Tree Removal
Dead, dangerous or badly placed trees taken out whole or dismantled in sections over the house.
Learn more →What grinding does and does not do
A stump grinder is a machine with a rotating wheel of carbide teeth that chews a stump into chip a few centimetres at a time. It removes the stump and the top of the buttress roots. It does not remove the whole root system, and it is not meant to.
That distinction decides which service you need. If you want lawn, garden bed or paving over the spot, grinding is the right and cheaper answer. If a builder needs the ground clear for footings, a pool shell or a slab, you need full stump removal, which is an excavation job.
Why you should not leave the stump
Stumps on the North Shore rot slowly in the shade and hold moisture, which makes them attractive to termites at close range to the house. They are a trip hazard across a lawn. They obstruct mowing and landscaping. And on species that sucker — privet, camphor laurel, cocos palm seedlings around the base — a live stump keeps throwing up shoots for years.
What changes the price
Diameter is the obvious one, but it is measured at the widest point of the buttress, not the cut face, and on a mature blackbutt those are very different numbers. Access matters more than most people expect: a stump reachable off a driveway is a fraction of the cost of the same stump behind a 900mm gate and down four steps.
Then there is what is in the ground. Sandstone is the recurring problem across Hornsby, Lane Cove and the gully blocks, and a grinder tooth that finds rock at 200mm cannot go further. Old fill full of brick and concrete does similar damage. Irrigation lines, telecommunications conduit and garden lighting cable all need locating first — we will ask you what is buried, because you know your garden better than we do.
Same visit as the removal
Grinding on the same day as the tree removal avoids a second float charge for the machine, which is the single easiest saving on the job. It is worth deciding before the crew books in rather than after they have packed up.
Clean-up and finish
The chip is either backfilled and topped, or carted off. Expect the backfilled area to settle over the following months as the chip breaks down, so top it up once before laying turf. If you are planting a replacement tree, put it at least a metre from the old position — the ground there will be chip-heavy and nitrogen-poor for a season.
Ring (02) 9090 4915 for a free quote. The cost guide explains the drivers in more detail, and the service area pages cover ground conditions suburb by suburb.
More services
Explore our other services
Tree Loppers
Weight reduction, branch and deadwood removal on overgrown gums, turpentines and planted exotics.
Learn more →Tree Pruning
Crown lifting, thinning and clearance pruning done to Australian Standard so the tree survives it.
Learn more →Stump Removal
Stump and root plate dug out entirely where footings, pipes or a new slab need clear ground.
Learn more →Palm & Bamboo Removal
Cocos and Bangalow palms taken down in a driveway-width space, and running bamboo dug out properly.
Learn more →Hedge Trimming
Lilly pilly, photinia and murraya screens brought back to a line you can maintain yourself.
Learn more →Emergency Tree Work
Storm damage, split trunks and limbs on roofs, with 24/7 response across the North Shore.
Learn more →
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
How deep does a stump grinder go?
Typically 250 to 350mm below the surrounding ground level, which is deep enough for turf, a garden bed or paving. Deeper is possible but slower, and it is only worth paying for when a slab, a pool shell or footings are going over the spot. In that case full excavation is usually the better answer.
Will the tree grow back after grinding?
Not from the stump itself once the crown of the root system is ground out, but some species sucker from lateral roots for a season or two afterwards — camphor laurel, privet, poplar and some eucalypts in particular. Those suckers are easy to deal with while they are soft. If you are seeing persistent regrowth, tell us and we will come back.
What happens to the hole and the wood chip?
The grinding produces a mound of chip mixed with soil. You can have it raked back into the hole and topped with soil, which settles over a few months and is fine under turf, or have the chip carted away and clean soil brought in. Carting adds cost and is worth it where you are planting straight away.
Can the grinder get down the side of my house?
It depends on the gate. A narrow-access machine fits through roughly 750mm, which covers most North Shore side passages. Where the gate is narrower, or the back garden is up a flight of sandstone steps at Lane Cove or Northbridge, the work is done with a smaller unit that takes longer, or by hand excavation. That is quoted honestly rather than discovered on the day.
Free, no-obligation