# Stump Grinding Mulch.



## dhuffnmu (Apr 27, 2005)

How many of you remove stump grinding mulch and do backfilling with topsoil and reseed? What kind of prices do you charge for it. Say if you took the tree down and did the stump yourself or if someone had a stump ground and you had to go in and clean up?


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## tophopper (Apr 27, 2005)

2 per inch grind only
4 per inch grind and haul no dirt in hole
6 per inch grind and haul and backfill with soil

grass seed free of charge


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## juststumps (Apr 27, 2005)

7 per inch, leveled, grindings hauled away...t+m to dig out hole,, fill, seed or sod,,


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## Stumper (Apr 27, 2005)

No thanks. I grind stumps and backfill with grindings. Hauling should double the cost or more but since that isn't skilled/specialized work I'm not happy with what I need to charge and you Mr. Customer, won't be pleased with the extra cost. If I haul grindings and haul in topsoil and do a proper job of it a one hour job could easily turn into a full day. You can do that part yourself or hire someone cheaper.


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## treesurgeon (Apr 28, 2005)

on bigger trees, it could turn into a whole new job. we do it all. but sometimes its not worth it. id rather just grind out another stump rather than screw around with all that other stuff.
2-3 dollars an inch.
40 dollars per yard of chips to remove
50 per yard topsoil dumped and spread
and yes, some times it cost more to finish the job than the cost of grinding the stump


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## Scars2prove-it (Apr 28, 2005)

Charge what a landscaper would if you had to call him in for the job. A friend of mine is a landscaper and he charges $400 for a typical 30 inch stump. That is for removing the chips, backfilling with topsoil and seeding. I sub jobs out to him when people ask. It's not worth it for me to do it because it requires extra time to go get the materials. It's also a hassle when the customer calls back later and says there is a bare spot in the grass where the seed didn't take.


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## Stumped_4_Life (May 27, 2005)

I charge What ever It cost To Grind the Stump Out, If i Took Out a Stump For $50.00 Dollars i Would Charge $50.00 Dollars To Remove The Chips, Fill With Dirt & Seed. If they just Want the Chip Removed I'll Charge, Half The price Of The Stump.


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## Dadatwins (May 27, 2005)

Not for me either, some debris removal and soil replacement can take longer than the grindings. On hardwood I will usually overgrind the stump hole so there is more dirt in the mix and tell the customer to let it settle add some topsoil and seed. On shredded stumps like pine and maple I advise the homeowner to wait for it to settle and then scrap the top off and add topsoil and seed. There is a profitable end if you have the manpower and equipment to remove the debris and haul in topsoil but I do not have either.


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## Lumberjack (May 27, 2005)

I have some ideas for exspansion (yet again) by next summer. I am thinking hard about a mini loader. If I got that and a hydraulic dump trailer, cleanup would often be a breeze. 

The only real profitable way to clean up stumps that I see is using equipment. Man power is like renting a house, you never get ahead. With a mini loader you could make quick work of most stumps (in my area). On stumps that you cant get the trailer back to, use a hopper of the correct size (for your mini loader like Koa's) and haul them to the front. A two man job was just cut down to a 1 man job, done twice as fast in optimum condtions, go to the next clean up and do it. Keep a 2 man crew though, always something for the second guy to do.


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## hobby climber (May 27, 2005)

I will grind out the stump and let customer decide if he wants me to back fill the hole or not. As far as hauling away the chips and filling with top soil & seeding... I give them the name & number of a landscaper. I sent work to him and he sends work to me. Its proven to be a very good way to do business without stepping on each others toes so so speak. My .02  HC


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## Stumped_4_Life (May 28, 2005)

I Hate Leaving Business Just Laying Around, Any way i Can make A Few More $Bucks$ is Fine With Me.


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## Lumberjack (May 28, 2005)

I Do Too Stumped 4 Life. I Also Hate Leaving The First Letter Of Every Word Lower Case After The First, So The Rest Dont Feel Left Out.

Dan, one up ya. I got a 1 ton flatty I would pull it with. The loader would stay on the truck, load from the curb, sit sideways on the bed, right behind the cab. Load if from the curb using aluminum ramps. Have it at every job will help make it pay for itsself and make the suspension ride better too!


