Tree Removal
Whole removals and sectional dismantles, from a dead wattle in a courtyard to a blue gum over a roof.
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People use "stump removal" and "stump grinding" interchangeably. They are not the same work and they do not cost the same.
Grinding uses a rotating cutting wheel to chew the stump and the reachable buttress roots into chip, usually to two or three hundred millimetres below grade. It is fast, it makes very little mess beyond a heap of chip, and it leaves the deeper roots in the ground to rot down over the following years.
Full removal digs the stump and the main root plate out, generally with an excavator. It leaves a genuine hole. You do this when something structural is going where the tree was — footings, a slab, a pool shell, a retaining wall, or a service trench.
If you are turfing, grinding is the right answer and paying for excavation is money wasted. If a builder is pouring within a metre of the stump, grinding is not enough and you will be digging it out twice.
What the machine has to get to
Access is the whole question. A narrow-access grinder will go through a gate of roughly 750 to 900 millimetres. Larger self-propelled machines want about 1.2 metres and a reasonably firm surface. Excavation needs vehicle access to the stump itself, which rules out plenty of rear-boundary stumps on terrace and battle-axe blocks.
Stumps in rock present their own problem. On Hawkesbury sandstone the roots run into crevices rather than down, so a grinder hits rock quickly and the remaining root material is locked into the stone. On Wianamatta shale clay the stump goes deeper and the grinder simply takes longer.
Book it with the removal
Most of the cost of a stump job is getting the machine to your street. Booking the grind into the same visit as the tree removal is materially cheaper than calling the crew back a fortnight later, so raise it while the quote is being written.
What to do with the hole
Grinding leaves a mound of chip mixed with soil. It looks like plenty of fill but it settles a long way as it breaks down, so if you are turfing, take most of the chip away and backfill with soil rather than levelling it with the sawdust. Fresh woodchip in the hole also ties up nitrogen as it decomposes, which is why turf laid straight over a ground stump often goes yellow in the first season.
If you are replanting in the same position, dig out the chip properly and bring in clean soil. A new tree planted into a bed of decomposing stump grindings rarely does well.
Regrowth
Some species resprout from the root plate long after the trunk is gone. Camphor laurel, privet, cocos palm suckers and some figs are the usual offenders around Sydney. Grinding removes the crown of the stump, which stops most of it; persistent suckering is dealt with by cutting the shoots as they appear rather than by chasing every root.
Ring (02) 9000 1943 or read the Sydney stump removal page for regional notes. Pricing drivers are covered in the cost guide.
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Tree Loppers
Crown reduction, deadwooding and clearance pruning done to AS 4373 so the tree survives the cut.
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FAQs
Frequently asked questions
How deep does stump grinding actually go?
Typically two to three hundred millimetres below the surrounding ground level, plus the visible buttress roots where the machine can reach them. That is enough for soil and turf, and enough to stop most regrowth. It is not enough for a slab, a pool shell or a retaining wall footing, which need the stump excavated instead.
Can the grinder get into my backyard?
Depends on the gate. Narrow-access grinders fit through roughly 750 to 900mm, larger self-propelled machines need more like 1.2 metres, and stump excavation needs an excavator, which means vehicle access. Measure your narrowest gate and any step or turn before booking, because a machine that cannot reach the stump is a wasted callout.
Do I need to remove the stump at all?
Not always. A stump in a back corner of a lawn will rot down over years and harms nothing. Remove it if it is a trip hazard, if you are building or paving over it, if the species suckers from the root plate — camphor laurel, privet and some figs do — or if you want to replant in the same spot.
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