Stump Grinding by
ISA CERTIFIED ARBORISTS
All stump grinding operations are completed by Arbor Task Tree Service San Diego. An ISA certified arborist who adheres to the tree care industry’s best recommended practices oversees each stump removal project. When you need a stump removed from your property, it’s worth having it removed properly. Call Arbor Task Tree Service San Diego today to schedule your stump removal project.
Let Us Handle Your Stump Removal Right!
San Diego's Stump Grinding Experts
When handling the arduous task of stump grinding, one must always rely on experts to complete the job safely and within budget.
That is why many San Diego residents turn to the experts at Arbor Task Tree Service San Diego.
Alman Grant’s team of stump grinding experts are committed to providing the best stump grinding services found across San Diego County.
Why Should I Have a Stump Removed From My Property?
Are there Instances When I Should Not Remove a Tree Stump?
Termites
Any rotting or decaying wood can attract termites. However, tree stumps are one of termite’s favorite types of wood because it is abundant. Additionally, it is also easy for termites to access the inner part of the tree where they consume the cellulose within the tree. Even though there is an abundant amount of food within a stump, termites will not stop there. Termites go through a process called Swarming in the Spring to early Summer. Swarming is the word used to describe a process when small nymph termites develop wings and fly to start new nests. A stump is a great first home for a termite colony before they migrate to your house and other wooden structures. Termites can cause tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage to your home. It is always going to be cheaper to remove a stump than it will be to fix the damage caused by termites.
Foundation
A foundation is the load-bearing portion of a structure that is below ground. The most common reason for a foundation to crack is a process called settling. Tree roots do have the ability to create lift on your foundation, but this rarely causes foundation damage. The reason tree roots are able to cause foundation damage is due to the fact they grow under your foundation and when they ultimately decay there is a void under your foundation which will cause your foundation to settle. We know what you may be thinking, “What do tree roots have to do with stump removal?” Just because a tree is cut down and only the stump remains, does not mean that the tree is dead. The roots of a tree can grow from a stump decades after the tree has been cut down. The best way to prevent the roots from continuing to grow after the tree has been removed is to remove the stump. Doing so may help you avoid the extremely costly foundation repair process.
Driveways
As mentioned previously, a tree’s roots can keep growing from a stump decades after a tree has been removed. Tree roots are strong enough to be able to easily lift and crack the concrete under a driveway. Once the tree roots start to lift the concrete driveway, it will eventually become cracked due to the void that will be created under the concrete. When tree roots lift the concrete, the soil underneath the driveway will start to erode causing a void. When a driveway does not have support underneath the concrete, there’s a much higher probability of concrete breaking. A concrete driveway is drastically thinner than a concrete foundation and can receive a significantly larger amount of pounds per square inch of pressure due to vehicles driving on it. If your driveway has been damaged due to tree roots, there’s an exponentially higher risk of damage when large vehicles such as package delivery trucks or landscaping trucks use your driveway. The best way to prevent tree roots from damaging your driveway is to ensure that they never grow underneath your driveway. Stump removal is a critical part of protecting your driveway from damage.
Sidewalk Preservation
Did you know that if you own a property in San Diego and your tree’s roots are damaging the sidewalk, you are responsible for repairing the damage your trees have caused? Additionally, if someone trips over a portion of the sidewalk that is damaged because of your trees, you can be sued and held liable for their injuries. The average cost for a sidewalk related injury in San Diego is about $46,000 per incident. That means that your stump’s roots growing underneath the sidewalk may result in a legal battle and you paying $46,000 for an injury on the sidewalk in front of your home.
The city of San Diego does have a program called the “Safe Sidewalks Program” that helps property owners offset some of the cost of sidewalk repairs. However, the program is designed to offset the cost of permits which only saves the property owner about $2,100 per sidewalk repair project. The cost you have to pay out of pocket for sidewalk repair far exceeds the cost of having a stump removed. Calling Arbor Task Tree Service San Diego to provide you with a consultation about your tree’s roots can literally save you tens-of-thousands-of-dollars. We can talk to you about the process of strategically cutting roots that may cause damage to your sidewalk in the future.
Retaining Walls
Retaining walls are no match for a tree’s roots. In fact retaining walls create a great environment for tree roots to go towards. Ideally water would be diverted away from a retaining wall through a drainage tile. However, a lot of retaining walls do not allow for proper drainage. If there is one thing that tree roots are going to grow towards, it’s water. The soil on the inside of a retaining wall without proper drainage will hold water much longer than the surrounding soil so tree roots will naturally grow towards your retaining wall. As tree roots expand outward, they will damage your retaining wall which will allow water to pass through it and encourage the tree’s roots to further infiltrate the retaining wall.
