# Stump grinding



## M.Green - SVTS (Apr 20, 2009)

Just curious as to what other people are charging per inch. I am implementing it into my stable of services that I offer. Been a while since I ground a stump. I got 5 rotten stumps to grind and 5 30" pine stumps to grind. Working at an average safe rate of speed how long do you presume that would take.

Basically, what I'm asking is with a good stump grinder going 6" deep how long does it take you to grind 1 stump that is 30" ground level.

Also, anyone have any good techniques aside from just grinding the teeth into the stump for making the job easier. A buddy of mine told me he preferes to dig a little around the stump before he grinds I asked him why and he really didn't have a reason, maybe he saw someone else do it.

Thanks


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## gr8scott72 (Apr 20, 2009)

M.Green - SVTS said:


> Just curious as to what other people are charging per inch.



I don't quote per inch. I really just figure up how long it will take me and try to make it worth my while. I have averaged over $150 per hour on my grinder since I got it.



M.Green - SVTS said:


> I am implementing it into my stable of services that I offer. Been a while since I ground a stump. I got 5 rotten stumps to grind and 5 30" pine stumps to grind. Working at an average safe rate of speed how long do you presume that would take.



30 - 45 minutes of grinding



M.Green - SVTS said:


> Basically, what I'm asking is with a good stump grinder going 6" deep how long does it take you to grind 1 stump that is 30" ground level.



Pine stump? Just a few minutes depending on how deep I need to grind and how many roots there are.



M.Green - SVTS said:


> Also, anyone have any good techniques aside from just grinding the teeth into the stump for making the job easier.



Get a big grinder with a remote control. That makes it very easy!


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## M.Green - SVTS (Apr 20, 2009)

Oh, wow. I was expecting to be spending a full ten hour day there.


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## gr8scott72 (Apr 20, 2009)

M.Green - SVTS said:


> Oh, wow. I was expecting to be spending a full ten hour day there.



Big grinder. This one only took me about 40 minutes including all the roots:


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## dodge diesel (Apr 20, 2009)

Nice looking photo, you must have had somebody with experience behind the camera. Those pictures remind me of the days when stump grinding was easy. For the question above, the easiest way to do it is to have a minimum price for travel time and pull your tape measure out and measure away while feeling your customer out. Get what ever you think you can get for the job that makes it worth while. Don't forget to set money aside for machine failure, teeth ect.


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## tomtrees58 (Apr 21, 2009)

here on L I its $ 5.00 and inch tom trees


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## BC WetCoast (Apr 21, 2009)

The rotten stumps would probably be about 5 min each (making a lot of assumptions here). It would take me about 15 - 20 min per pine stump, but my stumper isn't as big as Scott's. I also find pine to be a pain to grind due to the changing of grain direction in the bottom of the stump. But then I mainly grind Austrian pines, so I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

For my stumper what works best for me is to take about a 4" bite. As you get down about 8" from the top, back the machine up about 2". What this does is change the cutting angle as you get lower in the stump and make it so you aren't cutting with as much of the wheel. 

Also, with the first pass at the front of the stump, get as low as you can. I find this makes getting the bottom of the stump easier later on.

Finally, if you have to haul away the mulch, grind the stump so you only get chips and no dirt. Clean this up and the regrind to include the dirt. That way you don't have to shovel dirt.

Again, I only have a 27 hp machine, so my techniques are based on that machine. If I had a more powerful machine, I would probably do it differently.


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## PurdueJoe (Apr 21, 2009)

BC is right make sure you grind deeper on that first pass. I learned that way and one big oak stump i was in a hurry and decided not to. Yeah, wrong idea, it took longer then it would have if I did it right from the start. As for pricing I have a minimum per site and then I figure it out from there.


