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anyone ever done stump grinding or had a stump grinded for them?

purbeast0

purbeast0

No Lifer
i just had someone come and give me an estimate for some stump grinding. i have 1 pretty large one in the front yard that is 3ft in diameter, and it is kind of sticking up on like a mound probably due to the roots under it, as well as a bunch of big roots that span from it too. then i have about 4 or 5 tiny ones in the backyard, probably like 6-8 inches in diameter that will be much less of a hassle to grind.

the guy quoted me $500. i'm a noob to this so don't know if that is good or average or what. he also isn't going to haul it away and said he would bag it up for me though if i gave him the brown bags. he said it would probably fill like 30-40 of them.

he also said if i help out and it takes like 3 hours or so, that he will drop $50 off the price if i help bag them up with him.

so my question is - is this a pretty average price? would it be worth it to just rent a stump grinder and do this myself since they aren't going to haul all the shit away anyways? just curious what others think who have experience with this.
 
Figure $3 to $4 per inch of diameter. A 3 foot tree would be $110-$150 and 5 at 8" would be another $120-$160. $500 sounds high, get another estimate or two.
 
purbeast0 said:
i just had someone come and give me an estimate for some stump grinding. i have 1 pretty large one in the front yard that is 3ft in diameter, and it is kind of sticking up on like a mound probably due to the roots under it, as well as a bunch of big roots that span from it too. then i have about 4 or 5 tiny ones in the backyard, probably like 6-8 inches in diameter that will be much less of a hassle to grind.

the guy quoted me $500. i'm a noob to this so don't know if that is good or average or what. he also isn't going to haul it away and said he would bag it up for me though if i gave him the brown bags. he said it would probably fill like 30-40 of them.

he also said if i help out and it takes like 3 hours or so, that he will drop $50 off the price if i help bag them up with him.

so my question is - is this a pretty average price? would it be worth it to just rent a stump grinder and do this myself since they aren't going to haul all the shit away anyways? just curious what others think who have experience with this.
Click to expand...
Hmm... I would say it was an OK price if he hauled the stuff away, but since he didn't, not so much.
 
That price sounds reasonable to me based on several I've had ground out. You're going to want to remove the chips. The guy that did mine put them back in the hole he made. Baaaad move. They rot and settle and mushrooms grow like crazy from them.

When he's done, you're going to need some dirt and topsoil brought in assuming you want to grow grass in those areas. You're going to be flabbergasted at how big the holes are he leaves behind.
 
OP, your estimate price sounds reasonable. keep in mind tho tree workers are looking for work. ( I have family members that do this) tell him $400 and he can start grinding.
 
Depends on the area. I have two stumps that are probably much bigger than yours. Been waiting for a guy I know to do it; he was going to charge me $100 for both. I told him I'd give him $100 each. Another guy, who already had the equipment at my neighbor's house (so I figured he might give me a good rate, since there was no extra travel, etc., just do the job as a quick incidental job) gave no discount at all; wanted $200 each.

For $500, you could rent a small backhoe and go to town on digging them out. http://www.bigrentz.com/equipment-rentals/backhoes/?gclid=CLGz2Yzfgb4CFcMDOgodQiUAng Or, you could rent the stump grinding equipment yourself; though it takes a little more skill than people might suspect.
 
the issue with digging them is disposal. It is difficult to find any place that will take a big stump.
As far as the grindings, they are a pretty good mulch in beds for weed block. Wheelbarrow them to beds under the perennials, etc.
 
skyking said:
the issue with digging them is disposal. It is difficult to find any place that will take a big stump.
As far as the grindings, they are a pretty good mulch in beds for weed block. Wheelbarrow them to beds under the perennials, etc.
Click to expand...
Great point. I was thinking in terms in my sort of area, rather than urban/suburbia. OP, if you do dig the stump, you can drop it off in my front yard; I'll take care of it for you.
🙂
 
3 foot stump? He's not going to be digging that one up most likely (unless he rents that backhoe)...
 
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I was going to rent a grinder with a co-worker. We could never manage to get on the same schedule (the rental place was near me, and he owned a truck with a hitch). One day while running I came across a group of workers removing trees from a neighborhood house (maybe 3 blocks away). I spoke with a guy there and he said he'd call the boss for me. I told him: No, no boss just me and you guys. For $125 it was done (over 3' diameter, about 10" tall). My mistake was not going over the cleanup during negotiations. Now, I take a bag of wood chips to the curb every week or two (when I remember). It would have easily cost me 3 times that (likely 4x) because of Irene and then Sandy knocked over or killed so many trees in my area. Nobody is giving breaks.