A tree stump does not serve a practical or aesthetical purpose and is more of a liability than an asset on your property. The best thing you can do to protect your retaining wall from potential damage is to have the tree stump removed.
Sewer Lines
Tree roots are the number one cause of sewer line issues. Did you know a tree’s roots can use acoustic vibrations to locate flowing water? That’s right, tree roots can actually hear water flowing and they will grow towards the sound of moving water. As the tree roots grow towards the sound of moving water within your sewer lines, they will wrap themselves around the pipe and find any small void in the pipe. Once the roots have found a way into the pipe, the tree roots will all start to grow towards that water source. Not only will that tree’s roots grow towards the water source in the sewer line, but the tree will communicate to other tree roots in the area through a network of mycorrhizal fungi to let them know they have a water source and nutrients. Sewer lines are responsible for carrying all waste water from your property. When a sewer line has been clogged it can cause all of the toilets, sinks, bathtubs, and showers in your home to have sewage backup into your house. The amount of damage that can be caused by a clogged main sewer line is some of the most costly damage a property can endure. Water damage caused by waste water is classified as category 3 water damage. This will come as no surprise, but wastewater contains toxins, pathogens, and is grossly contaminated. Almost all materials that come into contact with category 3 water and can absorb water must be removed from your home and thrown away. Materials such as drywall, carpet, hardwood floors, insulation, carpet padding, tile, and baseboards that have come into contact with Category 3 Water need to be removed. Removing a stump to prevent tree roots from infiltrating your sewer lines is a logical and practical choice to make.
Space Improvement
Stumps are a nuisance. They take up room on your property that could otherwise be used for play or leisure. No one wants their kid to play around a stump because of the risk of injury. A stump is not just taking up the area it occupies in a yard. It also deters people from using the immediate surrounding area. Most people do not use a space that is within 6 feet of a stump. That means that a stump that is 2 feet in diameter can deter someone from using about 40 square feet of yard space. Ridding your property of stumps is a great and inexpensive way to reclaim your usable yard space.
Sprouting
When a tree has been cut down, the tree can continue to grow. Small sprouts will start to come up from the area around the stump. These sprouts can be referred to as Tree Suckers. Sprouts from a stump are a tree’s attempt at growing new branches in response to an injury. These sprouts (tree suckers) growing out from the stump can get to be quite large and end up growing into a new tree. Actively sprouting stumps continue to draw on available soil nutrients adversely affecting other plants in your landscape. The sprouts coming out of the tree stump can become more of a nuisance than the stump itself. If you cut off the sprouts that are popping up at the base of the stem, they will be replaced by more sprouts in the future. The best thing you can do is to hire an experienced professional to remove the stump from your property.
Stumps are not very visually appealing. We are sure most people would consider them to be an eyesore. A yard with a stump gives others the impression that the property is not well maintained. In addition to the negative impact a stump has on your property, it is also an unnecessary obstacle that makes it more difficult to maintain your yard. You can’t mow too closely to a stump so it requires additional maintenance such as weed eating in order to keep up the appearance of the yard. If you are mowing or maintaining your own yard, removing the stumps from your yard will reduce the amount of time you spend mowing. If landscapers are maintaining your property, they will thank you once the stumps are removed.
When to Not Remove A Tree Stump
Does the Stump Help with Erosion Control?
If a tree is in an area that is prone to soil erosion, you may want to consider keeping the stump in place. That is because tree roots hold soil in place so it cannot be washed away easily. Erosion control is more important when your property is on a slope or if the stump is in an area that receives a large amount of water runoff. Erosion can cause all kinds of problems including: Foundation issues, loss of plant life, water damage, topsoil loss, and even reduced property value. If you remove a stump whose roots are reducing erosion, it may be in your best interest to replace the stump with a species of tree with a robust root system. If you need advice regarding tree species of stump removal, call Arbor Task Tree Service San Diego.
Does the Stump have Decorative Purposes?
Some creative individuals can find a way to take a stump that would otherwise be a nuisance and turn it into a decorative centerpiece in their yard. Stumps can be turned into: Bird baths, fairy houses, potted plant holders, chairs, bird houses, board games, table tops and more. Stag Fern and Spanish Moss are common plants to see associated with decorative stump designs. It is important to consider the pros and cons of having a stump just for decorative purposes. There are some methods you may consider using such as sealing the stump to reduce the odds of termite infestation and some of the other pitfalls of having a stump on your property.
Is the Stump Not an Obstacle?
If the stump is out of the way and you are not worried about any of the other negative repercussions of having a stump in your yard, you may consider leaving the stump in the yard. However, this is not something we would advise doing. Call Arbor Task Tree Service San Diego if you need affordable stump removal services.