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## treeseer (May 28, 2005)

Lumberjack said:


> I have some ideas for exspansion (yet again) .


Here's another one: how about planting a TREE where the stump was, or shrubs?


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## treeman82 (May 28, 2005)

1 question though. You've got a day of stumps to do, where the chips need to be hauled away, and you need to fill in the holes with topsoil. You bring your rig over to the first job, you grind the stump out, and remove the debris into the back of your trailer. Now where are you going to get your topsoil from without having to dump the chips? Only effective way I see to do that type of job is 2 trucks. 1 carries the loader / grinder, along with the chips. The other carries the soil. Unless you guys see a better way?


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## Toddppm (May 28, 2005)

We offer any and all of the above.
If it's just one or 2 guys doing the work a bigger equipment trailer that can hold a grinder and a loader with dirt a place for spoils on the truck would work easily.


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## treeseer (May 28, 2005)

treeman82 said:


> 1 question though. You've got a day of stumps to do, where the chips need to be hauled away, Unless you guys see a better way?


How about keepin em on site? Chips are mulch, not trash. Every yard has a natural area that needs to be larger or deeper. 

What we have here is a failure to communicate the benefits of mulch.


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## iain (May 28, 2005)

try a flat bed van for the grinder + spoil + towing a trailer for the soil


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## Lumberjack (May 28, 2005)

My thoughts where have the grinder and operator go through with his normal day of grinding, then a seperate truck and crew comes by to clean it up. Haul the mini grinder on a flatbed, along with some amount of top soil, and a dump trailer (perhaps with a divider for top soil/chips?


Guy, expansion into landscaping is what I am thinking, along with developing the PHC market here, its ripe for the picking, noone here does it, noone is aware of it.

Replanting a tree is a good thought as well. However I can show you plenty of yards that have no place to actually use the chips. Also raw pine chips will kill most plants if they are put directly into use without time to weather (at least this is true from what I have been told, am I mistaken?). If we grind an average pine stump you will have a pickup load of chips or better. Right now we currently leave 95% of our chips on site.


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## Stumped_4_Life (May 28, 2005)

My Tractor is one of the best Investments i Have made It can pull my Stumper into Places where my truck cant go and i can Remove the chips with no Problums, then when im all done i pull the tractor with the grinder on it on to a lowboy Witch saves time and money because the tires on my stumper wear fast, 2 Sets a month Thats $200 Dollars a month i save with the lowboy and tractor.


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## juststumps (May 28, 2005)

the way i work it is,,, i have a climber,, and a landscaper i'm tight with... 
we all work together...climber sells a job, he calls me to take the stump out.. if the customer wants it redone,,(new tree,,grass) we get the landscaper on the job....


if i grab a job,, let him price it,, i do the stump,, and we call the landscaper if the customer wants it redone..


if the landscaper sell a job,, he calls the climber,,, calls me,, finishes the job...

this way everyone makes a buck,,,we all feed off of each other,,,,and every one doesn't have to buy extra gear....if one of us needs an extra set of hands,, it's there... life is good when everybody is making money!!!


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## Lumberjack (May 28, 2005)

Stumped, something is wrong with your grinder if you go through 4 tires a month, assuming these are road graded tires. Your gramatical errors are numerous as well.

Do you have a front end loader on your tractor?

justa, sounds good. I couldnt do that though, I would want the money to stay with me. Hence I am thinking about expanding into lawn and landscape.


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## treeseer (May 28, 2005)

Ljack, you misspelled grammatical, and i question the usefulness of that complaint when the meaning is clear. Will the poster edit himself, or shy away form posting next time? Why risk that just to be more correct than he?

O and thanks for de-redding your sig.


