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Stump grinders
LG_
Posts: 4,360
Has anyone here actually used a stump grinder?
I've been going backwards and forwards about whether we should remove the four enormous Leylandii at the end of our garden. I'm still not sure. They do give us lots of privacy and - more importantly - filter so much sound from the main road that I worry we would regret it. But they are huge, getting very tatty, take all the moisture from that end of the garden, need maintenance that costs £££s etc.
Anyway, I got an indicative quote from a tree surgeon for removal and stump grinding (I would want to plant another tree there) and it was prohibitive. But stump grinding was about half of the cost, so I wondered about doing that bit myself. It seems like quite a major bit of kit - could I or OH seriously manage it? And would the ones available for hire even be up to the job?
I've been going backwards and forwards about whether we should remove the four enormous Leylandii at the end of our garden. I'm still not sure. They do give us lots of privacy and - more importantly - filter so much sound from the main road that I worry we would regret it. But they are huge, getting very tatty, take all the moisture from that end of the garden, need maintenance that costs £££s etc.
Anyway, I got an indicative quote from a tree surgeon for removal and stump grinding (I would want to plant another tree there) and it was prohibitive. But stump grinding was about half of the cost, so I wondered about doing that bit myself. It seems like quite a major bit of kit - could I or OH seriously manage it? And would the ones available for hire even be up to the job?
'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
- Cicero
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The one the tree man used was a serious bit of kit, he was a big guy, and strong, but it took some handling by the look of it.
Safety gear would be very important, and stones are a hazard of course.
Our tree stumps were very varied in size, up to about thirty inches diameter. It could be that the ones you want removed may be easier, and there may well be smaller machines that are easier to manage.
I hope you get some replies from people who have hired a machine and can advise.
Seems expensive, but job done, and all our extremities intact.
Or maybe just leaving the trees for another few years' worth of dithering!
I'd get the money somehow and get someone to do it... stumps in the garden are not much use!
No spare cash with ineterest rates at 16.5% so we first stripped the lower branches to head height then chopped the trunks at waist height and left them in the ground so th erain could get into the soil and loosen it. Then we were able to wiggle them loose using the stumps as levers and hacked them from the thicker roots.
Conifer wood is soft and it all rotted down quite quickly and ended up becoming a beautiful mixed border once we'd piled on lots of garden compost and manure. You could do that too if you don't mind the process taking a year or so altho chopping the trees now and leaving the roots to rot over winter should be faster than when we did it in spring.
I was thinking of just getting one ground out so we can plant another tree in the gap asap - we, and the people behind us, are going to feel very exposed once they're down. It'll still be a fairly shady area due to a large yew, so not too worried about planting much else until we can see what we're dealing with - it's the 'working' end of the garden, with compost heaps, sheds etc., and will remain so.