Stump Removal Vs. Stump Grinding

So you’ve just had a tree fall on your property. You’ve contacted a tree removal company, and they ask you, “Do you prefer stump grinding or stump removal?” What do you say? While any trustworthy tree care company will concisely and clearly communicate the difference, in today’s short blog, we at Ocean Tree Care want to ensure that you have a basic understanding of the difference between the two methods.

What is Stump Removal?

The term, “stump removal,” can often include multiple stump removal methods, like stump decomposition and chemical removal. With stump decomposition, tree care experts will often drill holes in the stump and fill them with compost or fertilizer, encouraging the slow-rotting process. While this is a very environmentally friendly technique, it does take a long time—sometimes years. For chemical stump removal, chemicals and usually fire are used to break down the stump, often leaving behind chemical residue in the soil. 

We will remove your Tree Stump and make your Calgary property beautiful.

Choosing the best tree care company in Calgary is a crucial decision for multiple reasons. An inexperienced or incompetent contractor can result in redundant spending and cause more harm than good.

Whether you chose to remove your tree stump for protection, aesthetics or from the consequence of a Calgary blizzard, there are several reasons in favor of retaining a tree stump in your yard. From the physical danger and responsibility to the permanent eyesore that comes along with a tree stump, it’s best to have it excluded by a professional tree care company.

Physical Danger and Liability
A stump could be a tripping danger for your loved ones particularly children, as well as friends who can create liability if they were to trip and hurt themselves.

Extra Work
Whether you’re weeding, feeding or mulching your yard, a tree stump can be a chore to push around. Also, if you’re harvesting your lawn and hit the stump, it can harm your equipment.

Stumps Let Further Growth 
A leftover stump can be a perfect environment for rejected trees to grow. These can grow into a multi-stranded tree and which will need more time and funds to remove compared to the first stump forever.

Why Should I Contract a Professional Stump Removal Service in Calgary?
There are some DIY stump removal techniques you can find online, many are useless in the long term and demand dangerous chemicals or a large sum of cash spent on the purchase or rental of a heavy machine. Taking this and connecting it with the time and energy put into the stump removal, it is not worth it.

At Ocean Tree & Stump Removal, we will assess your stump and decide the best course of removal to restore the full value of your yard promptly. Once the whole stump is successfully removed, we will correctly dispose of it and clean up the lot. After everything is settled, we can instruct you how to care for your recently accessible land!

Difficulties with Stumps

A common problem starts with the roots. In some circumstances, they don’t die. In fact, they can remain to grow, creating tripping dangers for adults and children. The presented roots also make it hard to mow and preserve normal use of the area.

Also, since tree removals often result in high visibility places, you’re left with a hideous stump. These stumps reduce the beauty of your home and it’s value. It’s always advised to have them removed if you’re looking to sell your Calgary home.

A bigger concern with leaving stumps behind is infection and infestation. With the trunk gone, the stump is a prime location for disease-carrying insects to make a new home. In 2018, the most well-known diseases Ocean Tree Care faced were Dutch Elm Disease and Emerald Ash Borer. This is a matter for a homeowner as an infected stump will aid the range of disease to healthy trees on your property.

How does Stump Grinding go?
For purpose of security and performance, most crews use a mechanical grinder. The device uses a big cutting disc to grind the stump down, layer by layer. It can be prepared by one man and is often completed in short order. It’s of utmost concern that any crew working the machine be highly prepared. If done wrong, you can get hurt to your lawn or surrounding property.

Whenever a stump grinder is being performed near people or property a protective barrier must be done to stop flying debris. Once the job is finished, there will be leftover mulch. It can be either pulled away or reused on the property for ornamental purposes.

Important Considerations
When a professional comes to your Calgary home to remove a tree stump, there are a couple of factors to study. The depth of the cut being greatly influential. If during a stump removal a cut is not done deep enough, the roots can continue alive and continue to cause difficulties. The depth needed to kill the roots is 6-12 inches (ca. -30 cm) deep. You’ll want to make sure this is performed right. If it is, you’ll be able to plant a new tree successfully in that very spot.

With any heavy machinery, it’s always vitally significant that safety comes first. For this reason, all the staff at Oak, Ash, and Thorn maintain high safety rules, common neglect by many tree organizations. While operating the stump grinder, crews should be wearing protective equipment that is highly visible to reduce the risk of injury to the worker and to those around them.

What is Stump Grinding?

Those unfamiliar with the tree removal method in Calgary, may not know that a full tree removal is a two-part process. When a tree is chopped down by a trained professional, the stump remains. In order to accurately complete removal, a different set of tools are required. At this point, it’s appropriate for the stump to be left behind by the owner. This is not advised as it can produce a handful of problems in the future including tripping hazards.

Hurdles with Stumps

A common dilemma starts with the roots. In some cases, they don’t die. In fact, they continue to expand and grow, producing tripping hazards for everyone. The displayed roots also make it difficult to mow and maintain normal use of the yard.

Also, since tree removals often occur in high visibility areas, you’re left with a hideous stump. These stumps reduce the beauty of your home and it’s value. It’s always advised to have them removed by a tree service professional if you’re looking to sell.

Stump grinding involves using specialized equipment to grind the stump below the soil line, removing the stump, and then filling the hole with soil and wood chips. As longtime providers of this process, we realize we are a bit partial to it. However, you would be hard-pressed to find a tree care company that doesn’t agree that this is the fastest, cheapest, safest, and most efficient method for stump removal.

A significant concern with neglecting stumps is infection and infestation. With the trunk gone, the stump is a prime spot for disease-carrying insects to make a new home. In 2018, the most common diseases Calgary trees face are Dutch Elm Disease and Emerald Ash Borer. This is a matter for a homeowner as an infected stump will support the spread of infection to healthy trees on your home. For this purpose, it is always prescribed to remove a stump. You can save yourself a lot of expected costs and troubles.

To conclude

With all the hurdles stumps present, we always suggest they be removed after a tree is chopped. Just like yourself, we too are homeowners and take satisfaction in doing stump removal jobs in Calgary the right way. You shouldn’t have to bargain with hideous stumps and roots.

We offer FREE quotes for stump removal in Calgary, so feel free to give us a call 403-830-7214 or click here to Contact us.