When the State workers came around looking for Asian Long Horned Beetles in my neighborhood, I asked the lady how to fake a nest. She realized that I was kidding, but that would have been free tree removal. They weren't playing games with those beetles, they cut down the tree, chipped the tree, and then burned the chips. Absolutely immaculate clean up. Man, that must have cost a pretty penny...
 
deadken said:
I was going to rent a grinder with a co-worker. We could never manage to get on the same schedule (the rental place was near me, and he owned a truck with a hitch). One day while running I came across a group of workers removing trees from a neighborhood house (maybe 3 blocks away). I spoke with a guy there and he said he'd call the boss for me. I told him: No, no boss just me and you guys. For $125 it was done (over 3' diameter, about 10" tall). My mistake was not going over the cleanup during negotiations. Now, I take a bag of wood chips to the curb every week or two (when I remember). It would have easily cost me 3 times that (likely 4x) because of Irene and then Sandy knocked over or killed so many trees in my area. Nobody is giving breaks.

When the State workers came around looking for Asian Long Horned Beetles in my neighborhood, I asked the lady how to fake a nest. She realized that I was kidding, but that would have been free tree removal. They weren't playing games with those beetles, they cut down the tree, chipped the tree, and then burned the chips. Absolutely immaculate clean up. Man, that must have cost a pretty penny...
Click to expand...

yeah they have them for rent for $165/day around here, so that is why i'm wondering if it is just worth it to rent it for a day and do it myself, since they aren't hauling the shit away anyways. but, then i wonder how much skill is involved in it if you have the tool as well.

it's the kind here on this page, not the bigger one but the 2nd smaller one is the one for $165

http://www.rentalsunlimited.com/catalog/lawn_garden/commgrndcare.html
 
purbeast0 said:
yeah they have them for rent for $165/day around here, so that is why i'm wondering if it is just worth it to rent it for a day and do it myself, since they aren't hauling the shit away anyways. but, then i wonder how much skill is involved in it if you have the tool as well.

it's the kind here on this page, not the bigger one but the 2nd smaller one is the one for $165

http://www.rentalsunlimited.com/catalog/lawn_garden/commgrndcare.html
Click to expand...

I haven't done it personally, but I don't think it requires a lot of skill. I've known one or two people that have done it and neither of them had any kind of expertise in operating a grinder or tree removal. I'd just look up a tutorial online RQ and see if it's something you can handle; my impression was that there isn't a whole lot to it, just target a stump and let the machine do the work.

I've done it with an axe. My recommendation is to use a machine if you can, it's a real mother fucker to do with an axe.
 
skyking said:
the issue with digging them is disposal. It is difficult to find any place that will take a big stump.
As far as the grindings, they are a pretty good mulch in beds for weed block. Wheelbarrow them to beds under the perennials, etc.
Click to expand...
My understanding is that commercially available wood chip mulch is treated to make it an inhospitable place for insects. Something to consider.
 
purbeast0 said:
i just had someone come and give me an estimate for some stump grinding. i have 1 pretty large one in the front yard that is 3ft in diameter, and it is kind of sticking up on like a mound probably due to the roots under it, as well as a bunch of big roots that span from it too. then i have about 4 or 5 tiny ones in the backyard, probably like 6-8 inches in diameter that will be much less of a hassle to grind.

the guy quoted me $500. i'm a noob to this so don't know if that is good or average or what. he also isn't going to haul it away and said he would bag it up for me though if i gave him the brown bags. he said it would probably fill like 30-40 of them.

he also said if i help out and it takes like 3 hours or so, that he will drop $50 off the price if i help bag them up with him.

so my question is - is this a pretty average price? would it be worth it to just rent a stump grinder and do this myself since they aren't going to haul all the shit away anyways? just curious what others think who have experience with this.
Click to expand...

My brother in law stump grinds for a living. Cost depends on location and stump size. Your quote doesn't seem unreasonable, particularly if he bags the remains. You are paying for the machine (e.g. 165/day), contractors gas, 3-4 hours of contractor's labor and the convenience of not having to do it yourself.

He would probably have to pay for disposal of the remains, which is likely why he does not want them. In contrast, your town will probably pick them up and turn them into mulch, which they can then sell.
 
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skyking said:
the issue with digging them is disposal. It is difficult to find any place that will take a big stump.
As far as the grindings, they are a pretty good mulch in beds for weed block. Wheelbarrow them to beds under the perennials, etc.
Click to expand...

+1. In NH tree stumps are considered hazardous waste in some towns. Very hard to get rid of them
 
It's just natural waste, I would just bring it to the cottage/camp and burn it or something. It's not like it's pollution. May be tricky to cut up though given the shape and fact that there's lot of soil embedded in it.
 
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