Stump Grinding in Pittsburgh, PA

Stump grinding uses a machine with a toothed cutting wheel to chew a stump down into chips, usually to several inches below the soil line, so the area can be filled and seeded or replanted. It is the usual way to deal with a stump in a yard; pulling the whole root ball out with an excavator tears up far more ground and is mostly reserved for construction. In Pittsburgh, the question with stumps is less about the stump itself and more about getting a grinder to it: through a gate, down a set of steps, across a slope or up a narrow side yard.

Reaching the stump

Grinders come in sizes, from small walk-behind machines that fit through a standard gate to large tow-behind units. Pittsburgh backyards often call for the small ones, and sometimes for a machine carried in pieces or lowered over a wall. A stump on a steep bank may have to be cut flush instead of ground if a machine cannot be set level next to it safely. We look at the route at the estimate and tell you what is realistic.

Marking utilities first

A grinder cuts below the soil line, so underground lines matter. Before grinding, we put in a Pennsylvania One Call (811) request so gas, water, electric and communication lines are marked, the same step the City of Pittsburgh points residents to before any digging. Older Pittsburgh neighborhoods have gas and sewer laterals in places you might not expect, and a stump sitting next to a curb box or a cleanout gets ground carefully or stopped short.

Street stumps

Stumps left from City of Pittsburgh street trees belong to the city. Forestry keeps an inventory of removed stumps and grinds them as crews are available, and the city says asking for a new tree at that location moves the stump up its list. A stump in your own yard is yours to deal with whenever you like.

After grinding

Grinding leaves a pile of chips mixed with soil, often more than people expect from a large stump. You can have the hole backfilled with the chips, have the chips hauled away and the hole filled with topsoil, or keep the chips for mulch elsewhere. The chips settle as they break down, so a spot that will be paved or replanted right away should get topsoil. Surface roots running out from the stump can be ground along their length where they would trip a mower.

Why bother with an old stump

Stumps rot slowly, and while they do they can sprout suckers, hold fungi, and get in the way of mowing and replanting. Some species, like tree of heaven and black locust, sprout aggressively from stumps and roots after cutting, so grinding is part of keeping them from coming back.