Stump Grinding in Mountain Home, AR

How does stump grinding work?

A stump grinder is a machine with a spinning steel wheel lined with carbide teeth. It chews the stump into chips, back and forth, until it's 6 to 10 inches below grade. The big surface roots near it get ground out too. You end up with a pile of chips and a shallow hole full of chipped wood.

We can rake the chips out and fill the hole with topsoil, or leave them as mulch. Most people want them gone where they plan to seed grass.

Why not just leave the stump?

Oak and hickory stumps take many years to rot in place. In the meantime they attract carpenter ants and termites, and some grow fungus that spreads along the roots. Sweetgum and some other trees keep sending up sprouts from the roots for years. A stump next to the house is an open invitation to bugs.

What sets the price?

• Stump width at ground level. This is the main factor.
• How many stumps. Several in one visit costs less per stump.
• Access. Our smaller machine fits through a 36-inch gate.
• Rock in the root zone, which slows the work.
• Whether you want chips hauled and the hole backfilled.

Grinding or full stump removal?

Grinding is the right choice almost every time. Pulling a whole stump and root ball out with an excavator leaves a big crater and tears up the yard. The only time we suggest full removal is when something is being built right on top of the spot, like a foundation or a driveway. In that case our land clearing work covers it.

What to expect on grinding day

Before the grinder comes off the trailer, we look for anything buried near the stump. Arkansas One Call (811) marks public utility lines, but private lines such as a sprinkler run, a buried propane line to the house, or wiring to a yard light or shop aren't always marked. If you know where any of those are, show us. We also check for rocks around the base, because the chert and limestone in local soil can be wrapped right into the root flare.

The grinder works back and forth across the stump, chewing it down a few inches at a time until it's below the surface. Surface roots running toward the lawn get followed and ground out as far as the job calls for. When we're done, the hole is filled with the grindings and raked level, or the chips are hauled off and the spot is left ready for topsoil, whichever you'd prefer.

What to do with the spot afterward

Fresh grindings are mostly wood, and wood breaks down over time, so the spot will settle a bit over the first year. If you want to plant grass right away, rake out most of the chips, add a few inches of topsoil, and seed or sod. If you're planting a new tree, pick a spot a few feet away from the old stump so the new roots aren't fighting through decaying wood. Leftover chips make good mulch for flower beds and around other trees, as long as you keep them from piling against the trunks.

One stump or a whole yard of them

We grind single stumps left from a removal years ago, and we grind whole groups of them after a land clearing job or a storm. Grouping several stumps into one visit usually costs less per stump than having them done one at a time.