Shrub stump grinding/removal ?

[Jack Fate]

Last year my wife cut down a few old shrubs in the garden.

All very well but of course the remaining roots/stumps still occupy the ground that we would like to put back to active use.

Last summer I applied proprietary stump killer but of course this only stops it growing and does not degrade the stump.

With the largest stump I have now excavated around it and cut roots underneath where I can ( with a small angle grinder ) however it is still solid.

I think I need to hire a stump grinder ? perhaps not the most heavy duty as its a shrub and not a tree.?

Any ideas on types & availability ? OT any other ideas on removal / destruction.

link to Photos of excavated stump for your assistance. you may need to cut & paste this into your browser.

[e-mail]/album?.dir=/36ffre2&.src=ph

Ignore the "chimney make good" album as this is a job now completed.

Many thanks for any ideas.

Richard

[The Natural Philosopher]

[e-mail]/album?.dir=/36ffre2&.src=ph

If you have access/space, hiring a digger or mini digger may be easier/cheaper.

Just dig under and lever it up.

[visionset]

Get in time machine, go back to last year, apply block and tackle to shrub and something solid, crank it up, job done ;-)

[Mike Barnes]

A winch.

[spamlet]

It is surprising how much you can do with simple things you may have around the house to do this. I removed a whole shrubbery of stumps by looping a padlock and chain under them and applying various methods of leverage. In most cases, a fence post through the chain loop, with one end balanced on bricks - a series of thicker ones as you lever out higher - then through the loop and heave on the other end, was sufficient to get the stumps out. More stubborn ones can be assisted with a car jack under one end of the fence post: this is a really easy way: you just wind the stump out of the ground (Though in this case the jack goes under the SHORT end of the post while you brace the long end.). Where the jack and chain won't fit, a doubled or even quadrupled up length of rope, looped round a tree or anything else solid enough, makes a good tourniquet (I use tourniquets on all sorts of odd jobs.)

Only things I am left with are *!*!*!* mahonia roots, and Japanese anemone and Green Alkanet roots - these all go right down into solid chalk, break off when you pull them, and are completely impervious to weedkillers, no matter how much one spends on them!

S

[e-mail]/album?.dir=/36ffre2&.src=ph

[Tim Downie]

Stump grinder seems a bit OTT for that size of stump. Pickaxes don't cost much and can apply some some serious leverage. You'll need to do a bit more digging and loosening but I wouldn't have thought that it would be *that* hard.

If you don't mind mess, I have heard of a pressure washer being used to loosen roots. It will be *very* messy though.

Tim

[shaun]

If it wasn't so close to that wall and you had access i'd say get a decent strap/chain round it and use a 4x4 to drag it out. I have a feeling that you'd take the wall with it tho....

Is there an established tree nearby? If so, protect the trunk and get a block and tackle on it.

[Roger]

The message from "Tim Downie" contains these words:

I have taken out considerably bigger stumps than that with a mattock which is a better tool for the job than a pickaxe. One problem in this case is the house wall behind which will limit the amount of effort a sensible user would put into his swing. Undermining the possibly shallow foundations of said wall attempting to grub out the root could also be a problem.

[Steve Walker]

I found a long-bladed electric sabre-saw to be very effective in removing similar stumps. Just plunge the blade into the soil and work your way round the stump, angling underneath it slightly. Periodically whack it with a sledgehammer, or lever it with a crowbar, and you'll easily get a feel for where there are roots remaining.