Warning: A landscaper in Boise changed how I think about stump grinding

I was on a job site last month and got talking with the landscape foreman while we waited for a concrete pour. He said something simple that stuck with me: 'You guys always grind the stump, but you leave the web of surface roots for us to fight with.' He pointed at a big maple we'd removed, where the radial roots were still all over the top foot of soil, making his grading and sod work a nightmare. It hit different because I'd never considered the next trade's headache. Now, for an extra 30 minutes with the grinder, I make a point to chew up those major lateral roots in a 3-4 foot ring around the stump. It costs a bit more time, but the two landscapers I work with regularly say it saves them hours. Has anyone else started doing this, or do you have a different handoff method with landscapers?

2 comments

2 Comments

tara_williams17d ago

We used to grind a 24-inch oak stump down a foot below grade and call it good. The landscaper on that job, Mike, had to bring in a mini-excavator just to tear out the spiderweb of roots so he could lay sod. That extra machine time cost him half a day. Now I run the grinder out along those big roots, maybe four feet out from the stump. It adds twenty minutes to my job, but it lets him start with a clean slate. It just makes the whole project go smoother for everyone after me.

tessa_kelly7d ago

How many times did I have to learn that lesson the hard way? I used to be the guy leaving a mess of roots for the next crew. Figured my job ended at the stump. Then you get that call asking what the heck you left behind. Adding a few extra minutes to clean up the big roots is nothing compared to the headache of a pissed-off landscaper. It just saves everyone a lot of trouble down the line.