Removing stumps

[Grey]

Anyone have a good experience getting a stump to rot using chemicals?

[GuanoLoco]

I think you'd be better off with a ton of charcoal briquettes and a weekend+ worth of patience. Youtube.

[Luke]

I've tried the charcoal, even made a cage and used a leaf blower set up to keep it hot. It sucked bad


I haven't tried it but I've read a lot on the subject and it seems there is two surefire ways to get them, stump grinder or dig around them and pull them up with equipment

[Grey]

I got 3 smaller ones I'll probably dig out

I got two big ones that digging probably isn't going to work. Massive stumps. Hence the chemical question.

[Malamute]

I got 3 smaller ones I'll probably dig out

I got two big ones that digging probably isn't going to work. Massive stumps. Hence the chemical question.

Ive removed several smaller ones by just cutting them down in pieces below grade then burying the leftovers. Cutting up large stumps piecemeal may help them be more manageable.

Burning them may result in fires popping up elsewhere. May not be a problem in damp areas, but in dry ones it could.

[Grey]

Ive removed several smaller ones by just cutting them down in pieces below grade then burying the leftovers. Cutting up large stumps piecemeal may help them be more manageable.

Burning them may result in fires popping up elsewhere. May not be a problem in damp areas, but in dry ones it could.
Nice, I don't plan on putting trees back where I took these out but I want the yard space back for a raised bed garden so that might be the trick to do. Thinking a Sawzall for the cutting, make sense? Or do I need to go buy a chain saw?

[GuanoLoco]

Nice, I don't plan on putting trees back where I took these out but I want the yard space back for a raised bed garden so that might be the trick to do. Thinking a Sawzall for the cutting, make sense? Or do I need to go buy a chain saw?

Once the chainsaw blade touches dirt it will instantly dull. Not good for stump work.

[txdpd]

Google stump removal service.
Find someone that's bonded and insured, and can provide documentation and references.
Pay him to remove stump.

I paid $200.00 (150.00 stump grinding, 30.00 to shovel up wood chips, and 20.00 tip) to have a 3 foot diameter ash stump ground down. Guy brought out bobcat with a grinder attached to it on a trailer, and was done in an hour. The job was done right the first time, my house didn't burn down, I didn't get hurt, I didn't have to play with chemicals, I didn't have to deal with shitty rental equipment, etc, etc. This is one of those jobs where paying someone that knows what they are doing and has the right tools, will cost a lot less than DIY.

Edited: I did this in January, when the landscaping business is more competitive on rates.

[hufnagel]

while I agree with txdpd in general, I went the rental route for my one stump as the price to remove it was astronomical, in my opinion ($600.) Took me 2 hours with the rental unit from home depot (http://www6.homedepot.com/tool-truck-rental/Stump_Grinder/SG1314B/) and was worth it. The stump in question was from a tree I'd taken down about 10 years prior, and no amount of chemicals or fire during the time in between was doing a damn thing to it.

[Peally]

15320

[Malamute]

Nice, I don't plan on putting trees back where I took these out but I want the yard space back for a raised bed garden so that might be the trick to do. Thinking a Sawzall for the cutting, make sense? Or do I need to go buy a chain saw?

Sawzall will do roots and smaller stuff, but it may take a chain saw to get some of the large parts cut up. I agree that once the saw chain hits dirt its hard on them, but it partly depends on your dirt. I dig around the parts I'm going to cut to make room to see what I'm doing and not kill the tool. If a one job tool renting a chain saw, or buying a cheap-ish electric chain saw may do all you need to do.

Ive cut straight down into them to make getting pieces out, think sort of like a tic-tac-toe board layout. Cutting the smaller sections out at an angle can get it whittled down to a manageable size without monster tools or large chain saw.

A straight claw hammer may be a good digging tool for that, getting around roots enough to make room to cut. Hammers make good digging tools in many instances.

Just looked on youtube, this is the idea I was trying to express,


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUdGRMqOc0Y

[orionz06]

If it's larger than a foot or so in diameter paying someone is the way to roll. Get some estimates but also look into Thumbtack.com, it's been useful to find the folks doing side gigs and after hours work for cash. Most are insured and all that as well.


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[texasaggie2005]

Or, you can do what my Dad did. Wait until my brother and I got in trouble (which was often) and assign us a stump (there were a lot) to remove.

"If you aren't at church or school, you're working on the stump."

