Reclaim your yard. We grind ponderosa pine, aspen, and ornamental stumps below grade so you can replant, lay sod, install hardscape, or simply walk through the yard without a tripping hazard.
A clean, efficient way to finish a tree removal — or to deal with old stumps left behind by bark-beetle removals or previous owners.
A self-propelled stump grinder uses a rotating cutting wheel with carbide teeth to chip the stump and surface roots down below ground level. Most residential stumps in Flagstaff are ground 6 to 12 inches below grade, leaving a hole that can be filled with soil and reseeded.
Site protection (we lay down tarps to catch chips), grinding the stump and major surface roots, removal of wood chips, back-filling the hole with surrounding soil, and full cleanup. Optional services include hauling away extra chips or leaving them for use as mulch around healthy trees.
If we just removed a tree from your Flagstaff property, we can grind the stump the same day or schedule a return visit. Bundling removal and grinding usually saves time and money compared to scheduling them separately, and gets infested pine stumps off your property faster.
Stumps are more than just ugly — they create real problems for your Flagstaff property.
Stumps are easy to forget about until someone trips over one or you hit one with the mower. A ground stump removes the hazard and protects your equipment.
Aspens spread aggressively via root suckers, and a cut aspen stump can throw up dozens of new shoots that turn a lawn into a thicket. Locust and ornamental fruit also resprout vigorously. Grinding the stump and surface roots ends the sprouting cycle.
Cut pine stumps can harbor pine bark beetles that emerge and attack healthy neighboring ponderosas. Grinding eliminates the harbor and protects the rest of your trees — especially important after a bark-beetle-driven removal.
A ground stump lets you plant new grass, install a flower bed, lay a patio, expand your lawn, or replant a more appropriate tree in the same area.
Old stumps in the front yard make even a well-kept Flagstaff home look neglected. Grinding is a small project with a big visual payoff.
If you are planning a paver patio, driveway extension, shed pad, or any hardscape over the spot, the stump and major roots have to come out first. We can grind deeper to accommodate.
Our standard stump grinding takes the stump 6 to 12 inches below grade, which is sufficient for replanting grass, laying sod, native ground cover, or installing low-rooted plants. If you plan to plant a new tree or build hardscape in the same spot, we can grind deeper or remove more of the root system on request. Flagstaff's rocky volcanic soil sometimes limits how deep we can go without specialty equipment.
Grinding produces a pile of wood chips and soil. Our standard service includes removing the chips and back-filling the hole with the surrounding soil. If you want to keep the chips for mulch around other trees, we are happy to leave them. Larger ponderosa pine stumps produce a surprising volume of chips — sometimes a half cubic yard or more.
You can, but stumps are a trip hazard, look unsightly, can sprout new growth (especially with aspens, which spread via root suckers), attract carpenter ants and pine bark beetles, and prevent you from planting or installing hardscape in that spot. A stump from a bark-beetle-killed pine in particular can harbor beetles that emerge to attack healthy neighboring trees. Most Flagstaff homeowners choose to grind the stump after any tree removal.
Costs vary based on the diameter of the stump, accessibility, and how many stumps are being ground at once. Call (555) 000-0000 for a free, no-obligation estimate. Multiple stumps in the same visit are usually a better value than one stump at a time. Rocky Flagstaff soil can also affect timing.
Yes, but the area needs proper preparation. Wood chips from grinding tie up nitrogen as they decompose, so you should remove the chips, replace with fresh topsoil, and ideally wait several months before planting a new tree. We can also grind deeper and remove more of the root system if you plan to replant right away. For ponderosa pines specifically, replanting a different species often makes more sense if the original was lost to bark beetles.