What is Stump Grinding?
The stump grinding process involves using purpose-built machinery called a stump grinder to cut and shred the wood tissues of a tree stump into small chips. Stump grinding machines have a sharp carbide-tipped blade that rotates rapidly. As the blade rotates, the stump grinding machine is pivoted back and forth while making contact with the stump. The stump is slowly but steadily whittled away until it is far enough below the surface of the ground to not prevent the area from being repurposed. Stump cutting depth is determined by what the area is going to be used for in the future. Common things that are done after the stump is removed include: Resodding, planting a new tree, planting shrubs, and even pouring a concrete slab or footing. When replanting a small species of tree or shrub, it may only require a stump be grinded 6-8 inches below the soil’s surface. Larger species of trees may require a stump to be grinded 10-15 inches below the soil’s surface. The maximum amount of depth we have had to grind a stump below the surface is 24 inches, but that’s rarely necessary.
How Much Does Stump Grinding in San Diego Cost?
Arbor Task Tree Service San Diego believes in honest and transparent pricing. Our minimum price we charge for stump grinding is $225. That is about the same amount it would cost you to rent a stump grinder for one day when you include fuel costs. When you hire us for stump grinding you will be hiring one of the most experienced and certainly most knowledgeable tree services in all of San Diego County for around the same cost as a one day stump grinder rental. A stump grinder has the potential to cause severe damage to you, vehicles, or structures. The cost of an accident from using a stump grinder will be far greater than the cost of hiring a licensed, insured, and experienced stump removal company.
We Handle Stump Removal Safely
One of the best reasons to hire Arbor Task Tree Service San Diego for stump grinding is our commitment to keeping you, our team members, and your property out of harm’s way. Stump grinding can be destructive and harmful if not done correctly. As the stump grinder sweeps back and forth, it churns the soil and kicks up rocks. The rocks that come into contact with the rapidly spinning stump grinding wheel can be turned into a high velocity projectile. That’s one of the reasons why stump grinding has the potential to be extremely dangerous.
We are a licensed and insured tree service. If there is any injury or property damage while we are removing a stump, our insurance and worker’s comp will protect you from liability. If an unlicensed stump removal company is injured, you can be held financially liable for their injuries and any damage to surrounding properties.
Safety will always be our highest priority. First we locate and mark the location of all utility service pipes and irrigation lines with chalk-based paint or flags. All stump grinding operators and personnel wear full safety glasses, and forestry style helmets with face shielding. There are instances when we may use dust suppression, face masks, or respirators if soil conditions are dry. We also use plywood to cover nearby windows and keep it close to the stump grinding machine to deflect the dirt, rocks, and pieces of the stump.
We Can Remove All Sizes of Stumps
Stumps come in all shapes & sizes. Stumps can also be in locations that make it difficult for most stump removal companies to gain access to them. Arbor Task Tree Service has the experience and specialized equipment needed to remove any size of stump from almost any location. That makes it easy for us to remove stumps without jeopardizing the safety of you or your property. When stumps can only be removed by using hard to reach access points such as: narrow side gates, stairs, hillsides, or even rooftops, Arbor Task Tree Service San Diego has you covered. That is why we are one of the top picks for people in San Diego who need stump removal services at condominiums, townhomes, and commercial properties.
When you hire Arbor Task Tree Service San Diego you can have peace of mind knowing that you have hired a licensed, insured, and experienced stump removal expert capable of removing any size of stump.
Why Should You Hire Arbor Task Tree Service San Diego?
Prices – Arbor Task Tree Service San Diego has some of the best prices in San Diego on stump grinding! It would be a real challenge for you to find another experienced and insured company that would have prices starting at $225!
Licensed and Insured – You should always hire a licensed and insured stump removal company. Licensed & insured stump removal companies will keep you from being liable for their injuries or property damage. Arbor Task Tree Service is a licensed and insured tree service.
Experienced – The more experience someone has in a particular field, the less likely they are to make mistakes. Arbor Task Tree Service San Diego is owned by a certified arborist who has decades of experience in the tree service industry. Additionally, all members of our team are well-rounded, highly experienced, tree service professionals.
Reputable – Your overall satisfaction with our company is critically important to our company. We strive to make sure every step of your journey as a customer is as seamless as possible. That is why Arbor Task Tree Service San Diego has over 50 five star reviews on Google! Click Here to Read our Reviews!
Arbor TASK Tree Service San Diego
Are you ready to talk to a San Diego ISA Certified Arborist about stump removal? Call us today to schedule your stump removal estimate! Arbor Task Tree Service San Diego looks forward to hearing from you.