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## hobby climber (May 28, 2005)

...Juststumps, I like the way you think...I'm of the same mind. The more we help others, the more we help ourselves! Some folks don't see it that way and thats OK. The way you and I do it , its like having others advertise for you and that makes $$$ sense! I took this concept one step further. Not only do I hand out my MAGNET business card , I ask for theirs and put it in my card folder. If I come across a customer who need that kinda service, I give them the phone number. They find me work and I find them work...thats smart business any way you look at it!  HC


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## Stumped_4_Life (May 29, 2005)

there is something Wrong with my grinder i know, But the lowboy and the tractor fixed it  . Yes My tractor has a front end loader My tractors a MASSEY FERGUSON 1433V 33 h.p Nice tractor.


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## Stumped_4_Life (May 29, 2005)

Hear is a Picture of My Tractor Before it had the front end loader and my grinder hope you like it.


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## Stumped_4_Life (May 29, 2005)

I had to pay 3600 Bucks For a Front end Loader Plus 600 buck too get it put on!


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## Lumberjack (May 29, 2005)

treeseer said:


> Ljack, you misspelled grammatical, and i question the usefulness of that complaint when the meaning is clear. Will the poster edit himself, or shy away form posting next time? Why risk that just to be more correct than he?
> 
> O and thanks for de-redding your sig.




I know I misspelled it. The same lack of effort I put into looking up the word is shown in many of his posts. When I am talking to the best in the nation I want to put the best foot forward. I will regularly edit my posts several times to make sure things are right, and no obvious typo's. His post was several lines long, but only 1 period. He spelled which witch. I make many errors in sentence structrure, and even more in spelling, but I do my level best to make the posts I read to a basic english standards. I feel dumb (rightly so) when I make an error like I did just now, and I aint gonna change the spelling, I made a mistake, so be it. If I woulda caught it then I would change it, or if it was mentioned to me in a PM I would change it, but since its been called out, it stays. (Not mad about the calling out, I am just giving my opinion) 

I am not trying to be more correct, I approach this forum with the thought that my words will be read by many. Those "many" are some of the best in the nation, if not world. I choose to respect myself enough to use good grammar. I was simply saying that he does not, and it shows little respect for those who read it. As to a risk, I am willing to gamble it yes. If he is scared off, so be it, I doubt he will be. I took plenty of hard knocks when I started posting, and I am better for it. Too much has slipped in this world because people were afraid to "offend" someone. Now we belly ache about this and that, when it was a degradation of our morals that led to where we are now. So yes, I am willing to risk loosing further input from stumped for life if he is offended with my saying his grammar is lacking, unprofessional, and somewhat rude (on some level). Its like talking to a 5 year old, not a buisness man. 

No problem with the sig. Thank you for your threads on different aspects of PHC, and your input on my observations in the homeowners forum. I have a desire to learn more about PHC, and your one of the people I hope to learn/recieve guidance from.


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## Lumberjack (May 29, 2005)

Stumped_4_Life said:


> I had to pay 3600 Bucks For a Front end Loader Plus 600 buck too get it put on!










Thats my tractor, yours is nice, and new. We just added the loader, it cost $7003 installed. The installation was around $300 i believe.


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## Stumped_4_Life (May 29, 2005)

Lumberjack, i am not offended i see no need in it......this is just a Website....


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## Lumberjack (May 29, 2005)

"...just a Website..."

"How you do anything is how you do everything."


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## Stumped_4_Life (May 29, 2005)

Lumberjack, Its all right You'll get over it, Until then just let it go, if you dont have any thing good to say keep it too your self.


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## Lumberjack (May 29, 2005)

There is nothing to "get over". Your lack of effort in making posts doesnt cost me any sleep, nor mental anguish.

Its clear you know everything, I am retarded. 

However, if I have something to say that is within forum rules that I feel worthy to say, I will say it. Being in the minority on an opinion doesnt concern me. 

Like I was getting at before, your lack of attempt at grammer not only makes your contribution to this site harder to read and much less professional looking, it also speaks to me about your character as a human and buisness person.

If you dont like what I say, put me on the ignore list for your user profile, I have few problems with your material; the main issue with me is the grammar. Why not try and improve your skill instead of passing it off as my rant? It takes little effort to do it right in the first place, and it cannot hurt you to learn to write better.

So far its all been simple criticism (I would think constructive), this is to your material in your last post:

"...Its all right You'll get over it, Until then just let it go..."

Your logic is flawed. If i am not over it, its not likely I will "let it go" until I am "over it". Make sense? 