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## arbor pro (Apr 21, 2009)

Time required to grind 5 - 30" pine stumps: 

1) Vermeer sc252 with autosweep enabled: 30 min ea x 5 = 150 min

2) Vermeer sc252 with autosweep disabled: 20 min ea x 5 = 100 min

3) With 65hp tow behind grinder: 10 min ea (max) x 5 = 50 min


Price for job:

1) If open access to all stumps (regardless of which machine used): $200(grinding only). Cleanup: 75-100% grinding cost if open access w/loader

2) If restricted access requiring use of smaller grinder: $275 (grinding only). Cleanup: 100-200% of grinding cost depending on access and equipment I can use.

This is the typical rate for MY region based off of my overhead and level of profit required. Prices around the country will vary drastically depending on area operating expenses, employee costs and general cost of living variations from one place to another...


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## tree md (Apr 21, 2009)

We've got a guy advertising $2.25 an inch here on craigslist. He used to work for me, now he grinds stumps and does what he can reach off a ladder. He usually beats me on prices but can't compete on technical take downs. I just secured a job doing 11 stumps (small Foster Holly stumps) for $550. Limited access using a walk behind stump grinder. 2 of the stumps are in an area probably 2 1/2 feet between a concrete patio and a privacy fence.Gonna have to cover the windows with plywood. Probably take me 4 hours travel time and all.


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## ozzy42 (Apr 21, 2009)

tree md said:


> We've got a guy advertising $2.25 an inch here on craigslist. He used to work for me, now he grinds stumps and does what he can reach off a ladder. He usually beats me on prices but can't compete on technical take downs. I just secured a job doing 11 stumps (small Foster Holly stumps) for $550. Limited access using a walk behind stump grinder. 2 of the stumps are in an area probably 2 1/2 feet between a concrete patio and a privacy fence.Gonna have to cover the windows with plywood. Probably take me 4 hours travel time and all.



I used to tote plywood with me all the time until I discovered a simpler lighter material to shroud the wood chips. I use a silt fence available at home depot; $30 last time I went there.50 ft roll comes with 10 or 12 wood stakes.I cut it in half apr.and use the stakes from the discarded half along with the ones from the kept pc.I take a mini sledge and hammer the stakes in the ground til the material touches the ground.I start at the wheel on the operators side ,and make a circle around the stump,,ending at the drive wheel on the other side.Basicly making a full circle ,,,less the room needed for the grinder to advance forward. Stretch it kind of tight.

Works good as saftey barrier and helps contain mulch closer to the stumphole.
Seems like a P.I.T.A.,but really only takes 2-3min pr stump ,once you do it a few times.
Works good also when you have a stump in area where you dont want mulch mixed with surounding landscaping ie,shell gravel or what not.And the entire things rolls into a neat lil 10lb package when your done.

ONE WORD OF CAUTION ,give the cutting wheel a good 5-6 inches clearence from the silt fence.When it grabs it ,it takes all of about1/2sec to roll 10-20ft around the wheel shaft,then you got some cutting to do with a razor knife[oh yeah,lots of fun there],and for this same reason,do not allow yourself,or bystanders to contact the material while grinding in case of the scenerio just described.
Of course I am using an sc252w/auto sleep,you guys w/bigger machines probably still need the plywood.


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## tree md (Apr 21, 2009)

Great idea on the silt fence. I have been looking at one of the light material barriers that someone here on AS posted about sometime back but unfortunately it won't work on this job. Really tight quarters and I am going to have to grind from the concrete patio (Thank God the stumps are small) and the window is probably about 10' at the top point above the patio. No room to put in any kind of silt fence. The light material barrier I saw posted on here would probably work if I had one. I am going to have to prop the plywood up on something to get it to cover the window as it is. I already have the plywood so it's no big deal to cover my butt with that.


