, but it does start to affect the appearance of your yard.

Stumps will typically stick around for at least 15 to 20 years, so don’t expect them to naturally disintegrate anytime soon. The stump might send up new shoots, trying to regrow itself. If the tree was cut down due to disease or pest issues, the stump can still spread those issues to other things in your yard. Stumps tend to attract ants, termites, mold, and fungi. Plus, it can be a pain to mow around a stump and the above-ground roots can damage your lawnmower and other equipment.

There are two basic ways to quickly remove a tree stump: dig it out or grind it up.

• Digging out a tree stump involves using an excavator and will cause major damage to a large area around the stump. It cannot be done for stumps that are near structures or hardscaped / paved area, and is generally expensive. However, it can remove all (or nearly all) major tree roots and may be a good option if you'll be removing many stumps at once and landscaping the area afterward.
• Grinding a tree stump uses a stump grinder to turn the stump into wood chips. It usually involves less mess and a much smaller hole than other options, and can be done in nearly any location.

A stump grinder chews away at the stump wood that’s left after a tree has been cut down. All stump grinders use a powerful, rotating blade that rips into the wood as it turns. The blade’s teeth cut the stump wood into small pieces. The operator guides the blade over the entire stump as the blade reduces the wood to chips, and takes the stump down to well below ground level.

That depends. Often, stump grinding is done by a different crew than the one that cut down your tree. In that case, the stump grinding will be done at a later date. We'll call to let you know when the stump grinding is scheduled.

If it's a large job with many trees to remove, we may have the stump grinding crew on site to remove stumps the same day.

Stump grinding will not damage your property if done correctly (which is one of the many reasons why it's best to hire a professional tree service to grind your tree stumps).

We put down mats to protect your lawn/landscape from heavy equipment and use barriers to cover or protect nearby structures. Grinding a stump does leave a hole in the ground, which we can fill with dirt and the wood chips left over from grinding.

Yes to both. It is a very loud machine that is literally grinding up a very hard piece of wood. The woodchips and sawdust that it creates can fly in all directions (which is why we use protective barriers to prevent damage to nearby structures).

As with all tree removal work, stump grinding can be dangerous.

The Lefke team is well-trained in safety and understands the risks involved (for example, the blade can sometimes kick up rocks and debris that could cause an injury). We have skilled operators who can use this powerful equipment safely.

Using dangerous equipment is one of the many reasons that Lefke carries the proper insurance for jobs of this type.

We take every precaution to make sure you're safe, including asking you to stay well away from the action while a stump is being ground.

For one stump, the process can take 15 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the size of the stump, the location, and more.

Stump grinding only removes some of the tree’s roots. We grind the stump about 6 to 8 inches below ground level. However, roots are quite extensive and spread both outward and down from the stump; it’s likely that there will still be many roots underground. This is why you generally can’t replant a tree in the exact spot where a tree used to stand.

Stump grinding results in lots of wood chips - probably far more than you think! However, they can be used as mulch or groundcover, or dumped into the hole to decay.