Undoubtably I will be flamed for this last part, I would expect no less, I have made plenty of mistakes both in reality and this virtual arena, so I have no distict divine right to call you out on that, but it "ices the cake". Surely this post will be torn apart and scrutinized, so be it. I dont think its asking to much, some say live and let live. I say live loudly and make ripples.


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## treeseer (May 29, 2005)

Lumberjack said:


> I say live loudly and make ripples.


I say live proudly but don't make tsunamis in our swimming pool.


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## Dadatwins (May 29, 2005)

Interesting and sad how a thread about stump grinding mulch has turned into another mud sling, no pun intended, Welcome to AS.


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## Stumped_4_Life (May 29, 2005)

i'm a stump grinder, people don't care how good my grammer is, the only thing that they care about is when, i'm going to grind there stump


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## hobby climber (May 29, 2005)

OK, So.........what about the mulch??? Ya back fill the hole or what. Fill with top soil, seed or something else?  (original question)


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## Stumped_4_Life (May 29, 2005)

I, do both what ever the Client wants. 




Most the time, they just want the Chip backfilled.


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## hobby climber (May 29, 2005)

Another suggestion to offer to our customers is to use the mulch in a com-poster.


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## treeseer (May 29, 2005)

hobby climber said:


> Another suggestion to offer to our customers is to use the mulch in a com-poster.


Great idea; makes a good bottom layer when composting leaves, and makes layers between kitchen scraps too. If arborists take care of trees then they take care of roots, and wider/deeper/more natural areas are often the best way to do that. Ljack I'd like you to show us a pic of one of those many yards that you claim does not need more mulch.

I'm a Disbeliever.


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## TheTreeSpyder (May 29, 2005)

One of the most memorable things to me that the mystical TreeSeer has shared previously; was the outcry that the chips belonged to the site from which they grew!

i find the implications of that premise very deep and strong. It is a people thing, and not a tree thing to remove the combinations of nutrients that were needed and successful for growth, and might even be in some scarcity that debris removal could then increase the scarcity of what the tree needs(?) etc. (but was already successful for growth). And a whole lot more of what if we leave Nature alone more type thoughts.

i think too much mulch at once, not staged in in varying sizes and decomposition over time could be a problem. But otherwise mulch recycles as it feeds, disposes of refuse, moderates humidity and temperature, cushions and spreads out shock(to keep from compressing ground from travel etc. across it), competition barrier (along with light duration, quality and intensity, water delivery etc.) etc. for the Tree's feeding ground. Serving all those purposes like that, it must be a meddling human to rush in there to save things, make them better; and turn out doing the opposite. 

i like calm pools too(well ummmmm, please excuse the 'meddling human' line fer a minute!); for me that is more conducive to focused thought than speeling. i would also note, that any comments made about AS that i have heard; positive or negative; have more to do with the calmness of the pool, not the spelling/grammar thingy. :Eye:


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## Ax-man (May 31, 2005)

dhuffnmu said:


> How many of you remove stump grinding mulch and do backfilling with topsoil and reseed? What kind of prices do you charge for it. Say if you took the tree down and did the stump yourself or if someone had a stump ground and you had to go in and clean up?


_________________________________________________________________

I did a typical custom stump grinding job today to finish the day out. All to familiar story for an over the phone job, pays to say in advance you won't clean-up the mess, even for extra money. Show up to do job, find mulch piled over 2" septic rock at least 3" deep, brilliant landscaping ideas leftover from the 70's. In my opinion you just can't charge enough to clean a mess like this up, tooooo many hours involved, for what you will get paid, not to mention the beating the teeth take on a job like this, even after moving some of this stone away from the stump so it isn't so hard on the teeth.

I made out ok for just the min charge to do a stump, would have lost if I volunteered for clean-up duty, that is why I don't mention any type of clean-up. 

Larry


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## juststumps (Jun 1, 2005)

hobby, i can't tell you how many jobs we cross over...half the jobs i've set up, were just wearing my climbers t shirt around town...i set up the job, get the stump.. no brainer....everyone makes money.... thats the whole idea of this game....


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