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Getting rid of a stump means one of two things, and they cost very different amounts. Choosing between them is a question about your plans for the ground rather than about the stump.
Grinding
A wheel set with tungsten teeth cuts the stump away in layers, turning it into chippings in the hole where it stood. Quick, comparatively cheap, barely disturbs the surrounding garden, and works in tight spaces with a narrow-access machine.
It removes the stump and the root flare and leaves the wider root system in the ground to decay over several years. For a lawn, a border or simply getting rid of something in the way, that is completely adequate and it is what the great majority of jobs need.
Excavation
Digging the stump and the main roots out, usually with a machine. Complete, and it leaves clean ground that can be built on or replanted properly.
It is considerably more expensive, very disruptive, needs real access for a digger, and leaves a large hole to be backfilled and compacted. It is the right answer in a narrow set of cases and the wrong one in most.
Which You Need
- Lawn or turf — grinding. Comfortably
- Borders and ordinary planting — grinding
- Getting it out of the way — grinding
- Patio, shed base, driveway, extension — excavation, because anything organic left under a hard surface decays and the surface settles
- Planting a replacement tree in the same spot — excavation, or better, plant a metre or two to one side
- Honey fungus identified — excavation, to get the food source out
The commonest mistake is paying for excavation to lay a lawn. Grinding to 25 centimetres with clean topsoil over it grows grass perfectly well, at a fraction of the cost and without churning the garden.
What Our Stump Removal Service Covers
- Grinding to 15-30cm below ground as standard, deeper on request
- The root flare ground out as well as the visible stump
- Narrow-access machines for standard side gates
- Excavation where the ground has to be genuinely clear
- Several stumps in one visit, which is much better value
- Grindings left, spread as mulch, or removed and replaced with topsoil
- Surface roots chased out where they will be in the way
- Ground left ready for turf, planting or landscaping
What Decides the Price
Diameter at ground level — measured across the top, and across the flare if there is a wide one — and then access. Stump work has a large fixed cost in getting a machine to your address, which is why one stump is poor value and five is good. Walk the garden before you enquire and count everything, including the old ones you have stopped noticing.
Stones, flint, old hardcore and rubble around a stump slow the work and blunt teeth, and buried services set a hard limit on depth.
What Stays Behind
After grinding, the lateral roots remain and decay over five to ten years. Under a lawn or a border that is not a problem and they improve the soil as they go. The species worth knowing about are the suckering ones — poplar, lime, cherry and elm — which can send shoots up from the remaining roots for a year or two.
Stump Grinding Work Across Hertfordshire
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Tree Stump Removal in Your Part of Hertfordshire
We cover the whole county. Each town has its own stump grinding page covering the ground, the plots and the access that shape the work there.
Tree Stump Removal — Common Questions
Grinding or digging out — which do I need?
Grinding for a lawn, a border or getting it out of the way. Excavation only if something is being built there or a tree is being replanted in the same spot.
How deep do you go?
15 to 30cm below ground as standard, deeper where the next use needs it. Tell us what is going there and we will grind to suit.
Can you reach a stump in my back garden?
Usually. A narrow-access machine goes through a standard side gate — measure the narrowest point and send us the number.
Do the roots come out too?
Grinding takes the stump and the root flare. The wider roots stay and decay over several years, which for most purposes is fine.
Is it cheaper to do several at once?
Considerably. Most of the cost is getting the machine to you, so the second and third stumps cost a fraction of the first.
Get a Quote for Tree Stump Removal
Tell us what needs doing across Hertfordshire and we will quote for the work. Call 07388 094829, message us on WhatsApp or use the form below.