How Deep Should You Grind a Tree Stump? 

What's the point of the windshield when you can't even see outta it? 😂

I was always told to do 8-10 inches deep. With my toro stx26 it’s so hard to even do 6. I’ve been grinding 4 inches deep. Thanks for breaking it down for us.

Typically I will grind out the entire stump or get as much of it that I can reach provided there are no utilities, pipes, etc. Then I fill the hole and compact the soil and clean up the chips. Yes, it takes longer and soil must be hauled in. But leaving a partially ground stump will eventually leave depressions in the yard as it begins to decay. Cleaning up the chips is just another value added service the home owner appreciates.

I've been grinding stumps in the Chicagoland area for 30 years, it is much better to remove the entire stump here. Grinding the stump out completely pulls earth out from beneath the stump mixing in with wood chips which helps it break down faster. Grinding deeper also reduces the "sink hole" effect, where the stump grinded area needs filling in a bit ever year. The rotting stump that wasn't grinded rots very slowly, the bugs love it, and the ground takes longer to compact. A proper stump removal leaves a hole in the ground like a bowl, over fill it so it looks like a pitchers mound allowing for compaction and erosion. General rule is for ever 12" removed replace with 16" to 18" of good soil. Saturate w/water several x's, then compact it w/ something heavy after its dried out. Winter time compacts the earth the best. Front yards are best finished w/sod, backyards can be seeded. The sod should match the type of grass already there. Seed is expensive, and takes longer to match the surrounding grass. Sod looks good much faster, and is more affordable.

What are your thoughts on digging out around the stump before grinding? Is it necessary or does it help prolong teeth versus how much time etc…

Awesome!!

you should really let it warm up before blasting the the throttle, other than that, your videos are awesome , I've been starting to video and I use your videos as reference on how i can improve. Thanks for posting

If your only grinding down 4 inches, your price should reflect only a portion of the cost as well. most often the stump should be completely ground out so that in the future the customer won't have a large depression in the yard. I've been stump grinding for over 35 years, and have only one call back for a large root that I missed that was right where a fence post had to go. To many times I have had to regrind other companies work sites that didn't grind deep enough to do the job correctly. That is a nice machine for certain jobs, but does seem a little under powered.

Hey Chris, thanks for the video. I wanted to ask if you charge much extra when grinding a stump completely out? I know when I start going deep it takes a lot more. Thanks

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Awesome 👍 new here

What’s the point of pushing the wood chips back into the the hole you just ground? Don’t you want all the wood chips out of there and back fill with top soil?

Someone is going to grind my stump today at 6" deep and placing chemical to rot quicker. You mentioned to get the root. Does this mean I need to dig out some of the roots I see on the surface or leave it and eventually will die?

Do roots keep on growing after you grind the stump ?

Chris would you consider sell this machine and move on ? I like it Sam

Hard oak Chris ?