Ground out below the surface
Old stumps ground out below the surface, so you can turf, pave or plant over the spot and get the garden back.
A stump is the bit that gets left when a tree comes down, and it tends to stay there for years. You mow around it, you trip over it, and it sits exactly where the patio or the shed needs to go.
Grinding takes it out below ground level without digging up half the garden. Once it is done you can lay turf, pave or plant over the spot, and it stops throwing up new shoots.
It does not matter who took the tree down. If you had it felled by someone else, or the stump came with the house, we can still come and deal with it.
In detail
Ground out below the surface so the spot can be used again. If you know what is going on top, tell us when we come out, because a new patio, fresh turf and a planting bed each want the ground left slightly differently.
Some species carry on after the tree has gone. Cherry, poplar and lime are the usual ones, and they can send shoots up from the roots well away from the stump. Grinding deals with the stump itself, and we will tell you straight if your tree is likely to keep doing it for a while.
If the tree is still standing, we can fell it and grind the stump as one job. It is simpler for you and there is nothing left behind to deal with later.
We build gardens as well, so we can take it from there: turf, paving, a new bed or a fence line. If you only want the stump gone, that is fine too.
Straight answer
The width of the stump, how much of the root plate sits above the ground, how many there are, and how easily we can reach them. A stump tucked behind a house with a narrow side path is a different job from one by the driveway. We look at it first and put the price in writing, and the visit is free.
Get it priced properlyStump grinding questions
Almost always. Digging one out means opening up a big hole and cutting through the roots by hand or with a digger. Grinding takes the stump down below the surface and leaves the ground around it largely as it was.
You can, but give the spot a bit of help. Clear out most of the woody grindings and top up with soil, because wood breaking down in the ground takes nitrogen from whatever is growing there, and the patch can sink a little as it settles.
Most stumps stop once they have been ground out, and the roots left in the ground rot away slowly. Cherry, poplar and lime can keep sending up shoots for a while, and those are easy to deal with as they appear.
Normally not, but if the tree had a tree preservation order or is in a conservation area, check with the council first. If there is a gas, water or electric line near the stump, tell us when we come out so we can plan around it.
Yes. Plenty of the stumps we get asked about were left behind by another contractor or have been in the garden for years.
Free quote
Tell us roughly what you need and we will come out, look at it properly and put a price in writing. No charge for the visit.
Where we work
Based in Southampton and out across the county most days of the week.
Not seeing your town? The list is where we normally work, not a boundary. Ring and ask.
07955 586555Tell us what needs doing and we will come and look at it. Free quote, in writing, no obligation at the end of it.
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