Tools: Shovel, trenching shovel, axe and machete.
1) We'd dig a trench 3' wide around the stump base, chopping all the roots, and go about 3-4' down.
2) Then we'd chop it down, just like you would a tree, at least 3' under ground level.
3) Then use a block & tackle to drag it out of the hole, to be be chopped up into smaller pieces for the burn pit.
4) Wheelbarrow in dirt from the back of the property to fill the hole, occasionally watering and tamping to prevent settling later on.

I hate stumps.

[Malamute]

^^^ Sort of like that. I just got them a few inches below grade for a yard in town and called it good. Enough to put dirt back over it and grow grass, and not have any problem with a mower.

[Arbninftry]

Tannerite is always fun.

[Grey]

^^^ Sort of like that. I just got them a few inches below grade for a yard in town and called it good. Enough to put dirt back over it and grow grass, and not have any problem with a mower.
That's the plan here, just need them low enough to build a garden bed over top.

[NEPAKevin]

Don't know if its still a thing, but some people used to have their stumps carved into chainsaw sculptures.

http://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Chainsaw-carving-giving-tree-stumps-immortality-581f40203c6e0__880.jpg

[Drang]

In the Pacific Northwest there seems to be a law that you must have at least one chainsaw carving...

[FNFAN]

Perchlorate and German dark airfloat aluminum. Oh, and a looong fuse.:rolleyes:

[Grey]

If I wasn't in the suburbs I would blow it up.

[hufnagel]

Don't know if its still a thing, but some people used to have their stumps carved into chainsaw sculptures.

http://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Chainsaw-carving-giving-tree-stumps-immortality-581f40203c6e0__880.jpg

I so wanted to have that done with the one tree we had to take down.

[Coyotesfan97]

I rented a stump grinder from Home Depot for a couple Palo Verde tree stumps. They're a pain because the main part of the stump is close to the ground and they have multiple trunks rising from it. I had trimmed them all down with a chainsaw and dug a trench around them before I rented it. It took two hours including the drive to and from the store. They were 12-18" across.

[Cookie Monster]

Burning out stumps is a days to weeks long process, really smokes. Root wood is wet and just tough. Large root wads are hard to burn/fully consume when they are above ground.

Large ones rent a grinder or an excavator unless you want yard PT for a few weeks.

[LittleLebowski]

Renting a stump grinder is the answer.

[mmc45414]

I have rented a grinder several times, but if you only have one you might be better off from a price standpoint to get somebody to do it. You pay the same rental if you use it for one or twenty stumps, but the tree service guys want to charge per stump. OTOH, if a guy already owns the grinder it can just be $100-$200 he otherwise wouldn't have.

[txdpd]

If you're going to rent a stump grinder, you should also call your local utility company and get an underground line survey, it's usually free. If you didn't have a survey, hit a line and start spooling it on your grinder, you're eating that one or your homeowner's policy is going to. If you had the survey, mismarked or missed lines are on the surveyor. If the lines interfere with your dig, the line's owner will sometimes pick up the tab to have their people do the work.

All the more reason to call someone that knows what they are doing and has their own insurance.

[hufnagel]

dial 811, or http://call811.com/

definitely a good idea to have it done before you grind.

We had a "scare" a couple years back, while doing back yard work after Sandy decided to remodel. Every utility was marked, and the back hoe was going to town, when it grabbed an unmarked pipe and started ripping it out of the yard, completely away from all the other utilities. 3 days later after careful excavation and analysis we determined it was an old feeder pipe that most likely had either water or ancient electric run through it, as it went from my neighbor's house (original farm house for the area) right up to where my house was. My house sits on the plot where the barn for the farm was.

[Grey]

Good tips everyone. I had the area already checked for utilities. I'm going to try digging out a small one this weekend to see if that clears up the space I want to use immediately and then slow roll the rest of it.

[Jim Watson]

I had a wide depression in the yard, it gradually got deeper.
When I mentioned it to the long time resident neighbor, he said that it had been the site of the largest hackberry tree in the state.
I figure it had been cut flush with the lawn and slowly rotted.

[donaldlove]

As for stump removal, it seems like most of you have gone the grinder route, which can be a solid choice for getting rid of those pesky stumps efficiently. I've heard it can be quite a workout, but it gets the job done.

Burning stumps, on the other hand, sounds like quite the process. I can imagine the smoky drama that comes with it! It's probably not the best option if you're looking for a quick solution.

By the way, if anyone's looking for professional help with stump removal, a tree service company could be a great resource to consider. They've got the tools and expertise to make the whole process smoother.