Consumer Alert: What you need to know when paying for stump removal or stump grinding

First, these two terms, stump removal and stump grinding, are used interchangeably. There are two ways to get rid of a stump. The first is to dig it out. This can be done by hand or a mini excavator, a backhoe or a full size excavator, based on the size of the stump. The downside of digging vs grinding is there will be more damage to the surrounding areas. Also, there will probably be more work and cost to repair the hole left behind after the stump is removed by digging.

The second way is stump grinding. This is done with a machine called a stump grinder. The grinding process is a bit more surgical in that the wood is chipped away by a cutting wheel. A little of the stump is removed, at a time, with each pass of the cutting wheel, this will allow for less damage.

Important Notes:
1. Make sure you get a written contract with the price stated.
2. Make sure you know who is responsible for waste removal.

Since most people have never dealt with removing tree stumps. You may not know what questions to ask. The true professional will guide you through the process. Shopping for home projects by price is not the best way to determine which contractor will do the best job. Far too often, a large pile of wood chips is left behind by the contractor with the cheaper price. This will leave the home owner to deal with the mess. I will never forget the lady that said, “That burns me up. They left this big pile for me. How am I supposed to get rid of this?” She was very angry and thought she got something different than what she paid for and expected.

At Keep It Green Landscaping, we provide stump grinding with fair pricing. We would be happy to give you a quote, just give us a call at 201-445-4646.