What does stump removal and grinding cost?

Tree stumps present some serious problems for the landscaper and gardener. In fact, the word 'stumped' has crept into the English language to mean the feeling of being baffled by a difficult problem — that's how annoying stumps can be!

But at Trav's Trees, we work tirelessly to solve even the trickiest tree troubles for our customers. We have removed countless stumps in our time by grinding them down.

Competency, though, is only half of the equation when selecting an arborist. The other important factor is cost. How much does it cost to remove a stump? Read on to find out more and get a better idea about stump removal and grinding processes and pricing.

Please note rather than "remove" a stump, at Trav's Trees we technically "grind" a stump down, as the process can be very complex to remove a stump completey, depending on some of the factors below. Read on for more information.

From filling out complicated council paperwork to getting our hands dirty in your yard, our team at Trav's Trees can do it all. Read on to find out more about the stump removal services we have on offer.

Stump grinding process:

Stump grinding is an important process for people who have recently had trees removed. In the short term, the cheapest option is to just leave the stump in your yard, but this can cause problems and more costs down the line. Leftover stumps can:

• Take up valuable planting space
• Present tripping hazards in the backyard
• Attract termites that can move into the home

Some trees actually grow back from a stump that has been cut down low. To ensure that this does not occur, we can grind out all of the stump. All of these issues can create difficulties and added costs in the future, so it pays to have your stumps removed sooner rather than later.

Is it expensive to remove a stump?

Of all the tasks required of an arborist, stump removal through grinding is among the most challenging. The difficulties of getting a stump cleanly out of the ground are well known, as immortalised in the classic novel Shane and the 1953 adaptation that won six Academy Awards.

Even with the trickiness of the task, we pride ourselves on providing stump removal as cheaply as possible (while still doing the job in a safe and efficient way). Additionally, we're OH&S compliant and fully insured with public liability, so you're protected from costs blowing out while we're removing your stump.

Our stump grinding is competitively priced, and we also offer other options to make getting rid of a stump even more cost-effective. For example, stump grinding tends to be a cheaper and more straightforward way to achieve a similar goal. Talk to our team, and we can show you the best and most efficient ways to remove your stump.

Access issues

To effectively grind a stump, we need to be able to fit our stump grinder down the side of the house, or through a gate. The minimum width is 750mm up to 1000mm.

Under some circumstances, it's just not cost-effective to remove a stump. On a sloping block, for example, removing the stump might impact ground stability, and compromise the structural integrity of neighbouring plants and buildings. If the stump is close to underground services (like gas, electricity, or water), or close to a raised garden bed, we may not be able to remove it.

Always discuss your job requirements and our professional arborists will assist in helping you make the right decision.

Removal versus grinding

It is often cheaper to grind a stump down than have it removed completely. Stump removal can be a complicated process. It might require a particularly large amount of force to remove the stump, or leave a large hole in a yard that needs to be filled in, or even cause damage to the surroundings, like pavement and other plants. When the roots are deep and long-established, removing them can even damage adjacent buildings.

Stump grinding, on the other hand, is a much more straightforward affair. With stump grinding the tree is felled and the stump is ground down to around 30 cm below the surface. Roots remain underneath that point, but depending on your needs, this may not have any impact on how you're using your yard. Additionally, this is a cheaper, safer, and more efficient way to get rid of visible tree stumps.

How much does it cost to grind a stump?

Over the last few years at Trav's Trees, the average cost to grind a stump has been between $200 and $300.

There are a number of different factors that impact the cost of stump grinding. For example, when drawing up a quote, we look at things like:

• The size of the tree stump
• The age of the stump
• The species of the tree
• Access required
• How much of the stump is left
• If there are a lot of surface roots