Grinding chews the stump down below ground level with a cutting wheel and leaves the roots to decay in place. Full removal excavates the stump and root ball out of the ground. Grinding costs a fraction as much, leaves your yard intact, and is the right choice for almost every residential job. Excavation is only worth it when something is being built over the exact spot.
How deep grinding needs to go
Eight to twelve inches below grade is enough to lay sod or run a mower over the spot without trouble. If you intend to plant a new tree in the same place, say so, because that needs to go deeper and wider. A new root ball will not establish in a bed of old wood chips.
When excavation is actually justified
A foundation, pool, driveway or hardscape going in over the exact location. That is close to the whole list. Otherwise you are paying substantially more for a crater, torn-up irrigation and a large hole to backfill, in exchange for a result you would not be able to see.
The grindings surprise
People are consistently caught out by the volume. Grindings expand to roughly twice the volume of the stump, so a large stump leaves a genuine mound. Most people have us leave them as backfill and mulch, which settles over a season. If you want clean topsoil instead, we haul the grindings off, and that is worth deciding before we start.
The utilities problem
Grinders cut below grade, which is exactly where irrigation lines, low-voltage landscape lighting and sometimes cable runs live. We call in a locate, but the state service marks public utilities only. Your irrigation and lighting are private lines and nobody will flag them but you, so walk the area with us first.