Stump Grinding · Kitchener
Stump Grinding in Kitchener
A stump left in a Kitchener yard does three things: it sprouts, it attracts carpenter ants, and it sits exactly where the new fence post or the patio needs to go.
Stump grinding is the second half of a removal that people often put off, partly because a stump looks harmless and partly because the removal already cost money. It is worth doing at the same time or soon after. A fresh maple or willow stump throws up a thicket of suckers for years, a rotting stump is a carpenter ant colony waiting to happen a few metres from the house, and a stump in the wrong place blocks the fence line, the shed pad or the lawn mower indefinitely.
What grinding involves
A grinder is a tracked or wheeled machine with a toothed cutting wheel that chews the stump into chips below the surface. For a lawn that will be re-sodded, the stump is normally taken down 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 inches) below grade and the larger surface roots are chased out. For a spot that will take a new tree, a fence post or a footing, it goes deeper and that is specified in the quote. The hole is left filled with grindings, or the grindings are removed and topsoil brought in, depending on what you want to do with the spot and how quickly.
Why the locate comes first
The cutting wheel does not know the difference between a root and a gas service. Before a stump is ground, a locate is requested through Ontario One Call, which marks buried gas, hydro, water and telecom. One Call does not mark private lines on your own property: the wire to the garage, the irrigation, an invisible dog fence, low-voltage lighting, a gas line to the pool heater. Those are the owner's to point out, and in the older parts of Kitchener there is a reasonable chance of an abandoned service or a buried concrete footing next to a stump as well.
What affects the quote
- Diameter at the ground. Stumps are priced by their width at grade, including the flare, not by the trunk diameter higher up. A 70-year-old silver maple can be well over a metre across at the base.
- Access. A compact grinder fits through a standard gate; a bigger stump in a fenced back yard may need a fence panel lifted out or a smaller, slower machine.
- Roots. Chasing surface roots across a lawn is extra time and is quoted as such. Where the roots are under a neighbour's fence they are left alone.
- Grindings. Leaving them on site is included; hauling them and backfilling with topsoil is an extra line.
Replanting over a ground stump
Grindings are wood, and wood breaking down in soil pulls nitrogen out of it. New sod over a fresh stump hole will sink and yellow for a season unless the grindings come out and topsoil goes in. A new tree should go in offset from the old one, or the old stump has to be ground deep and the hole cleaned out. Say what the spot is for and the grinding gets done to suit it.
Frequently asked questions
Can you grind a stump in a back yard with a narrow gate?
Usually. Compact grinders fit through a standard 36-inch gate. For a very large stump behind a tight gate, a fence panel can often be removed and replaced the same day, and the quote says if that is needed.
Will the roots keep growing after the stump is ground?
No. Without the stump and its leaves, the root system dies and breaks down over a few years. The one exception is species that sucker from roots, and those are dealt with by cutting the suckers as they appear for a season or two.
Can you grind a stump next to my foundation?
Close to it, yes, with care. The grinder is kept off the wall and roots that have gone under a footing are cut and left rather than pulled. We will say on the site visit what is reachable.
Serving Kitchener and surrounding areas. Contact us for a no-obligation quote specific to your property.