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## ddhlakebound (Apr 22, 2009)

tree md said:


> We've got a guy advertising $2.25 an inch here on craigslist. He used to work for me, now he grinds stumps and does what he can reach off a ladder. He usually beats me on prices but can't compete on technical take downs. I just secured a job doing 11 stumps (small Foster Holly stumps) for $550. Limited access using a walk behind stump grinder. 2 of the stumps are in an area probably 2 1/2 feet between a concrete patio and a privacy fence.Gonna have to cover the windows with plywood. Probably take me 4 hours travel time and all.



Here we've got a company with a website and yellow page advertising who claim they'll grind any stump for $2.00 per inch. 

That might be fine for easy access stumps less than 20", but generally I can't compete with them on price, and won't even try. Anybody else want to grind a 36" osage orange, oak, or locust stump for $72.00? In rocks?

Our minimum is only sixty bucks, but that's higher than most others around here who'll show up for 25 or 50 dollars for little stumps. Any time the grinder is out, we try to be making $100/hr, much less than that and it's not worth having a stump grinder. We don't grind a whole lot of stumps, but we do make money on the ones we do. Alot of times when we get the job at a higher price, it's because other companies are not willing to clean up the mess, and because we offer fill dirt and re-sodding if they want to pay the extra. 

We're using a 24hp Carlton. More horsepower would be great, but it does ok most of the time. Impossible though to justify an upgrade when the local market is at $2.00/inch.


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## M.Green - SVTS (Apr 22, 2009)

Yeah, I am sure there advertising says 3.00$ per inch but it probably doesn't include fuel, depreciation, etc..

If they are slow, and someone calls to get a 10' stump ground, there is no company (that I know of) that is going to pay someone an hourly wage (travel time, fuel, etc.) to make 20$. I guarantee that company you speak of will put that person that wants there small stump ground on hold and most likely won't even give them an exact date of show up. I don't see it possible.

I know if I had the choice on a workday to do a few take downs at a couple different spots and make a pretty penny I'm not going to set things aside to get a 10' stump ground. 

That company you are speaking of must have fine print. And I am not sure where you or they are from but I can't see them being balls out all year grinding stumps. But maybe they could be. I know in my area, most of the companies that are removing the trees are doing the stump grinding. I'd see it hard to stay in business strictly grinding stumps. Well, no overhead, sole proprietorship, I guess it would be easy but how could you make a living?


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## ddhlakebound (Apr 22, 2009)

M.Green - SVTS said:


> Yeah, I am sure there advertising says 3.00$ per inch but it probably doesn't include fuel, depreciation, etc..
> 
> If they are slow, and someone calls to get a 10' stump ground, there is no company (that I know of) that is going to pay someone an hourly wage (travel time, fuel, etc.) to make 20$. I guarantee that company you speak of will put that person that wants there small stump ground on hold and most likely won't even give them an exact date of show up. I don't see it possible.
> 
> That company you are speaking of must have fine print. And I am not sure where you or they are from but I can't see them being balls out all year grinding stumps. But maybe they could be. I know in my area, most of the companies that are removing the trees are doing the stump grinding. I'd see it hard to stay in business strictly grinding stumps. Well, no overhead, sole proprietorship, I guess it would be easy but how could you make a living?



Their advertising says TWO $2.00/inch w/ a $50 minimum. And they actually show up and grind them for that price. Several tree services locally sub all their stumps to them. (And probably still make money on the grinding). No surcharges that I've ever heard of. I don't know what they charge for cleanup work. 

We all know what grinders, wheels, teeth, bearings, fuel, maintenance etc cost. I don't see it as possible either, but they manage it. 

Probably 70% of the stumps we grind we did the removal, but we do pick up a few "new" stumps, mostly through referrals. If they go to the yellow pages, we usually wont get it because we're more expensive.


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## ropensaddle (Apr 22, 2009)

100 plus stumps 15 to 20 per stump no matter the size if access is no barrier. Ten stumps
how far,if close probably 150.00 to 200.00 as it is not really what I am geared toward.
1000 stumps good access 12.00 per stump just ground no back fill. I like volume.


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