Tree Removal
Whole-tree takedowns on tight coastal blocks and steep escarpment sites, sectional or crane-assisted.
Learn more →Why the stump is a separate job
Stump grinding is not part of a removal quote by default, because it uses different machinery and the price depends on things that have nothing to do with the tree that was there. A 400 millimetre stump in open lawn is a twenty-minute job. The same stump wedged between a retaining wall and a Colorbond fence, reachable only through a side gate, can take most of a morning.
We quote it separately so you can see the two numbers and decide. Plenty of people leave a stump in an out-of-the-way corner and spend the money elsewhere. That is a reasonable choice as long as the species is not a suckering one.
What we grind and how far down
The grinder works a carbide-tipped wheel across the stump in passes, reducing it to chip. How far down and how wide depends entirely on the end use:
- Lawn or garden bed — down past turf level, wide enough to clear the flare of the trunk.
- Paving, decking or a shed slab — deeper and wider, so there is no organic material left to rot and subside under the surface.
- Replanting in the same spot — the widest grind, because the new tree needs soil rather than a bowl of decomposing chip. Expect to bring in soil.
- Footings, retaining walls or a pool — grinding is usually not enough. That is an excavation job.
Surface roots get the same treatment where they matter. On Illawarra blocks the usual offenders are fig roots lifting a path and camphor laurel roots running under a driveway, and those are worth grinding out while the machine is there.
Services, soil and the things that stop a grind
Before any grinder starts, underground services need locating. The Illawarra has plenty of older estates where the sewer, water and gas runs are not where the plan says they are, and a cutting wheel finds them very efficiently. We work off a service locate and will not grind blind next to a meter or an inspection point.
Soil matters too. The heavy clays around Dapto, Kanahooka and the Lake Illawarra flats hold water and pack tight, which slows a grind. The sandier profiles nearer the Shellharbour and Kiama coast cut faster but collapse more, so the hole needs backfilling properly or it will settle into a depression over the first wet winter.
Booking it in
Stump grinding usually follows a removal, but we also take on stumps left behind by someone else, sometimes years earlier. Old, weathered stumps are often harder than fresh ones because the timber has dried and the ground around them has compacted, so send a photo with something in frame for scale.
If a whole block needs clearing rather than a stump or two, the land clearing page covers that, and the cost guide explains how diameter and access change the number. Call (02) 4214 8006 to get it quoted.
More services
Explore our other services
Tree Lopping and Pruning
Crown thinning, deadwooding and clearance pruning that keeps the tree stable through a southerly.
Learn more →Emergency and Storm Damage
After-hours response for trees on roofs, split limbs and blocked driveways after an east coast low.
Learn more →Land Clearing and Mulching
Clearing building envelopes, fence lines and overgrown acreage, with the debris chipped into mulch.
Learn more →
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
How deep does a stump grinder actually go?
Depth is set by what happens next. For lawn, around 150 to 200 millimetres below the surface is enough to get topsoil and turf over it. For paving, a slab or a new garden bed, the grind goes deeper and wider. Footings and pool shells usually need excavation rather than grinding, because the structural root plate has to come out entirely.
What happens to the grindings?
Grinding produces a surprising volume of chip and soil — roughly twice what the stump looked like above ground. It can be raked back into the hole and topped with soil, which is the usual choice for garden beds, or barrowed out and taken away at a tipping cost if you need clean ground to build on.
Can you grind a stump close to a fence or a wall?
Usually, but the machine size changes. A narrow-access grinder fits through a 750 millimetre gate and works close to boundaries, though it is slower. Stumps hard against a masonry wall or a retaining structure sometimes have to be partly cut out by hand to avoid the cutting wheel contacting the structure.
Will the tree grow back if I do not grind the stump?
Some species will. Camphor laurel, privet, willow and several wattles shoot vigorously from a cut stump and from severed roots, and can put up a thicket within a season. Most eucalypts sucker less reliably but still can. Grinding the stump removes the bulk of the buds and is the practical way to stop regrowth.
Free, no-obligation