Grinding a tree stump

[orangetrader]

I wanted to remove a tree in my front yard and the company I contacted gave me a quote. He also said he can grind deep into the ground if I plan to plant another tree. This sounds like a good idea so I said let's do it. He then told me if he were to do this it could cause problems I need to be aware of. I am glad he brought it up and now I am not so sure...he said the grinder is a mean machine and when it grinds it is loud and it shakes like hell. He said it has been know to shake in such a way it knock loose dentures, or cause copper water pipes to crack inside walls or PVC drains to snap open under slabs or sometimes windows to misalign such that it gets "sticky". It sounds like it might not be worth it...or am I worrying too much?

O

[bumtracks]

just have it cut of real close to the ground level then toss some sugar on it every few days. bugs will eventually , pretty quick actually, turn it to mush. Problem might be the little sugar termites may invade your yard so much that they start eating the structure wood. Easy to fix though,,, call Orkin.

[Brian]

Just had 2 very large stumps ground out of my front yard. He did gring under ground level at least 6 inches. They were both roughly 20 feet and I had no problems. I only have copper water lines but I think your worrying abit too much.

[Abe]

------- If the stump is not on top of a water or gas line you won't have any problems. The grinder WILL toss pebbles it encounters with considerable force, though. So you should cover anything damageable within 10 feet to the 'rear' of the grinder with a heavy tarp or plywood.

[Buck Turgidson]

There must be different size grinders because some shouldn't shake dentures loose (I assume he's talking about his own dentures). I've seen some about the size of a lawnmower. You might get more estimates and ask them how big of a grinder they use.

[Harry Everhart]

I am just an just an average schoolteacher that cuts my lawn with a riding mower. I rented a stump grinder to remove about 20 stumps on my property. I cut the trees myself with a small chain saw. The stumpgrinder cost $50 a day - I brought it home attached to my trailer hitch. I started it up - it was easy to control - I personally ground all those stumps. Yes - some chips of wood were found 50 feet away - and I did wear safety glasses - but no damage was done to my teeth or pipes :-) Harry if you are reasonably handy - rent one - do it yourself.

[the Truth Squad]

Why not try it the way my Uncle Richard did on the family apple orchard with I was just a little tyke...dig a hole, toss in a stick or two of Dynamite and watch it fly...Of course that was back in the early 50's

[Eric Tonks]

The town removed a large Manitoba Maple from the street edge and called in a stump grinder to finish the job. He used a huge one, with a 6 cylinder engine. It did not do much in the way of vibration.

If you want real vibration, they just rebuilt the street last year, and compacted the base in layers and for many days ran a large vibrating compacter over the granular material, this beast shook the whole house, made the walls vibrate and light fixtures and dishes in the kitchen rattle. I was surprised the nails didn't fall out of the framing.

[Gideon]

Orangetrader,

A few bits of advice:

1) In your contract, be certain to spell out how deep you want the main stump ground, how far out you want roots chased, and how deep you want the roots to be ground. This avoids disputes after the work is done. I forced one "tree expert" to grind a stump and roots 3 times until it was done correctly. That's one advantage of COD - he doesn't get paid until it's done correctly. (The first time, he went down 2" - just enough to hide the stump after he kicked dirt on top of it)

2) How fussy are you about your lawn? Roots which aren't removed will produce big crops of mushrooms for many years to come. The roots decompose and produce perfect food for mushrooms.

3) As another poster has commented, stones will fly and can break windows, dent siding, damage cars, etc. I'm always amazed that the guys who do this for a living seem to be unaware of this. The grinder should be aimed to toss stones in a safe direction and/or a barrier should be used.

4) The contractor should be responsible for all collateral damage. Ask to see his insurance and don't hire him unless he has a current policy. Phone the insurer to verify that coverage is up-to-date.

5) Get the utility companies to come out and mark all of your underground drops. This should be free. Now there is no excuse for damage to utilities.

6) Get more estimates. The person you are dealing with sounds as if he could be playing CYA.

Good luck, Gideon

[AutoTracer]

I agree with everyone else. Vibration was not a problem when I had it done. Only thing that broke was the stump grinder when he hit a metal spike the previous owner had driven in (unknown to me). It threw a grinder tooth 10 feet and planted itself deeply into a fence (fortunately not a leg). Have him run a metal detector over the stump for safety if you are unsure and don't stick around to watch. Didn't cost me extra but wasted 1.5 man hours of labor I was paying for (they were doing other landscape tasks too)

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle

I think he just give you a verible disclaimer as to something going wrong.

I have seen a bunch of Stumps ground down deep but none have I seen shake enough to break pipes or break anything a lose. If it is pine trees you feel very little. If it is Oak trees you may feel a little vibration but nothing to speak of or fear damage to pipes or house. Now if the pipe is very close to the stump , he could hit the pipe with his machine and break them for they cut as much as

3 feet from the stump's edge when cutting it deep.

I think your worring too much.

TURTLE

[Ashton Crusher]

I suppose anything is possible but when I had my stump ground with one of those machines I don't recall it shaking things up all that violently that I was worried about anything breaking and it was only about 20 feet from my house and my large glass front window.

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

Stick sizing chart for Dynamite charges to use.

Pine

6 to 12 inch stump 1/4 of a stick. 12 to 24 inch stump 1/2 stick. 24 to 36 inch stump 3/4 stick. Larger full stick and get out of the way.

Oak

6 to 12 inch stump 1/2 stick. 12 to 24 inch stump 3/4 a stick. 24 to 36 inch stump full stick. 38 to 50 inch stump 1.5 sticks to 2 sticks. Larger Max. Charge 2 sticks but may need 2 charges one after the other depending on the size.

Uncle was a pine knot blaster years ago for a stump plant.

TURTLE