What this covers
Some jobs aren’t one stump in a front yard. They’re a dozen stumps along a fence line, a whole street of storm stumps, an HOA’s common areas or a wooded lot that has to be ready for a foundation crew. Those jobs take a bit more planning, and they usually cost less per stump than a single-stump visit.
Standing trees come down first, by whoever is handling the tree work. The stumps come after, once the trunks and brush are out of the way.
Storm cleanup stumps
Hurricane Helene caused widespread tree damage across the Upstate in late September 2024, and storms like it leave stumps and uprooted root plates in yard after yard. Once the trees are cleared and the root plates are stable, the stumps can all be ground in one go.
If your neighbors have stumps too, one visit to several houses spreads the cost. Our guide to stump grinding after a storm covers the order of work and what insurance tends to cover.
Building lots
For small builders and owners clearing a lot, the question is which stumps need grinding and which need to come out completely. Under footings, slabs, pools and septic fields, buried wood is a problem, so those spots may need full stump removal or deep grinding. Stumps in future lawn and landscape areas can usually just be ground.
Tell us where the house, driveway and septic field will sit, or send a site plan. Builders often prefer grindings hauled off the pad rather than left in place, so say so on the quote. Keep silt fence and other erosion controls in place while the work is done, because bare red clay on a graded lot runs off in the first heavy rain.
Fence lines, HOAs and acreage
Fence line clearing is common on acreage around Westminster and other rural parts of Oconee County. Trees that grew into old wire are the main hazard, since metal in the wood damages grinder teeth. Tell us about any wire, nails or old posts.
HOA common areas go smoothly with one point of contact, a numbered list or map, and paint or flags on each stump so nothing gets missed. Where stumps sit close together, the surface roots between them often need root grinding too.
How a multi-stump day goes
Before. Send a count, rough sizes and photos of a typical stump and the access. Number and mark the stumps. We request an SC811 locate before grinding, and you flag the private lines that 811 doesn’t mark, like irrigation, septic laterals or power runs to outbuildings.
On the day. We work through the stumps on the list. Grindings are raked back into each hole unless you’ve asked for haul-off. Nobody needs to be on site if the stumps are marked and the gates are open.
After. Fill and seed, or hand the lot back to the builder.
What affects the price
- The number of stumps and their sizes.
- How spread out they are, and the terrain between them.
- Surface roots between stumps.
- Haul-off, since many stumps make a large volume of grindings.
- Any stumps that need full removal instead of grinding.
Larger jobs are usually priced as a whole rather than stump by stump. Get a quote with your count, rough sizes and a few photos.
