Stump Grinding or Stump Removal: Which Do You Need?

For most yards, grinding is the right call and the cheaper one. A grinder chews the stump down under the soil line in a single visit and leaves the roots to rot in place, which is fine for lawn, beds and most landscaping. Full removal, pulling the stump and the main root mass out of the ground, takes more time and more machine, and it leaves a big hole to fill. It earns its cost when you are building, pouring a driveway or putting in a foundation where the stump stands.

Is it cheaper to grind or remove a stump?

Grinding almost always costs less. It is one machine, one operator, and usually a short visit per stump. Full removal means digging around the root plate, cutting the main roots, levering or lifting the stump out, then backfilling and compacting the hole. On a big Douglas fir or cedar, whose root plates spread wide, that is a much bigger job.

What moves the price either way is stump diameter, how many stumps there are, how close they are to a house, fence or rockery, and whether a machine can reach them. A stump at the bottom of a steep Bellingham back yard with no gate wide enough for the grinder takes longer than one beside the driveway.

What are the downsides of stump grinding?

Grinding takes the stump, not every root. The big lateral roots stay in the ground and break down over time, so the spot can settle a little as they rot. It also leaves a pile of chips and soil, which is more than most people expect from one stump. You can keep it as mulch, or have it hauled.

Grinding is not the answer where the ground needs to carry weight. Under a slab, a footing or a driveway, rotting roots leave voids, and voids settle.

Before any grinding, underground utilities have to be located. In Washington, that means calling 811 a few days ahead. Gas lines, irrigation and buried cables often run closer to old stumps than people think.

Is it better to leave a tree stump or grind it down?

It is usually better to grind it. Leaving a stump is free on the day, and costs you in other ways later.

Why shouldn’t you leave a tree stump in the ground?

It can grow back. Big-leaf maple is a strong re-sprouter, and young red alder will sprout from the stump too, though big old alder stumps sprout far less. Cut one down and leave the stump, and within a season or two you can have a ring of new shoots around it, which then have to be cut again and again. Conifers like Douglas fir and cedar generally do not re-sprout from the stump.

It invites pests and rot. A rotting stump is a good home for carpenter ants and wood-decay fungi. Neither is a problem in the middle of a field. Both are a problem a few feet from a house.

It is in the way. Stumps are trip hazards, mower breakers and the reason a new lawn never looks right. A stump hidden in long grass is worse than one you can see.

How many years does it take for a tree stump to decompose?

Longer than most people hope. A small alder stump in wet ground can soften within several years. A large western red cedar stump can stand for decades, because cedar resists rot. That is why the old-growth cedar stumps left from early logging are still standing in Whatcom County forests. Douglas fir falls somewhere in between, and depends a lot on size and how wet the site is.

If you are willing to wait, a stump in a back corner can be left to rot. If it is in the lawn, a bed or a path, grinding is quicker.

When to remove the stump fully

Choose full removal when the stump sits where something is going to be built or paved: a house addition, garage, shop, driveway, patio slab or retaining wall. Also choose it when a contractor or engineer asks for clean ground. On lots being cleared for a new build, stumps are usually pulled as part of the clearing and the holes filled before the site is graded.