Stump Grinding And Wood Chipping

Stump grinding chews the stump down below ground with a spinning wheel and turns it into chips. Wood chipping turns brush and limbs into the same kind of material. JCC Tree Service grinds stumps in Yuba City and 50 miles around. Grinding removes the stump, not the root system that ran out under the yard.

Grinding Takes the Stump, Not the Whole Root System

The roots stay in the ground after a grind, and they rot in place over time. That is fine for most yards. It matters if you plan to dig footings, pour a slab, or run a trench through that spot, because big anchor roots can sit well out from where the trunk was and they are solid wood until decay catches up. It also matters for species that send up suckers from the roots, since taking the stump does not always stop that growth. Ask about the whole footprint before you plan concrete over it.

How Deep the Grind Goes Depends on What Goes There Next

The right grind depth is set by the plan for the spot, not by a standard setting on the machine. Grass over the top needs less than a new tree going back in the same hole. A fence post in the old trunk spot needs the wood cleared out below where the post will sit. Sod over a shallow grind will sink when the leftover wood breaks down, and then you have a low spot that holds water. Say what the spot is for and the depth follows.

Mark Utilities Before a Grinder Touches the Ground

A stump grinder does not know the difference between a root and a gas line. Irrigation lines, low voltage wiring, cable and sprinkler valves all tend to run shallow near a house, and trunk spots near a driveway often sit close to a service lateral. Use the free utility locate service, 811, before the work is scheduled, and mark your own private lines yourself, because the locate service does not cover sprinkler pipe or wiring you added. Flag the sprinkler heads. It takes ten minutes and saves a wet mess.

What Happens to the Chips and Grindings

Grinding a stump makes a pile of wood and soil that is bigger than the hole it came from, because ground wood fluffs up. That pile can be raked back into the hole and mounded to allow for settling, or hauled off and replaced with clean soil. Grindings are not the same as chipped brush. Fresh chips work on top of soil as mulch and should not be tilled in around plants, since wood breaking down in soil ties up nitrogen that plants want. If you want none of it left, that is haul away and cleanup. We grind stumps for customers in Yuba City and the areas we serve, including stumps left behind by another crew.

Why Choose JCC Tree Service

Stump work is often quoted apart from the removal, so a homeowner can think it is included and find out later that it is not. Straight quotes. We tell you the price and exactly what it covers before we start.